Gentlemen:

Going on an extended [one week long] backcountry mule deer hunt. What gun cleaning/maintenance tools/gear [if any] should I take along?

My rifle is an HVA commercial mauser in .270. It is tuned, lubed, bedded and ready to hunt. Should I be concerned about cleaning the rifle while in the field? My plan is to take a small squeeze bottle of Mil-tech gun oil only. Should I be taking a segmented cleaning rod or worry about rust prevention, barrel cleaning, etc. on such a short hunt? I'll be at 9,000' elevation in Wyoming with horses. The gun will be in a scabbard. It may be a rough hunt.

Any advise is appreciated.

Thanks,

Jordan

Just get one of those cleaning ropes for your caliber. While you should not need to worry about cleaning it, I like to have something around in case sombody sticks a barrel in the mud. The ropes take up very little space.

If you run enough round through to warrant a real cleaning, something else has gone wrong.

Things happen on horses. I keep a spare gun in the truck in case I have to ride back and get it.
As far what to take in. You need something to get the mud out of the barrel if somehow it gets in the barrel. The rope or a small rod both work and can be shared with hunting partners. I usually don't worry about a through cleaning till I get home.

You don't want those chemical smells on your hands anyway.

Thanks.

Jordan

Put a piece of electrical tape over the muzzle. it won't affect your bullet, and can be a life saver when you slip and stuff your muzzle into some mud, when ona stalk.

Take a Boresnake for everythign else, but you shouldn't need to clean your gun unless you drop it in the muck, which can happen.

Jordan: Good luck on the Hunt! I always take along an 8" segmented Belding & Mull rod and a mini kit of oil, patches, brush and jag! It is small yet strong steel like all Belding & Mull rods! It is in about 5 sections and a handle! If you have an old aluminum rod it will do in case of a plugged barrel! If you can fit it in! Nothing unclogs a barrel but a rod! I am sad to report! Learned that lesson once and lost a days Hunting! I heard Belding & Mull is back in business as of this year!
Let me know how you do!
Best of luck to you!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Bore snake and a small aerosol can of WD 40. I use the tape over the bore thing and so have little to worry about as far as mud or dust is concerned. The wd 40 is in case I'm hunting in the rain. At the end of the day, hold the rifle by the stock, muzzle down , bolt open and spray everything except your scope lenses. Run the bore snake thru the bore and prop the rifle, muzzle down, in a corner.
During a normal hunt of a month or less, I don't clean my rifle. I clean it well before I leave and coat the stock openings and barrel channel with johnsons floor wax and all the hidden parts of the rifle with the same stuff. I do like to carry a small, oil saturated rag in a baggie for a occassional wipe down.
A thorough cleaning, to me, is followed by firing some shots to check my zero before shooting the rifle at game. Especially if the stock is removed from the rifle. This is always possible when you're afield.

[ 09-28-2003, 18:08: Message edited by: beemanbeme ]

I always have a jointed, steel cleaning rod for wiping out the bore or removing stuck cases, etc. That and a few patches w/ a jag, etc. I always have a new silicone rag to wipe the gun down if it gets dusty or wet. I tape my muzzles with electrican's tape and use duct tape on my floorplates for added insurance.
A lense pen and scope caps, or covers, to keep the scope clean. A spare scope teamed with quick change mounts like the Ruger system, or the Talley system. Or a super tough scope, like the 4X Leupold, and dual dovetail mounts.
Scopes with large bells, 40-50mm, tend to get knocked off zero much more easily than the 20-30mm sizes. Check your zero from time to time. E

[ 09-28-2003, 18:22: Message edited by: Eremicus ]

Get a Mil-Surp cleaning kit. Steel rod, brushes, patches, chamber brush, solvent, oil, grease, all in a small roll pouch. I keep one in each of my deer blinds, just in case (and I've needed them, after the wifes sling slipped and put the muzzle into the dirt) along with some razor blades and HD paper towels. There inexpensive, so if you loose it your not out much anyway.
Heck the Garand and M-14 ones are small enough to fit into the gunbutt, while the Swiss ones are a little larger, they still make a compact package.

I like the M16 cleaning rods with the small OD Nylon belt pouch. I buy the little adapter from Brownells to fit commercial bore brushes and it will work on anything from .22 cal on up.
Usually carry a small amount of oil, solvent and small screwdriver kit to cover all my screws on the rifle I take. Ditto on the blk electrical tape on the muzzle,especially in mud or snow.

FN in MT

Since you would obviously clean the gun before going, and not fire more than once at a target as large as a deer, I do not understand the need for cleaning.

http://www.otisgun.com/cgistore/store.cgi?page=/new/fcatalog.html&setup=1&cart_id=

Leighton

I carry a few large plastic leaf bags.
If the weather goes south I put a couple over my rifle to keep it dry. Make sure you have some weather tight scope covers.
The bore snake is a good tool but obviously does not work on a plugged barrel. The tape over the barrel may be a good thing to try. I have never tried it.
I have had a plugged barrel once. I fell in the snow and the barrel went into the ground.
I used a small stick (not recommended and won't work on an compacted plug) to get the plug out and then ran the bore snake through it to clean it.
Normally I sight in my rifle before going on the hunt. I leave the rifle dirty and don't touch it again until hunting season is over(unless it gets wet inside the barrel, then it gets a thorough cleaning and rezero). I check the zero periodically.
Good luck on your hunt.

You don't need much but I'd bring a jointed rod (cheapo aluminum okay), oil, patches, and gun grease. You'll only need the rod once in a while but eventually you'll get mud or snow in the barrel.

I take a jointed brass rod and a small cleaning kit much like mentioned here. Even with the barrel taped, I will sometimes run a clean, dry patch through the barrel if the weather is really bad. I also carry a couple of tubes of "super glue" and a small pack of two part epoxy along with a few allen keys of the appropriate size and one of those multi bit screw drivers...