Quick Tip: Get Your Gun Ready for Hunting Season

By mid-November, Hunting Season 2025 will have kicked off or they are about to. Now is a good time for Caleb and Steve to talk about preparing your hunting gun for this season.

Caleb's Rule #1: Don't just grab the gun out of the safe on the morning of the hunt and expect everything to go great!

RIFLES & HANDGUNS

Check on RIFLES and HANDGUNS a week or several days before you go hunting.

1. Make sure the gun is UNLOADED
2. Check the bore for obstructions, mud dauber nests, etc.
3. Run a patch or two down the bore.
4. Make sure the action screws are snug, and same for the scope screws.
5. Look through that scope to make sure the crosshairs are OK.

Conduct a Function/Safety Check: 

1. Cock it the firearm
2. Put the safety on
3. Test the trigger to make sure the firing pin won't release with the safety on
4. Dry fire for function (yes, it's OK). 

Get out to the range and fire some groups into targets to make sure the gun is still properly sighted in.

SHOTGUNS

You may use a shotgun for waterfowl, small and large game, pheasants, and more.

• Drop the trigger group to clean out debris and clean that choke tube.
• Don't forget the choke tube lube when you screw the tube back in.
• If your quarry is waterfowl, make sure the magazine tube plug is there, says Uncle Steve, so you don't have to improvise in the field!

BLACK POWDER RIFLE

When you take a Black Powder Rifle/Muzzleloader out of storage, do the following:

• Drop a rod down the barrel to make sure it's unloaded! 
• Do that again when you put it away at the end of the season.

For next season:

If the gun has a detachable magazine, make sure you store the magazine with the gun. You don't want to be sidelined at home because - oops! - you can't find the mag.