Shooting Tip:

Clean and Repair On The Go

Most serious long-range shooters have a regular collection of products and tools at home to clean and repair their rifles and accessories. But you can’t tote your gun room into the field. So, what should you carry along when hunting or competing?

According to Curt Vaughn, Head of Product for Ballistic and a long-range shooting competitor, most shooters he competes with have a small cleaning kit in their range bag or backpack. The kit contains bore solvent, lubricant, patches and bore brushes. Some shooters use a flexible, pull-through cleaning cable; others prefer a sectional cleaning rod. A couple of cleaning rags round out their kits.

Optics require their own kit, usually one that includes a liquid lens cleaning solution or pre-moistened wipes, plus wet- and dry-cleaning tools, as well as a microfiber cloth.

“For in-the field repairs, most shooters also carry an Allen wrench set, both metric and standard, a Torx set, and a screwdriver set,” says Vaughn. “A small crescent wrench can be a life saver. Replacement screws specific to the rifles they shoot, as well as screws for their scope rings and mounts, are a necessity, too.”

He added, “Very seldom will shooters need to make field repairs, as long as they are care for their firearms during off days and after competitions. But when something goes wrong-and it can-there’s no substitute for the right screw or wrench.”

Anything else the serious shooter needs to bring along?

“Ballistic downloaded onto your phone,” Vaughn noted. “All the tools and cleaning kits in the world are of little use if you don’t have the ballistic calculations needed to get on target!”

Keep your rifle and accessories clean and in good repair, add in the best available ballistics data with Ballistic, and you can make every long-range shot count.