Is a rifle that hasn't been cleaned in over a year safe to fire?

Question

I was just given a Marlin model 60 .22 cal long rifle. It looks to be in good condition, no rust or signs of abuse, but it also looks like it hasn't been cleaned since it was last fired over a year ago. I've heard that powder residue can corrode firearms and make them unsafe to fire. Is this true? And if so is there any good way to know if its beyond repair or does it just need a good cleaning before fireing again. I would appreciate any advice on this as well as any advice on storing firearms for long periods of time. Thanks.

Answer 1

Guns don't go bad like a piece of meat left in the refrigerator.
Modern firearms would never have been released from the factory if they weren't safe to shoot and durable enough for decades of service. The .22 is a low prssure round, and all shells manufactured since WWII have used non-corrosive priming compounds and powders. that doesn't mean barrels cannot get dirty, it just means that the powder won't cause rust. Clean and shoot the thing. It's fine. Such cautions generally apply only to firearms made and used before the advent of non-corrosive priming compounds and powders, which if left uncleaned for many years or decades, can have very badly eroded bores. Even old guns with some minor bore pitting are still safe to fire, just not as accurate as they could be due to these bore irregularities. Only in guns with excessively pitted bores and chambers do such cautions apply. You can check the bore for yourself by first making sure the gun is unloaded, holding the bolt open, placing a piece of white paper into the open ejection port, orienting the gun so light shines on the paper and looking down the end of the barrel. You could alternately get a bore inspection light from Walmart or a gun shop that accomplishishes the same thing. If you can see the spiral grooves of the rifling instead of great dark patches of crud, the bore is fine.Get a cleaning kit (15$-20$), Follow the instructions and get to the range-woods-field-etc and have some fun with it.

Answer 2

It is always best to clean it if you are unsure about the condition of the firearm. Cleaning does two things, the obvious one is gets it clean, the second thing it gets you to look at the parts and see if anything is broken, worn or corroded.
As far as storing for long periods the best thing to do is a good heavy cleaning leaving a light coat of oil on the barrel and bolt. Also go to the local gun shop and where ever they sell rifles and the most places have a storage bag made of a treated cloth and you just put the rifle in there and it protects it fairly well.

Answer 3

I love the Marlin 60, have a few myself. did you know if was the most popular (by number sold) rifle of all time?

.22 ammo is dirty by nature, that is, it leaves a lot of gunk and powder residue in the action. I'll admit here that I hardly ever take them down for a thorough scrubbing, instead being lazy and rely on the new breed of foaming or canned cleaners. I just blast the action, run a few patches down the bore and put them away for the next range day.

Go to Wally-world or your sporting good store and buy a little .22 ifle cleaning kit plus some Foaming cleaner and a product called Break-free. Take out the magazine tube and blast away the crud, soaking it up with some old rags or a old t-shirt, then run a few patches down the bore. Let it dry out, then blast with some Break-free, running one Break-free patch down the tube and bore.

You are ready to load and shoot at the range.

While at the store, get several different brands of .22 ammo. You need to do a scientific test on each......different guns of the same model will shoot much better with one ammo over another and it's not by price or quality....you just need to shoot to find out which one your Marlin likes.

Have fun, happy shooting and be safe!

Answer 4

Some people never clean a .22 but that's asking for trouble. Clean the barrel and as much stuff as you can get to. Lightly oil it and it should be fine. Marlin model 60s are nice .22s and don't need a lot of maintenance.
Wipe oil on all the metal, just enough to give a light coat, and store it away. You can get gun "sacks" or "stockings" that are embedded with oil for extra protection. Excess oil is not recommended or good for the gun.

Answer 5

Both my sons were home last week. The pulled out some shotguns that have been in the locker since the 80's including ammo from that time. No rust, everything looked good. They went out in the field and blasted away an ammo can full- not a hitch. I pulled out a couple rifles last year that have been locked since the 80's also.I looked them over and saw no problems. And I live near Mobile...the land of 100% humidity. The only protection these guns have besides a standard steel frame el cheapo gun locker is my home a/c.

Answer 6

You are right powder residue can corrode firearms and make them unsafe to use. I don't think that it would be unsafe to fire the rifle. Depending on how old it is------------ you might want to have an expert look at it. CLEAN IT!

Answer 7

You may want to consider a rope or cable type of cleaner. Cleaning rods can and will damage the bore eventually. Download the owners manual for that gun. It gives you the procedure for disassembly/assembly and cleaning, and a lot of other info about it.

Answer 8

CLEAN IT FIRST i was given a rem. .22 59 years old the last time it was shot was 40 years ago had not been cleaned mine is a semi-auto it needed lot of time it kept jamming so but i cleaned it first so CLEAN YOURS

Answer 9

It's probably fine, but always clean a new or used firearm first thing once you get it.

Answer 10

if it looks like it hasnt been cleaned, get some powder solvent to loosen up the powder diposits. clean it out, and itll be safe to fire. as log as its in good shape no worries. as far as long term storage, i dont know. my guns dont stay in the safe long enough (2 weeks max) to be considered long term storage...sorry...
happy shootin' got yourself a good one