Does it bother anyone to see a nice firearm neglected?

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My Son's and I are a part of a large group of other family and friends that hunt and guide on a professional basis. We are all very tight associates, as would be any group that is drawn together by a common interest in a sport as wonderful as hunting. So the dynamics of our group are well established and close.

But I have this one pet peeve. In addition to working in the field guiding, I also have the task of reloading for everyone and also maintaining their firearms. The maintenance part just sort of got handed to me through one of my Son's as a gesture. What really bothers me is despite my insistence that they start taking care of their guns, like basic cleaning, I get guns like the one that was brought over to me this evening. A Mossberg 835 that he claimed won't pick up rounds consistently. It took me a couple hours of soaking and scrubbing, but it now functions flawlessly. Nothing more than shear laziness! The barrel unfortunately didn't fare as well. I spent a good bit of time working on it but it looks badly damaged by rust, and has a lot of lead build up too. I told him to bring it back over when so I can spend some serious time polishing it and maybe see if I can bring back the luster and rings. And it's only a couple years old too.

I'm disgusted also cause when they bring them to me to do the reloading I end up having to spend a lot of time cleaning them up enough to build a precision hunting load for them, which is hard to accomplish with a filthy chamber, barrel, and bolt. You can't get brass sized properly in a filthy chamber.

I guess I'm done ranting. I just don't understand why someone who is so reliant on their firearms, would not want to learn how to care for them properly, which is their primary defense, they don't know how to clean a shotgun, handgun, or a bolt action rifle.

GS
 
It bothers me to see an axe or even a hammer neglected. It could (or could not) be a sign of our throwaway culture. Instead of 'wow, what a privilege to use and treasure this, I will take care of it so that my children's children can have this also', we hear 'I will just get another'.
I am caretaker of some of the wrenches that my great- grandfather used to make a living as a plumber, and I am 52 years old. Yes, I still use them.
 
I don't understand it honestly, my only guess is they use it till it stops working. Then it's thrown in a closet or sold when they buy a new one. Even some used motor oil would work.

I recently had to pass on a really rare gun because the guy didn't take care of it and I was worried he was trying to get rid of a broken gun.
 
I can't stand it when I see a weapon, tool, or anything neglected. But I can't seem to keep up with the tools my kids leave out. A rusty set of pliers is right now soaking in oil to free them up after who knows how long in the backyard. I don't throw it away until I know it isn't fixable.

Our weapons are spot on though, and I usually offer to clean up others weapons for them if they appear neglected. It comes down to safety at that point. A rusty hammer is not going to kill me, but a rusted up rifle?
 
Yes it does and I have the same job as you do. Right now I have three projects that I am working on fixing that belong to different family members. They range from a .22 lr that was so dirty that the firing pin would not move and has the wood around the recoil lug rotted away to a 16 ga semi auto that sit in the back of a closet for at least 45 years without being cleaned or covered. They are all fixable but will take time and money to get them back to safe shooting condition. Like everyone else has said thought it isn't just guns it's everything; just look at the cars people drive everyday and you know that they don't take care of things anymore.
 
gamestalker

Probably the reason they don,t take care of their guns is because they know they have someone who will (namely you). Sounds like the others have it pretty easy with you doing all the dirty work for them. Maybe you should start charging them for your services and see if that doesn't get them to A) take better care of their guns, or B) compensate you for your efforts in regards to their gun maintenance.

And yes, it bothers me too to see owners abuse or otherwise neglect their guns, tools, or just about any other piece of equipment.
 
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Yep, drives me crazy too man. A friend of mine pulled out his old guns one day to show me and another guy. He had an original Winchester 1894 from his grandfather that had a bunch of rust all over the bbl among others. He acted all surprised too when he saw the rust. I didn't mean to rub it in, but his laziness gets to me now and then.

My response was "Yeah, man, that's what happens when you put a gun away dirty as hell and un-oiled." He couldn't figure out how this could have possibly happened. I have a hard time talking to people who do that kind of stuff and then act all shocked.

I love it too when I hear "My vehicle is rusting!"
"Have you ever waxed it?"
"No...."
"See all that white stuff on your vehicle too?"
"Yes"
"That's road salt.... You need to hand wax your vehicle in fall, and wash the salt off of it in winter or it will rust."

Followed by silence from the rustee.

All I can think is "Did your parents teach you anything? Guess what? I know how to sew too, and it's a skill I value."
 
I see this a lot,,,

I see this a lot,,,
It's not stupidity,,,
It's mostly ignorance.

Several months ago I took a young student worker to my range,,,
He brought his father's old Nylon 66 to shoot,,,
Man was that gun ever dirty.

At the range I flushed the action with a spray can of CLP,,,
That got it working enough to shoot that day,,,
Then I asked about his other firearms.

It turns out he had an H&R shotgun, a Colt revolver, and a sporterized British 303,,,
After we finished I drove him to Wal Mart and made him buy a cleaning kit,,,
Then we went to his apartment and I helped him clean and oil the guns.

His lack of knowledge had stopped him from doing anything to them,,,
But now they are clean, shiny, and working smoothly again.

I had forgot it's not enough to teach them how to shoot their guns,,,
We must teach the newbies basic maintenance as well.

Aarond

.
 
Doesn't hurt me at all what someone else does with their tools.

If a gun has been neglected, the asking price will be lower if it's for sale. That's a benefit to me.
 
Just set some standards, such as, "If you want me to build a custom load for your rifle, being me a CLEAN rifle." I believe you would have to have a Type 1 FFL (gunsmith) to charge them for cleaning, so your only option is to do it or don't.
 
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I am willing to bet that these people also neglect their cars, tools, homes, etc. To me it is a character flaw. Most likely, no amount of teaching or preaching will change them
 
The squeamish should stop reading now.


You were warned. Neglect is one thing. My old local gun shop when I lived in Massachusetts had a Purdey double barrel that had been stolen and had the barrels chopped to about 10 inches and had the stock bobbed. The gun had beautiful, burled wood but it looked like a pack of demented beavers had been at it because the clowns who did the chopping locked the gun in a metal vise while committing the atrocity.

The gun shop owner got it from the local cops after it was recovered and used in the trial. He had slugs welded into the barrels and the firing pins were clipped, making it non functional.

It was heart breaking to see such a work of art and a valuable heirloom defaced by an ignorant savage. Although it made an effective advertisement for buying a gun safe.
 
I whole heartedly second what Bannockburn said. Either start charging them for your time and effort or don't clean them. I can't stand that kind of laziness and stupidity. If they can't take care of it themselves then let it rust away until they either learn to take care of thheir stuff or have to dish out money for a new one. By you cleaning it for them you are just enabling their bad behavior. Put down an ultimatum and stand by it, if they don't like it oh well. Less for you to worry about and they will learn a valuable life lesson.
 
Bubbles said:
Firearms, tools, vehicles, etc. can often be brought back or restored if neglected. It bothers me more when it happens to kids or animals.
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True that's why I have four dogs and a cat in the house. Those five are permanent but we frequently have two or three more that we are trying to find homes for. That's the one downside to living in the country.
 
zdc1775:
My son's girlfriend manages the animal "processing" with the Memphis Humane Society.

It's amazing how some of the local human trash treat their animals. A local dog in Memphis was allowed to starve to death.
Imagine how these vermin probably treat some of their children.

She relocated to the Memphis area because the reputation of many southerners' treatment of animals is so bad. She heard about it when living on the UT/AZ border. Maybe it's not really any different here.
 
This is the main reason that I don't sell guns, cars, or any of the other things that I really value to close friends. It always upsets me to see something that I really liked being damaged or neglected. This can cause me to lose respect for the person in question.

When I sell something that I value, I would prefer to never see that thing ever again.

-And I really hate to see a gun (or tool. or dog, or fine vehicle, or house, or especially a person) being abused or neglected. Especially when it (or he or she) had once been close to me.
 
Folks,

Do as I do, invite them over to your bench and let them clean or work on it with your supervision.

It took a while but my family and friends know I will help them using my tools at my residence but not loan to them. They will respect you once they see their shortcomings.

As for the guide business rent it to them with the sales pitch of using custom ammo, hopfully they'll catch on or grow up. Apple, samsung and others have ruined our young ones, belive me my son is an Apple Engineer and he was not raised that way. Throwaway society !!
 
Bannockburn, no, they don't take advantage of me, in fact they are adamant about compensating me. It's just the fact that they even allow their firearms to get to that point in the first place, this is what bothers me. My Son's and I have offered and continue to offer to teach them how to do a simple cleaning, but they just don't want to take the initiative.

Last night while I was boiling and scrubbing 835 parts my Son told me about another one of our friends who just blew up his 1956 Browning O/U, which has recently been refurbished by Browning for the second time in about 5 or 6 years. He didn't bother to check the barrel before he pulled the trigger on a quail, and guess what, barrel had an obstruction. Another one of those who simply don't pay enough attention to their prized possessions.

GS
 
Another one of those who simply don't pay enough attention to their prized possessions.
Click to expand...

Obviously, they are nor very prized.

…they are adamant about compensating me.
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Be very careful about that. If they are paying you to work on their guns, especially if they are not present when you do the work, that can be construed as providing gunsmith services without a T1 FFL. Strange as it may seem, cleaning is gunsmith work, especially if it involves disassembly and reassembly.
 
GS,
Let em clean up their own excrement! That'll learn 'em.
(that's southern for "thatll teach em)

You're way to nice the the crew it sounds like.

Im not trying to be a smart A-double, Im just sayin, as long as you let em lean on you, theyll keep leaning. I guarantee one of has said "naw, Gamestalker enjoys maintaining our firearms." Sounds like it's gone a bit further than maintenance though.


EDIT: I see now (helps to read the whole thread:)) that they offer compensation. So maybe I was off base here.
 
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it kills me that people will spend lots of money on a gun and then shoot them set them in the closet and forget about them till they need them again i mean some guys will spend 200 300 ect on a rifle then they break the rifle or at least they think they do and send it to a smith only to be told that he cleand it and the barrel is crap i think it should be a consern that the rifle could blow them up so at least run a patck down the barrel and lube it once in a while
 
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