Do new rifles need maintenance?

[C6H6]

My Henry youth lever action I ordered over a year ago has finally arrived! I will pick it up from the FFL when I go to their basic rifle training class.

Since I won't have it ahead of time, will it hurt the rifle to shoot it straight out of the box?

Does a new rifle need some maintenance before shooting it the first time like oil, cleaning, etc?

The sad thing is I cannot find any .22LR ammo because I live in one of those cities that businesses will not ship to. Sigh.

[Pauliedad]

I've had some new long guns show up with a light coating not quite sticky but not oil either. I've cleaned with Balistol and all is well. Action gets a wipe down with same.
One 10/22 showed up with oil only. That I shot as is.
I would run at least a snake through it with some light oil.

[97F1504RAD]

I always do a complete cleaning of all new guns.

[thomashoward]

I always do a complete cleaning of all new guns.

Clean before firing the first time to remove oil/preservatives and metal chips lapping compound left from the rifling process.
Always wipe down before putting away to remove fingerprints/salt sweat etc.

[sdkevin]

Does a new rifle need some maintenance before shooting it the first time like oil, cleaning, etc?

Hell yes! Do you want to put a bullet through a barrel w/o knowing what condition it's in?

[Asphodel]

Clean before firing the first time to remove oil/preservatives and metal chips left from the rifling process.
Always wipe down before putting away to remove fingerprints/salt sweat etc.

If I may 'expand and clarify' a bit on Mr Howard's comment......

There won't be chips from the rifling process, as all commercial barrel makers use a 'lapping' process, which polishes the bore of the barrel after it is rifled, using a special tool called, a 'lap', which uses a fine abrasive material to bring up a high polish in the bore.

This high level of finish is necessary to allow the projectile to run through the bore without being itself abraded by the surface of the bore.

There can, indeed, be 'rough spots' in the parts of the mechanism of a firearm, callled 'burrs', which, in high quality firearms, are carefully removed, and the components polished to a high finish, so that they work smoothly against one another.

Unfortunately, some manufacturers do not adequately enforce quality standards in their production, resulting in some firearms being sold which really should be disassembled, inspected for burrs or foreign material, and corrected as necessary.

A sad example of this could be Smith & Wesson revolvers built during a certain time-frame.

When Doug Wesson was in charge of the company, very high standards of quality were enforced in that firm's production, but, in later years, the firm was bought out by a 'holding company', whose 'bean-counters' replaced skilled workers with low-wage workers, and the product quality was such that a new Smith revolver had to be 're-worked' before it was surely serviceable.

The 'moral of the story' is that 'standards of quality' in firearms work is a variable, according to the care of the workers who built the components and assembled the weapon.

With any new weapon, except those of especially well-known makers, such as the Colt custom shop, it really should be disassembled, and carefully inspected for burred components and foreign materials in the mechanism.

However........any such disassembly and inspection/deburring/polishing of components really 'must' be done by someone who has taken the time to develop the specialised skills required to do so correctly.

These skills are easily learned, and one may find quite a few books which will guide one through the process. Simple disassembly, deburring, component polishing where needed and correct oiling may be easily learned by anyone who is willing to be careful and prudent.

The 'details of technique' are well explained in many books and manuals on the subject, but one must be careful to read the manual for any specific weapon before beginning any disassembly. Especially with some of the lower-priced firearms, one must have special tools to work on them without damaging components.

cheers

Carla

[C6H6]

Hell yes! Do you want to put a bullet through a barrel w/o knowing what condition it's in?

Don't they test shoot it at the factory? If there were any debris, etc, wouldn't that have already harmed the rifle?

[sdkevin]

If there were any debris, etc, wouldn't that have already harmed the rifle?

It's your face behind that gun powder/steel.

Your call.

[jmatt511]

You should always breakdown whatever weapon you get to familiarize yourself with it's function in case there is a problem down the line. You should clean and lube it. Verify there is nothing stuck in the barrel which could lead to a catastrophic failure. Also, take it out before your class and determine what your point of aim versus point of impact is. The middle of the class is not the place to learn these very basic concepts. You'll find you will have a more pleasant experience during instruction. Good luck and good shooting.

[Sunday]

Nice choice "the Henry"

[BonnieB]

With any new gun, I like read the directions FIRST. And then read them again. Then, watch a couple YouTubes on the same rifle. After all that, I like to take it partially apart before shooting it, so I know how it works, what's in there, and is it clean and appropriately lubed. I say partially disassemble, because once a trigger mechanism fell apart in my hand while cleaning the rest of the gun and I had a devil of a time getting it back together. Earned many years in Purgatory, cussing.

I disagree somewhat with jmatt, above, if you are a brand new shooter. If you are, you should take your class first, so you understand gun safety, proper handling, etc. If you are experienced with another rifle, no problem. I don't think it will ruin your gun to shoot it for the first time in your rifle class. If it were a problem, your instructors wouldn't let you.

BTW, even if the class provides ammo, bring some extra ammo along, you're gonna want to shoot some more after the class is over.

[Spyguy]

At the very least, you should run a patch down the bore to remove any packing grease or heavy coat of oil. A wiped film of oil in the bore is ok, but a wet coat of oil or any grease could be destructive.

Since you are taking a basic rifle class at the FFL where you will be picking up the firearm, why don't you call them up and ask if one of the instructors will show you how to breakdown, clean, and re-assemble the rifle prior to your class range time. I'd bet they'd be happy to do that at no extra cost.

As far as .22LR ammo goes, it would help if you mentioned what area you live in (county or city). I'm sure some Calgunners can point you to a source. Some may even be willing to donate some to you.