How to Clean Your Shotgun After a Wet Hunt

A little rain never stopped a good hunt, but it can definitely take a toll on your shotgun. Between muddy fields, wet gear, and unexpected downpours, moisture can find its way into places you might not always check. And the last thing you want to discover before your next hunt is rust on your favorite shotgun.

Fortunately, keeping your shotgun in good condition doesn't have to be complicated. It starts with a quick wipe-down before you leave the field and a proper clean once you're home. Here's how to do both, with field-tested tips from ShotKam, the camera that mounts under your barrel and films every shot.

What You'll Need

You don't need an elaborate cleaning kit, but having the right supplies on hand will make the job much easier. We’ll link some of our favorites throughout this article.

Cleaning essentials:

• Cleaning rod or bore snake
• Bronze bore brush and cleaning patches sized to your shotgun's gauge
• Gun cleaning solvent
• Gun oil or firearm lubricant
• Soft, lint-free cloths or a silicone-treated gun cloth
• Small nylon brush or old toothbrush
• Cotton swabs
• Choke tube wrench and choke tube lubricant (the type your choke manufacturer recommends)

Helpful extras:

• Bore mop for applying a light protective coating
• Gun cleaning mat to protect your work surface
• Corrosion protectant for wet-weather conditions
• Nitrile gloves for handling cleaning solvents

How to Clean Your Shotgun Step by Step

1. Unload and check twice.

Always point your shotgun in a safe direction and open the action. Check the chamber and magazine, then move all ammunition away from your cleaning area. Visually and physically confirm that the shotgun is completely unloaded.

2. Remove any accessories. 

If you use a ShotKam to record your hunts, take it off before cleaning. This protects the camera from cleaning solvents and lets you check the barrel beneath the mount for trapped moisture. We'll cover how to remove it, and how to put it back, below.

3. Disassemble your shotgun.

If you're unfamiliar with the process, don't force anything apart. Your owner's manual is always the best place to start. If you bought your shotgun secondhand and don't have one, search YouTube for your make and model, where you'll likely find helpful videos. This is especially useful for guns that are trickier to take apart, like the Browning BPS.

Pump-action and semi-automatic: With the gun unloaded and the action open, unscrew the magazine cap at the front of the forend, then slide the barrel forward and off the receiver. On most semi-autos the forend comes off too; on many pumps it stays attached to the action.

Over-and-under and side-by-side: With the gun closed, release the forend latch (usually a lever underneath the forend or a push button near its tip) and lift the forend away. Then open the action fully and lift the barrels off the hinge pin.

Once disassembled, use a clean, dry cloth to wipe away any visible moisture, especially beneath the forend and around metal components.

4. Clean the bore.

Put a little shotgun bore solvent, like Hoppe's No. 9, on the bronze brush and push it through from the chamber end several times. Follow with clean patches or a bore mop until they come out mostly clean. This clears out powder residue, plastic wad residue, and trapped moisture, which can all lead to trapped moisture and rust. 

Don't forget the choke tubes. Use your choke wrench to unscrew each tube (check your owner's manual first if you're not sure how), then clean away any buildup around the tubes and threads. Apply a thin coat of choke tube lubricant, like Birchwood Casey Choke Tube Lube, before reinstalling, and snug them down with the wrench, but be careful not to overtighten. 

Steel and other non-toxic shot (required for waterfowl hunting in the US) won't leave lead residue in the barrel, but plastic wads can leave buildup, especially around the choke. Give the barrel and choke tube an extra pass with the cleaning brush, and always make sure your choke is rated for steel shot before using it.

5. Clean the action.

Use an old, soft-bristled toothbrush and cotton swabs to gently clean around the receiver, bolt, and other accessible moving parts.

If you have a gas-operated semi-automatic, check the gas system for buildup, which can interfere with how the shotgun loads and ejects shells. Follow your owner's manual for cleaning instructions, as each model is different. Inertia-driven models, like the Benelli M2, don't have a gas system, so you can skip this step.

For break-action shotguns, pay extra attention to the hinge, ejectors, and metal parts beneath the forend. Check these areas for trapped dirt and moisture, which can cause rust or make the shotgun harder to open and close.

6. Lubricate your shotgun.

Run a lightly oiled mop through the bore, apply a small amount of lubricant to the moving parts (as recommended by the manufacturer), and wipe the exterior metal surfaces with a lightly oiled or silicone-treated gun cloth.

Remember, less is more! Excess oil can attract dirt and grit, thicken in cold weather, and even soak into wooden stocks.

7. Reassemble and function-check.

Reassemble your shotgun by reversing the steps you took to take it apart. Your owner’s manual has the details for your model, and you can find helpful videos on YouTube (like this Browning Citori cleaning one). Then, with the shotgun still unloaded, check that:

• The action opens and closes smoothly and locks fully shut.
• The safety clicks firmly into each position, and the trigger won’t pull when it’s on.
• The barrel and forend sit tight, with no wobble or rattle.
• On a break-action, the top lever returns to center when you close the gun.

If anything feels stiff or out of place, don’t force it. Take it apart and reassemble it again, and if it still isn’t right, have a gunsmith look at it before you use the shotgun again.

8. Store it dry.

Your shotgun is clean and ready for its next outing, but proper storage is just as important as cleaning. Don't put it back in a damp gun case, since trapped moisture can quickly undo all that hard work. Keep it unloaded and securely stored in a dry location, ideally in a gun safe with an electric dehumidifier rod (like the lockdown GoldenRod) or a rechargeable desiccant unit (like Hornady's Rechargeable Gun Safe Dehumidifier) if humidity is an issue.

After a Wet or Muddy Hunt

Before heading home, give your shotgun a quick wipe-down so water doesn't saturate the crevices. Once home, remove the forend, towel off any remaining moisture, and let the parts air-dry at room temperature. Keep wooden stocks away from direct heat which can dry the wood unevenly and cause damage. Then clean away mud or grit with an old toothbrush and gun solvent.

On a shotgun, rust can start faster than most hunters expect. Light surface rust (often called flash rust) can show up on bare or blued steel within a few hours to overnight if the gun is put away wet, especially in a case or a humid truck cab where moisture gets trapped. Saltwater, marsh mud, blood, and even sweaty fingerprints speed it up further.

After a Saltwater Hunt

Saltwater can cause rust to form much faster, so don't wait until the next day to clean your shotgun.

Start by wiping salt residue from the exterior metal surfaces with a cloth lightly dampened with fresh water, then dry them immediately. Follow your usual cleaning routine, paying extra attention to the action, screws, and choke tube threads where salt can collect. And don't forget your shells: salt can corrode them too, so give them a wipe before they go back in the box.

ShotKam Pro Tip: Keep choke tube threads thoroughly greased with the manufacturer's recommended lubricant. This helps prevent corrosion and keeps the tubes from seizing inside the barrel. Salt can also corrode the black screws on your ShotKam mount. If they start to rust, there are spares included with your ShotKam accessories. 

Cleaning Around Your ShotKam

Your ShotKam's mount is designed to come off and go back on quickly, so it's easy to make it part of every clean.

To remove it: loosen the silver mounting screw with the included Allen tool, open the mount fully, and lift the camera away from the barrel. Wipe the camera, mount, and the barrel underneath with a soft, dry cloth, and clear any water spots off the lens with a microfiber cloth. If your ShotKam got wet during the hunt, unscrew the back cap and let it air-dry for 24 hours before putting the cap back on.

To put it back: once your shotgun is clean and dry, wipe any excess oil off the section of barrel where the mount will sit so the rubber pads can grip. Position the ShotKam directly under the barrel with the USB port facing up toward the barrel. Open the mount fully, attach it from underneath rather than sliding it on so the bracket pads don't bend, and tighten the silver screw with up to 5 lbs of pressure. 

If you're mounting it in the same position on the same shotgun, you will not need to recalibrate the reticle. You'll only need to realign it in the app if you move it more than 2 inches in either direction, or switch to a different gun type or gauge. For step-by-step instructions, see our Mounting and Calibration Guide.

ShotKam Pro Tip: If you can see the barrel in your footage, slide the ShotKam a little closer to the muzzle, then check the live view in the app to make sure there's no dark or blurry arc at the top of the frame.

Ready for Your Next Hunt

A little maintenance after every hunt goes a long way. Give your shotgun a quick clean after every outing, a full clean whenever it gets wet, muddy, or salty, and a deep clean before it's stored for the off-season. You'll spend less time worrying about rust and more time enjoying your next hunt.

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