Gun maintenance

Question
I have a chrome .38 Special and a Bersa .380. Both have only been used a few times, but neither have ever been cleaned. I also have ammo for both that is at least 8 years old. Where can I get good instructions on cleaning and maintaining both, and is my ammo still usable or do they have a limited "shelf" life? Thanks for your time.

Answer
The ammo is no problem, and lasts more than 20 years with little effect.

There are at least three ways to find firearms instruction:

1. The NRA has firearms instructors (I am an NRA certified instructor) who offer standardized courses that include understanding the firearm, cleaning, safety and operation.  You can find an instructor near you by going to this website, and selecting either the First Steps Pistol or the Basic Pistol Shooting course (there is usually a small charge for each course):

http://www.nrainstructors.org/Search.aspx

2. Find your local gun club, and go to one of their meetings. Gun club people are eager to help you learn about firearm safety, cleaning, and operation.  You can probably find someone to help you at no charge.

3. Find a local gun shop that has a firing range. They will have someone that can teach you, and will probably charge about $20 for one hour of instruction, or they may instruct at no charge if you buy the ammunition from them and rent a shooting lane for an hour.

Hope this helps!

Dave