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Cleaning

Stop messing with it:

stop cleaning your gun so much. You don’t need to clean it every 50 rounds or 100 rounds, or even 500 rounds. I actually can’t remember the last time I really thoroughly cleaned my S&W 625. I’ve run a bore snake through the barrel and the cylinders, but it’s probably been 2 or 3 thousand rounds since I really scrubbed the gun.

I clean my Glock about twice a year. I lube it up about once a month but otherwise don’t really think much about it. And it’s never failed.

21 Responses to “Cleaning”

  1. mikee Says:

    On the other hand, leaving the old $79 Mosin-Nagant 91/30 uncleaned for a few days after shooting a dozen of Hungarian milsurp ammo through it turned the bore into a pitted moonscape of corrosion. Well, a worse pitted moonscape than it was when I purchased it. So sometimes you should clean, and clean quick, after shooting.

  2. Spook45 Says:

    Yea, MY carry choice is a 1911 and I rarely clean it unless I take it out and run a whould bunch of rounds through it. Once in a while, I will lube it lightly and use some qtips to clean all of the dust and lint out of it from daily carry, but a good scrubbing only happens when I shoot it a bunch and get it really grimey.

  3. Jay G. Says:

    What’s the point in lubing something with dirt and grit in it?

    See, I don’t get that. With the polymer pistols that are so freakin’ easy to field strip, why WOULDN’T you clean every time you lube?

    Seriously. It takes, what, five minutes to boresnake the barrel and CLP the slide? Then you lube and put back together and the gun’s all clean.

    It could also be that I’m OCD for cleaning, too… 😉

  4. mikee Says:

    Shooting 38SPL through my 357 revolvers leaves a ring of powder in the cylinder holes that is unsightly. And after several hundred rounds it can impede loading of the longer magnum cartridges. But I can live with it because cleaning it out is time consuming.

    The Glock does indeed need almost no cleaning, ever, but it is so easy to clean that it gets more than its fair share of Hoppes.

  5. Caleb Says:

    I will add this caveat that if you shoot a revolver in competition you should boresnake the cylinder every couple of hundred rounds if possible. Makes reloads a lot easier if you do that, and reloads in competition are everything.

    Obvi, there are exceptions for corrosive ammo or blackpowder, but for the most part a lot of guns have been overcleaned than shot to death.

  6. nk Says:

    I believe the disk brake cleaner sprays are lifesavers. But you do need to lube, just a little CLP, after.

    (And the thought of shoving any metal hard thing, brush or rod, down the bore of my .22s makes me shudder.)

  7. Jim S Says:

    Cleaning the gun isn’t the only reason to take it apart. I simply enjoy stripping it down to become familiar with my piece. Do I need to take my Garand down to all fifty some pieces (I never counted really) to clean it? No, I do it so that I know my gun inside and out. And while I’m in there, a toothbrush and a few patches never hurts.

    My car will run perfectly if I refuse to wash it. But like my car, I respect my gun and would like to keep it looking as good as possible, inside and out.

  8. alan Says:

    I might clean once a year, if I feel like it. Other than that I clean if the crud buildup impairs function. Even then I just hose it down with brake cleaner and relube.

    The M11 SMG has NEVER been cleaned and it’s had tens of thousands of rounds through it. I just hose it down with CLP before I shoot it each time.

  9. Weer'd Beard Says:

    I rather like cleaning.

    Also gives me a chance to eye the various parts for wear and tear.

    and +1 to Jay, I fail to see the advantages of adding a slurry of oil and grime, grit, and powder residue to my gun.

    Also I prefer my defensive arms be clean and in working order. I’m sure at the rate I clean them a few skipped baths won’t make much of a difference, but I like having confidence in my guns.

  10. Bill Twist Says:

    One word of advice: If you are going to store the firearms for a while, clean them thoroughly. I once came into possession of a couple of decent bolt action rifles, including a pre-’64 Model 70 Winchester in .22 Hornet, that were so gummed up with fouling/oil residue that they wouldn’t fire. They had been fired, never cleaned, and put away for a couple decades.

    They worked fine once I cleaned them thoroughly, but it was a cast iron Pelosi getting that gunk off the parts.

  11. John Farrier Says:

    This discussion has been really helpful to me.

    I’m a n00b to guns and own a .22 rifle. Using a bore snake and a cleaning rod with patches, I’ve never been able to get it completely clean after each weekly visit to the range. Now I won’t worry about it as much.

    nk wrote:

    (And the thought of shoving any metal hard thing, brush or rod, down the bore of my .22s makes me shudder.)

    nk, could you elaborate? Criminy, I hope that I haven’t damaged my bore!

  12. nk Says:

    It’s just that the barrel is relatively soft, and the rifling (because of the small bore) is relatively finely cut. You don’t want to scratch, nick or chip it. Especially at the crown, that’s where the biggest danger is — as you insert the rod — and that’s where it has the biggest effect on accuracy.

    If you have not seen any difference in accuracy, that’s fine, don’t worry about it.

  13. Joel Says:

    You may find that with a .22 you better clean it from time to time or it’ll just stop functioning. If it’s a semi-auto.

    I guess it’s possible to go overboard with cleaning, but really don’t see what harm it does. A fellow could argue about whether it’s necessary to clean a gun after every single session, but if he’s going to say “Stop cleaning your gun so much,” well, that’s not a demand that makes a lot of sense to me.

    Due to budget issues I don’t shoot my 1911 much, but I still clean it every week or so because I carry it every day in a really dusty environment. Even if I’m not worried about function, I can’t preach preparedness and then get caught with a filthy gun. Right? It’s just a point of pride.

  14. nk Says:

    Re, relatively soft: A gun barrel is from 20 to 25 Rockwell, your kitchen knife is 48 up to 58 Rockwell.

  15. Caleb Says:

    alan’s definition of cleaning is basically what I do to all my non-polymer guns when I do clean them. “Whoop, gun’s dirty – let us retrieve the brake cleaner and lube.” I add the step of a boresnake, then done.

  16. Caleb Says:

    Oh, and I for one like seeing people with dirty guns. It means they’re shooting their guns.

  17. Robert Says:

    It really depends on the gun.

    If it’s a rifle, that’s a good way to lose accuracy due to copper fouling. And if you’re cleaning a gun – especially a rifle – from the muzzle, you are, as they say, “doin’ it wrong.” The best place to clean from is the breach. If your gun can’t be cleaned from the breach with a straight rod, use a flexible rod like the plastic wrapped steel cables in the Otis cleaning kits or a bore snake.

    Mikee’s post on guns that fire corrosive ammunition is pretty good too. Blackpowder guns and rifles that have been shot with corrosive ammunition need to be cleaned after every single range session.

    Shotguns, particularly pumps, doubles and singles, need only enough cleaning to keep them from rusting. I’ve heard of people running thousands of rounds through their 500s and 870s before cleaning without a problem. Semi-autos need to be cleaned just often enough to keep their actions from gumming up.

  18. Jerry Says:

    Clean your guns, then lubricate them. It is not a difficult task. A gun that will not work, can get you killed.

  19. Rivrdog Says:

    We’re all mortals, right? That means we could die at any time. Do you REALLY want your heirs, or at least the picker who your nearest relative sells those guns to, to see them all cruddy. That picker is going to bargain her down 20% for that dirt…just sayin’.

  20. Ian Argent Says:

    I boresnake both the glock and the P22 after a range day (roughly 6 times through). For the glock, I then field-strip and drop a dot of lube on each rail and the barrel, re-assemble and work the slide some. I don’t break down the P22 because the breakdown lever on mine is a cast-iron bitch to pull down (I had to use a screwdriver as a lever the last time I broke it down), and then it gets fiddly 🙂 (The Glock at least breaks down like the Ikea Gun it is).

    Am I overcleaning/undercleaning either/both? (Directed particularly at Uncle as I know he has both).

    Range days are every couple of months, 50-200 rounds depending on the state of my ammo bin and the range I go to.

    (Side note, the guy who rang me up for both those guns basically refused to sell me the ‘snakes and insisted I buy a cleaning kit only. I use the cleaner and lube from it, and occasionally the toothbrush. Oh, and the chamois cloth)

  21. Diomed Says:

    Depends on the gun. I rarely if ever clean a Glock. Same with Nylon 66s and manual .22s. I probably overclean my revolvers and subguns.

    Rifles do get cleaned, but are seldom shot due to ammo costs anyway.

    But the M2 carbine, it has to be cleaned and relubed – otherwise it starts failing at around 300 rounds, like clockwork.

Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.

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