I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point... we bought our first handgun--an M&P22- as a 'Black Friday' special... got a great deal on it, then began reading about the pistol here...

'Everyone' says "clean it first"... fine... We bought a Hoppes kit, read the directions and still are baffled by what "clean it" means...or how to go about it...

Maybe I'm just over-thinking this...

Looking at the cleaning patches, they appear to be just an old, cut-up t-shirt... I have access to a wealth of flannel rags... cut small enough, would they be a good cleaning patch? How many times to I run a patch through the bore? What (if anything) do I put on a patch first?

Looking down into the 'workings' inside the grip (after it's field stripped) there appears to be an over-abundance of oil in there... no way I can get a rag in there to wipe it all out... Do I use a spray cleaner (kinda like using brake cleaner on yer car...it gets 'everything' without much scrubbing and dries without residue)...

Do I need to clean the clips (I bought a second, 12 round from 44mag.com)? I've seen the directions on how to disassemble the clips but haven't done it yet.

As you can probably discern... I'm new at this... is there a proper place on the forum for questions such as this? Has this issue already been covered? (I haven't found much using the forum search)

Would I be best served finding a willing owner locally to 'show me the ropes' or is this something 'anyone' can do with a little internet coaching?

I find myself turning to You Tube more and more...

Smith & Wesson M&P Pro Cleaning.MPG - YouTube

My M&P 9mm (now I have a 40 as well and plan on getting a vtac after christmas) I was the same way I had shotguns and rifles all my life never a handgun. There are some great videos on youtube if you search field strip M&P that show you the right way to clean the M&P. I found these to be very helpful I believe unless you are taking the trigger assembly out etc beyond a basic field strip you shouldnt worry about getting into all the little nooks because there are a ton of little areas you cannot possibly get to. Although I use precision Q-tips to get into almost everywhere and I use Hoppes to clean every part I can see then wipe it down and lube it in the areas the manual states to lube it and that is it, I put it back together and wipe it down with a hoppes protector cloth and enjoy. I am sure others will have a better explanation but with all the user videos you can find that I am sure most members here put together there wasnt any process with the M&P I couldnt find step by step instruction videos. Enjoy you new obsession.

Here are couple more videos.

Gun Cleaning 101 - YouTube
Basics of Handgun Cleaning-Part 1.mov - YouTube - Part 1
Basics of Handgun Cleaning-Part 2.mov - YouTube - Part 2

Also, do away with the patches, and get a bore snake for your .22. It's much easier

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M&P40c/15-22/SD9VE/Mossy500

Thanks guys...

The edges of the patches in the video (with the exception of the 'cut up t-shirt) were much 'cleaner' than the one's I've seen at Wally World... the ones from WW had frayed edges where loose threads could come loose during cleaning... Bad patches? or is that just what I should expect with the smaller .22?

The other thing I noticed was the guys in the videos were somewhat aggressive while cleaning... again with a few exceptions (in and around the action)... here I was thinkin' this new M&P I've got was fragile...

No worries about the threads. Occasionally, a thread may come loose, but it'll come right out. You can be aggressive with it, the only thing you need to worry about is if you're using a metal rod. It could scratch up the inside of your barrel. That's why I suggested a bore snake.

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M&P40c/15-22/SD9VE/Mossy500

On the 22 cal. a bore snake is the only way to go for cleaning the barrel. The M&P 22 comes with a lot of "gunk" packed in it -- much more that the other M&Ps. This is probably because it comes from Walthers. Try to clean as much of this out as possible before your first shooting. Don't worry, you probably can't get it all, and it make take several cleanings before you get it all.

One caution (this comes from experience!). Be sure that you put the little washer on the guide rod the right way. One side is flat and the other side has an inset for the spring to fit into. If you have it on backwards, you'll never get the slide back on.

Also, don't make the same mistake I made by using the cheap 36 grain ammo to break it in. Buy some CCI Mini Mags (40 grain) to break it in. It's a great pistol, and I hope you have fun with it.