Hey guys! I'm new to firearms in general so bear with me. The other day i brought my gun to the range for the first time (A shield 9mm with factory tritium sights) and put 250 rounds through it. Being new to guns i figured i'd clean it so as to make it easier on myself next time i went shooting (to prevent buildup). I bought a hoppe's 9mm pistol cleaning kit and used the contents. Toothbrush in hand i dipped it into the bore cleaner and began to scrub down the metal internals of the gun to remove the carbon and such. I let it sit for a bit and wiped/blew it all out (with my lungs of course!). I lubricated all 7 points on the pistol and called it a night. The next morning after thinking on it a bit more, i took some compressed air to the areas i had scrubbed and blew out the rest of the no. 9 bore cleaner i used to clean and put a thin (and i mean thin, you can barely see it in the light) coating of oil on all the metal parts with a q tip and wiped them back down with a q tip to remove as much as possible. So my question is, did i do anything wrong or should i be good? I know too much oil attracts dirt and dust. i do the same with knives if i even lubricate them.

I also used the bore cleaner on the front of the frame to remove the carbon but made sure to wipe it off and followed that up with a clean cloth with hot water. Again, did i do something wrong?

Have you picked up any other tips or tricks for these guns that the manual doesn't state? I of course cleaned out the bore with the bore cleaner as well, so i used it right in that instance!

Lastly, how often should i clean this gun if i put 200-300 rounds an outting through it. I don't go to the range regularly.

I shoot the white box winchester from walmart currently, it seems to run good, no problems in the 250 rounds i put through it.

Thanks guys, sorry for the long post.

BTW, is hoppe's no. 9 bore cleaner safe for polymer?

I also know there is a felt cylinder in the trigger spring and i don't believe it got soaked, i read that it can fall apart and cause all kinds of issues. Is this water specifically or any liquid? Or have they remedied it?

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new pistol. It sounds like you were real thorough with the cleaning..... a lot more then me. As far as the frequency, every one has their own opinion on the subject. This is what I do...... If its my carry weapon, I try to clean it after every visit to the range. If its going to be my fun gun where I take it to the range to have fun, I clean it when ever I have time. I have some pistols that have 7-800 rounds through them with out being cleaned and still going strong with out any issues. I know some people who say they have thousands of rounds through their pistol with out cleaning it. Win white box isnt that dirty so If this is your first and only pistol, I say clean it after every range visit till it gets broken in. Then you can clean it every 5-600 rounds. Or you can just shoot the heck out of it and see how many rounds it takes to cause a FTF/FTE problems.

IMO you did a pretty good meticulous cleaning, nothing to worry about. I used to clean my guns with hope's 9 but dislike the odor now I use CLP and very pleased with it. Enjoy and be safe.


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M&P 9, Shield9.

Love the smell of hoppes.

I try to keep cleaner and oil away from the rear half of the slide (striker channel area); scrub it with a dry old toothbrush and dry patch. Dry clean the breechface and under the extractor the same way, taking care not to get dirt or solvent in the firing pin hole.

With a different toothbrush, clean the inside front of the slide with solvent and wipe clean.

Clean the bore as you did, with solvent and brass brush. I dry it with several passes of paper towels. I like bore snakes a lot as well.

Wipe down the rsa assembly with an oily paper towel.

Lube as specified in the manual.

As to frequency; if I fire more than 20 or so rounds and I'm not going to shoot it again soon, I clean it. If I carry it for a month, I field strip, clean off any cruft and lube. If it gets wet, I clean it.

Everyone has their own philosophy for cleaning frequency and preventative maintenance; I tend to err on the side of keeping things clean and oiled.

Is my cleaning if the trigger group going to cause rust? Was it bad? I'm more worried about rust then anything!

Personally, I like grease for slides...in very small quantities.

I am a firearms instructor for a small Police dept in the north east. We issue the M&P 45 and several Shield 9mm. I bring a spare M&P to the range in the unlikely event an officers weapon goes down. Ive brought the same spare gun which i use a demonstrative purposes. That particular spare gun has well 5,000 rounds without a cleaning I've lubed it maybe twice in 5 years I've dropped it in mud, rain basically beat it up , the gun runs like a top. never ever one single malfunctions. that should give you some idea on how reliable these M&Ps are. Having said that my duty issued gun gets cleaned and lubed after every range visit.

First, I field strip the Shield and clean the barrel thoroughly with Hoppes. Then I take a cloth wet with solvent and clean out the slide, avoiding the striker channel. The striker channel needs to stay dry. For the frame, I wipe off the frame points with solvent, along with carbon deposits. I don't pour Hoppes into the frame nor scrub inside it. Periodically I will spray CRC Silicone into the frame until it runs clear and wipe off any excess. The residue dries quickly and leaves just a little silicone powder. I don't pour oil into the frame. Never add lube to a dirty gun, and don't put excessive lube into the internal workings; it just attracts dirt and gums up. Most of us competitors clean more often and use less lube than typical beginners. To clean magazines, disassemble, spray with CRC silicone, wipe dry, and reassemble.

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Science plus Art

Hoppes #9 is the classic solvent and been around like forever...at least since I was a kid and I'm now pushing 67. I've never cared for the smell of it. It smells just as bad now as it did back in the early 60s...LOL, but I have used it quite a bit in the past.
What OKFC05 stated above is pretty close to what I do with my polymer pistols as well.
Everyone has their preference for cleaner/lube/solvent.
Lately, I've been using EEZOX and really like the way it works. It smells bad too...LOL...but does a pretty good job. And a little bit of it goes a long ways. Just a tiny pin drop to the points shown in the M&P Owners manual works just fine. I also use it to swap out the barrel bore etc. A wet patch of it to wipe down the inside/outside of the slide.

Probably too late now, but did you clean. It when you got the gun home the first time?

I am a neat freak and i clean my shield after each range visit (about 150 rounds a visit). I may be wrong but i do more than the "oil points" but just lightly with a q tip

To the OP, the majority of parts on a M&P are either stainless steel or polymer. Kinda hard to rust that stuff. They all may be stainless for all I know.

That felt piece in the trigger spring falls apart if soaked with water too many times. You don't clean your new gun in the bathtub do you?

An old timer once told me to apply as much oil to a gun as I wanted; just wipe it dry afterwards and you will still have enough oil on the gun. I live by that advice with a couple of exceptions on rifles and high use handguns.

I place a single small drop of oil on the points that are in the owner's manual. If the drop's too big and it runs, I mop up the extra with a cotton swab. These things don't require a lot of lube.

That is VERY nice to know, thank you. I am always telling people with bicycles, knives and fishing reels a little lube goes a long way. I know a thin film protects well. Why is water damaging to that felt but oil and bore cleaner isn't? Or are they? Nice to know it's stainless in there as well. And is the no. 9 bore cleaner bad on polymer?

I've only used used Mil-Comm's MC25 water-based cleaner-degreaser to clean my three M&Ps (Shield 9 and .45, and a .40 compact). I clean them after every range visit. They have over 16,000 rounds between them, and their felt trigger spring inserts (some call them "tampons") are all intact. I wouldn't worry about them.

I use Hoppe's #9 bore cleaner (Mmm, Hoppe's #9. Smells good!) to clean only the bores of all three of my M&Ps, and my FN FNX-45T. Of course the barrel is out of the gun when I do this, so #9's contact with the polymer grip is minimal. However, I've had occasions where I've resorted to #9 to remove stubborn gunpowder residue from the grip, and no damage occurred.

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What, me worry?

Today's #9 is different from the Hoppes of old. I stopped using it when they took the cancer causing benzene out. If it is bad for polymer, it should say so on the container.

I prefer the term pledget for the felt in the trigger spring. Google it. I have never heard of anyone claiming the pledget fell apart from coming in contact with oil or cleaning compounds. However, there is no reason to soak it with either. I usually dry wipe the guts of my guns. If I need to use solvent, I use it sparingly and wipe as much out as possible with rags and cotton swabs.

As I previously stated, I also use oil sparingly. I really dislike oil seeping out of my guns and getting on my clothing and holsters.

So I guess what I'll take away from this is my first cleaning degreased the gun and got all the factory lube out, which I replaced. Next time I will not be so aggressive, but I didn't do anything bad.

Now, grease or oil on the 7 points? When I got through to the last 50 rounds at the range, the slide failed to lock back each time of the last 6 mags. I attributed that to it being dirty which is why I cleaned out so thoroughly. Could it have been lack of lubrication? I use hoppe's no. 9 oil to lube.

I grease slides and sometimes also the barrel (no rhyme or reason to when I grease and when I oil the barrel) and use oil elsewhere (including a couple points beyond "the 7" mentioned by S&W).

The failure to lock back could have also been magazine related. You might want to clean the mag interiors and components to be sure. If this will be your first time opening a magazine, you'll want to search for some YouTube videos to learn how to avoid losing an eye.

It could also be related to your grip. Try shooting a couple magazines one-handed, taking care that your thumb is nowhere near the slide lock. There's a chance your thumb is holding down the slide lock. If you're at a range, you might want to have somebody else shoot your pistol and see if they have the same problem with the slide. If they don't, it's probably your grip.

I'm not sure it was mentioned clearly that it is always a good idea to deep clean and lube a new firearm BEFORE the first firing. I've bought new M&P's that came out of the box dripping and others that appeared bone dry.

You'll find this referenced on page 34 of the manual.