I've seen where some people go X number of rounds before cleaning their pistol so I didn't clean my SD9VE after putting 100 rnds thru it. Well that didn't work out so good for me after that session, next session lots of fail to eject using Walmart Rem white box. Was going to blame it on that ammo but Figured I'd check a few cartridges in the barrel, they didn't go in all the way without pushing them in and then they wouldn't fall out. Cleaned gun in good shape and then all those rnds that wouldn't go in worked just fine.

Put about 50m rnds through it today of the white box and ran flawlessly

Lesson learned

Any modern pistol from a major league manufacturer should work without cleaning well past 100 rounds IMO. I haven't had my SD to the range yet but I'll be very sad if it only goes 100 rounds before malfunctions start happening.

I've put over 500 rounds through each of my Colt 1911's without cleaning at various times without a problem

Probably not the best practice, but I can't imagine having a problem with 100 rounds without cleaning in a decent pistol.

I have lost track of the number of people that bring a new gun to the range without cleaning it, and then want me to see why it's acting up.
"Why should I clean it, it's brand new!"
And then inevitably, somebody has to pipe up "I never clean mine and they never act up!"


Fine. Just don't bring it to the safety officer when your new gun jams. RTFM.

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Science plus Art

He didn't say it was a new pistol.
Maybe you are just speaking in general terms.

pistol is 2 years old which is why at first I was going to blame it on the ammo. I was very surprised that some of the WB ammo wouldn't drop into the barrel until I cleaned it but cleaning it certainly took care of the issue.

I usually put about 500 rounds through my SD9VE before cleaning. Never had any problems.

These pistols can run for quite a while without cleaning.

But there are several really good reasons to clean and lube a pistol regularly.

One is so that it functions reliably in the short term. Power residue on the rails can slow down the slide and cause the pistol to FTF, FTE, etc. Residue in the extractor can cause that part to jump the rim and you get a FTE. As mentioned above, powder residue in the chamber can cause cases to fail to load or fail to extract.

Powder buildup, and especially copper or lead buildup in the leade area and the lands/grooves of the barrel, will eventually constrict the path of the bullet. This affects accuracy and, if it gets bad enough, will cause the bullet to slow down and chamber pressures to rise. If pressures go too high, first primers will be seen to flatten, then if pressures go up more they will blow out, and in the worst instances the case itself can burst. Damage to the pistol or people nearby can result. It is even possible a bullet will get stuck half-way down a barrel that has significant copper or lead buildup, and the next round down the pipe behind it can cause the barrel to explode.

Another reason is related to a kind of pollution. Primers contain lead styphnate, and everywhere there is powder residue, there is vaporized lead (in small quantities). If the bullets have exposed lead at the base, they can leave more vaporized lead particles on the internal and external parts of the pistol. This lead is poisonous to humans, and you don't want it on your hands, from which it can be transferred to your mouth or nose and ingested. When the pistol is dirty, there is just more of this stuff on your hands and clothing (shooters with small children in the house should pay particular attention to this; always clean guns in isolated areas -- never on the kitchen table! And you should always wash your face and hands after shooting or cleaning a gun).

Finally, there is wear from the parts working together with the powder grit between them. The slide rails, the outside of the barrel at the front of the slide, etc., will all wear faster if the pistol is not cleaned and lubed regularly. The powder residue works like the sand on sandpaper. And the chemicals in powder residue can cause the metal itself, and the finishes, to slowly corrode.

So, altogether, there are lots of good reasons to clean and lube a pistol shortly after using it. There are cases of shooters not cleaning their pistols for long periods of time, and it is a sort of testimonial to the toughness of that particular gun, but it is generally not a good thing to do.

(Sorry for the "tutorial" but we sometimes see new shooters on this forum and they might not have been told all of this).

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S&W Rover

Agreed, not cleaning a firearm and it functioning properly, within reason should be expected but keeping your firearm clean is better for the longevity of the firearm and for preserving the investment of one's hard earned money. Possibly resale value later as well if you chose to sell it in the future.

That would be me! One of the ones that "pipes up"! Unless that gun has Ben packed in mud there should be nothing to clean. The few guns that I've had act up turned out to have issues that Hopes 9 or CLP couldn't fix.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

I clean my firearms ....once when I buy them, and after each firing, 20-50-100 rounds, it does not matter. Worked well for me for 50 years, so must be alright to continue doing it.

If this is a carry gun, you are betting your life, that it will function as needed, if it's dirty.

True 'dat. The first time I ever went shooting was with a friend who brought 2 guns, one was a Walther PPS that he had been carrying for about a year-and-a-half without cleaning, the other was a Sig. I loved the Sig, even though it had lived a hard life too - it had been stolen from him and recovered by the police, after being thrown out a window. The sights were screwy but it ran like a charm.

On the other hand, the Walther was a complete mess because it had not been maintained, jamming constantly. He gave me grief about limp-wristing it, until he tried it and had the same problems. Basically, if he had had to rely on the PPS in a serious situation he would have likely been screwed.

I don't carry, personally. I'm a range shooter, and clean my SD9VE after every session and ready for home defense. But if I carried, that gun would be clean, although it would probably be a revolver, too.

I tend to clean all my handguns every 500 rounds or so weather they need it or not. Never seem to have a problem. I do keep my 1911's on the wet side.

Do what you want ,But I clean my weapons after every range day ,wheel gun or pistol

Agreed. There is an old Texas adage that goes like this, "Take care of your horse and he'll take care of you." I was raised to take care of my things. Keep the oil changed in my car, tires properly inflated, windshield reasonably clean. Same goes for my firearms. Someday I amy be in a situation where my life depends on it. As Bill Jordan said, "There are no second place winners in a gun fight." Just my two cents.

Forrest sez "ammo is as ammo does". Commodity ammo such as white box ammo may have many different powders used. Depends on what's available in sufficient quantity at a certain price point, when the run is planned. Don't worry the engineers have all load data worked out and they hardly ever screw up. But, they do screw up occasionally. That's partly why some ammo gets recalled. As we all should know, some powders are dirtier than others. So 1 guy can have no issues with one brand of commodity ammo while another guy has issues with the same brand and grade of ammo. Practice ammo is just about the bottom of the rung in terms of quality without being too dangerous (we hope). I'll bet if you bought better ammo your problems would go away.

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NRA Benefactor

My Mom always told us that "cleanliness was next to Godliness" , not quite sure what that meant exactly but when we got dirty we got a bath.
When my gun gets dirty , it gets a cleaning. Mom would be proud!
Gary