18 rounds - would you clean it?

[mark brewer]

a pretty simple question: i have a SW 65. i just fired 18 rounds through it at the range. i will probably fire it again on wednesday or thursday. before i shot it today, it was as clean as i know how to make a gun, which i think is pretty clean.

so would you break it down and do a complete clean, or wait? i have read that guns can be damaged by overcleaning. that's hard for me to imagine, but maybe it's so.

i ran a bore brush through the barrel a few times, and each cylinder. and put a drop of oil on the extractor rod.

what would you do?

 

[Imissedagain]

Just swab the barrel/chambers with a bit of oil as well.

 

[jbtrucker]

I would shoot it again and clean it no need for complete breakdown except once or twice a year but thats me . I take a rag or large patches to range to clean out behind the extractor. I'm having a heck of time now with Model 18 because previous owner never cleaned it . The forcing cone was leaded up and cases are sticking.

 

[TripLeader]

I'd wait until after you shoot it again in a few days, unless you carry it every day for defense.

 

[30-30remchester]

I have a model 19 that sleeps under the seat of my pickup. I used it daily when I was guiding elk hunters. When not under the seat it is tied to a snowmobile, stuffed into a gear bag on a 4 wheeler, or strapped to my hip as I wandered through forests and steams. It was once bounced out of a 4 wheeler into a mud hole, then ran over. It has never been taken down and cleaned. When it was recovered from the mud hole it was during elk season and clients wait for nothing. I took it to town and used the car wash wand on it and taped it to the roof rack to dry it out on the trip back to the camp. As much of a hard life as mine has had, a friend is a lion guide. After 15 years rattling around country roads and strapped to him following his dogs over the Colorado mountains, his model 19 had zero bluing left and black tape completely covers the grips keeping what is left of the wood together. His model 19 never had so much as a rag run down the barrel. So from my experience cleaning is just a hobby for so many. That being said my pocket knives are spotless and my garage I use daily can be used as an operating room since it is so clean.

 

[mark brewer]

I have a model 19 that sleeps under the seat of my pickup. I used it daily when I was guiding elk hunters. When not under the seat it is tied to a snowmobile, stuffed into a gear bag on a 4 wheeler, or strapped to my hip as I wandered through forests and steams. It was once bounced out of a 4 wheeler into a mud hole, then ran over. It has never been taken down and cleaned. When it was recovered from the mud hole it was during elk season and clients wait for nothing. I took it to town and used the car wash wand on it and taped it to the roof rack to dry it out on the trip back to the camp. As much of a hard life as mine has had, a friend is a lion guide. After 15 years rattling around country roads and strapped to him following his dogs over the Colorado mountains, his model 19 had zero bluing left and black tape completely covers the grips keeping what is left of the wood together. His model 19 never had so much as a rag run down the barrel. So from my experience cleaning is just a hobby for so many. That being said my pocket knives are spotless and my garage I use daily can be used as an operating room since it is so clean.

well, i must admit, i do truly enjoy cleaning guns! i just don't want to overdo it. maybe you ought to bring your 19 over here and leave it with me a few days!

 

[glenwolde]

No. I'd just leave it. I usually shoot 100-150 rounds a week and clean every-other time.

When you hear "more guns have been damaged by cleaning" they really mean "more guns have been damaged by improper cleaning."

 

[mtgianni]

I often had range sessions that pushed 500 rounds of centerfire. If it didn't lead any, and nothing other than a few grains of powder were in the bbl I didn't clean it. I let the guns accuracy tell me if it needs more than a wipe down.

 

[Rpg]

The most I’d do is wipe it down with a rag with a drop of oil on the rag.

Folks love to play with their guns. For lots of folks that means fussing about cleaning.

 

[Rustyt1953]

For some folks cleaning a gun has a Zen-like therapeutic value and I get that. If after a range trip, any gun that had 100 or more rounds put through it I would do a quick clean and then a light oil wipe down.

I have a 1973 Glenfield Model 60 that hasn't seen a bore brush more than a dozen times in its life. Don't over think it.

 

[mark brewer]

The most I’d do is wipe it down with a rag with a drop of oil on the rag.

Folks love to play with their guns. For lots of folks that means fussing about cleaning.

i admit, i can be fussy!

 

[30-30remchester]

well, i must admit, i do truly enjoy cleaning guns! i just don't want to overdo it. maybe you ought to bring your 19 over here and leave it with me a few days!

I assume I have real estate from several western states residing in the nooks and crannies. It took decades to acquire it and think I will just keep it. Thanks for the offer though. Not meaning any disrespect in any way but you sound like the type that washes his coffee cup after EACH use.

 

[dmar]

Seems to me that you are way over thinking this one. 18 rounds through a previously clean handgun, and you’re going to shoot it again in a week, it’s good to go. I’d wipe it down after the range and that’s all...!

For my regular use range handguns, I’ll clean them good every couple/few hundred rounds. Rimfire guns less frequently than that. High power rifles, more frequently.

For guns that I shoot then plan to store in the safe for a long time, I’ll clean the gun/bore good and make sure it’s got a good preservative in the barrel and exterior. I used to obsess about cleaning them all the time, then came to understanding that it just doesn’t have to be done that much...

 

[mark brewer]

For some folks cleaning a gun has a Zen-like therapeutic value and I get that. If after a range trip, any gun that had 100 or more rounds put through it I would do a quick clean and then a light oil wipe down.

I have a 1973 Glenfield Model 60 that hasn't seen a bore brush more than a dozen times in its life. Don't over think it.

zen-like therapeutic value: yes indeed. it just feels good. knowing those little bits of trouble are brushed away just plain feels good.

 

[moosedog]

I've seen a lot of guns damaged by over cleaning.

 

[JH1951]

I would wait for several trips of that magnitude to pass before I would clean it.

 

[UncleEd]

On another forum, I replied
to the OP that I'm surprised
his Model 65 operated beyond
11.5 rounds.

To add here, some guys really
push their Smith & Wesson
revolvers.

Read where one guy, I think his
name is Jerry Miculek, is known
to have cleaned out the flutes of
a revolver with an empty .38
casing as a scraper. OK, it was
a stainless gun. True story?
Don't know but I like it.

 

[mark brewer]

On another forum, I replied
to the OP that I'm surprised
his Model 65 operated beyond
11.5 rounds.

To add here, some guys really
push their Smith & Wesson
revolvers.

Read where one guy, I think his
name is Jerry Miculek, is known
to have cleaned out the flutes of
a revolver with an empty .38
casing as a scraper. OK, it was
a stainless gun. True story?
Don't know but I like it.

UncleEd: i just don't get you. you think it won't shoot after 11 rounds? or what? excuse my ignorance, please?

 

[pawngal]

Personally, I hate to clean guns of any kind. Revolvers, eh, depends on the ammo I've shot, anywhere from 100 to 500 rounds. I really don't keep track. I look it over and decide.
Semi-autos, I have bribed a friend to clean them. Gave him a fancy high dollar custom auto pocketknife. Free cleanings for life.

 

[pawngal]

UncleEd: i just don't get you. you think it won't shoot after 11 rounds? or what? excuse my ignorance, please?

Sarcasm......