Cleaning the M&P ?

[highaltitude]

I've got about 600 rounds thru my Shield, mostly Federal 115, S&B and some WWB. This is my first gun, so I'm not real familiar on how often to clean or even how to clean it. The manual has very little on how to do it.. and not much on the S&W site either. I've seen a few youtube videos but I really wanted to check here first. Afterall, this group is the most knowledgeable and trustworthy

- How often should I clean my M&P ? Does it really make a difference ?

- Is there a specific link/video you experts would recommend ? / ie process you follow ?

ps. I do have a gun cleaning kit (no instructions though)

Thanks !

 

[nickn10]

The M&P series of pistols are very easy to take down, so cleaning is a simple task. Check the manual. I clean my Shield and M&P 45 after 50 rounds or every 2nd range trip, whichever comes first. I shoot at least twice a week depending on the weather.

 

[JJEH]

The M&P series of pistols are very easy to take down, so cleaning is a simple task. Check the manual...

This.

I clean my weapons after every trip to the range. It's not just for cleaning purposes, also I can have a look at the details and just check everything... it's a nice "me" time and sometimes the kids wanna watch.

Also I clean them at least once a month if they are just sitting in the safe.

 

[k-dog]

You can clean every range trip or by round count. I don't clean any of my firearms everyime I shoot.

Disassemble the pistol wipe everything down then go ahead and run a bore brush and some patches thru the barrel. Lightly lubricate everything and your done. Don't soak it in oil. There are tons of gun cleaning vids on you tube as everyone has their own way. Find what works for you cleaning products and oil is al about user preference. I use biodegradable froglube. Love the stuff

 

[catcus-jack]

Clean them the same way you would clean a Glock.Simply put them in the dishwasher when done air dry and lubricate.

 

[OKFC05]

Unless I plan to shoot it tomorrow, I clean my M&P if I have shot more than 100 rounds through it today, because it is so easy to clean before all that fluffy black turns to concrete.
I have shot it over 500 rounds in a weekend without cleaning, and it worked fine.

Cleaning is simple. First READ THE FACTORY MANUAL--every word.
Field strip.
Clean the barrel with powder solvent. Wet solvent patch, brass brush if you want, wipe clean. In my dry climate, I leave the chamber and bore dry. For long storage, oil the bore, BUT WIPE IT OUT BEFORE FIRING.

Clean the slide with a rag and solvent . DON'T spray everything down with solvent or oil. The striker channel works best DRY (the sleeve is self-lubricating).A brass brush works to quickly clean the breechface.

If you decide you must clean out the action in the frame, I suggest using CRC silicone spray, which has a heptane propellant and leaves only a trace of dry silicone powder. That's all you need on the polymer linkage.

Lubricate the gun exactly as per the manual--more is NOT better. Gun oil or light grease is fine on the metal-to-metal points.

I wax the exterior of guns rather than use oil or grease for corrosion control.

Disassemble and clean the magazines with CRC and wipe DRY.

It takes me 10 minutes to clean an M&P- maybe 15 if I do the magazines. I've had considerable practice, so expect to be slower at first.

 

[Twoboxer]

I started out by thinking "Geez, probably a good idea to clean them as stated IN THE MANUAL." Then I realized that you had actually read the manual, and they really don't detail the cleaning steps themselves lol. There are so many cleaning products and tools out there, all of them (can) work just fine.

Really, you just clean the parts you disassembled. You need a bore brush, rod, patches, paper towels, and maybe old rag or towel . . . and a toothbrush helps for the slide and other parts . . . q-tips, pipe cleaners, or maybe a dental pick and paper towels for the tight spaces. The less lint or fuzz from your qtips and towels the better. Newspapers still have a use . . . they make a good cover for your table top while cleaning

As for cleaners and lubes you will develop your own favorites. Personally I use Breakfree CLP both in liquid and in spray form to coat inside the barrel and other surfaces quickly.

The lubrication part is clearly described in the manual. While I use CLP for cleaning (any left on the pistol is a lube), I prefer to use gun oil to wipe down the inner surfaces and hit the 7 lube points. A silicon cloth on the assembled pistol finishes the job for me.

I like to clean my M&P9FS every 300-500 rounds which occurs every 4-10 weeks. The M&Ps are such sweet running machines, its very satisfying to me to treat them as precision machines.

 

[Harrison]

It tests, Glock Mdl 17s (9mm) are reported to have went over 100,000 rounds without cleaning.

 

[OKFC05]

It tests, Glock Mdl 17s (9mm) are reported to have went over 100,000 rounds without cleaning.

My offspring was running such a test, but became concerned when accuracy went to pot after a couple thousand.
A thorough barrel cleaning got the G21 back in the "zero down."

 

[jlfirehawk]

One thing I found, lots of people mention using pointed q-tips, then by change I was at the grocery store and Q-Tip now makes these really cool pointed multi purpose q-tips that are awesome for cleaning my M&P you get 170 for like $2 they work as good as any other tool I have purchased. I just dip them in good ol hoppes #9 and clean it all out. They are called Precision Tips.

 

[1meanZ]

hickock45 on youtube has a good video on cleaning semi-automatic pistols. check it out.

I clean my M&P FS 9mm after every range outing, which is usually 100 rds or so. It's overkill but I enjoy doing it.

 

[danysw]

This.

I clean my weapons after every trip to the range. It's not just for cleaning purposes, also I can have a look at the details and just check everything... it's a nice "me" time and sometimes the kids wanna watch.

Also I clean them at least once a month if they are just sitting in the safe.

I do the same thing and enjoy my "me" time a lot but on the contrary my son does not like to whatch or help, neither the wife.

 

[FLY FIS]

For my 2 cents, I say respectfully, that cleaning a firearm should never be a chore or drudgery, or something that I "had" to do. It should be, I believe, a furthering of your familiarization, knowledge, understanding, and handling of that firearm. I shoot every other weekend with my elder Son. We both go through several hundred rounds depending on the day. We might shoot two or three different firearms on any given day. We each clean what we have fired within a day or so. If I shoot my Shield that I carry every day, I clean it upon getting home, so that Monday morning I'm ready for work with a firearm that is safe, clean and ready! The more you handle a firearm the more you become familiar with that firearm. If you own a firearm, then at some point, you could become Dependant on it to save your life or someone else's.
Remember this quote? "This is my rifle. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy, who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my rifle and myself are defenders of my country, we are the masters of our enemy, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace. Amen".
So I say the more you handle your firearms the better, weather shooting, or cleaning it doesn't matter! My 2 cents!

 

[dannybot]

Sometimes I wipe it off. I shoot up to 300 rounds per month, my M&P 9's are happy dirty, just wipe them off, oil on the spots mentioned in the manual and snake the bore every month or two.

I took an intermediate pistol class from a guy who only uses M&P's, and the rest of his staff use other poly pistols. They really just pushed keeping the gun 'clean enough', and oiled on the barrel lug, slide points and sear and action points (keeping the striker dry on M&P's), wiping excess oil off the exterior if you carry, or leave it wetter for storage or competition.

 

[shawn mccarver]

I've got about 600 rounds thru my Shield, mostly Federal 115, S&B and some WWB. This is my first gun, so I'm not real familiar on how often to clean or even how to clean it. The manual has very little on how to do it.. and not much on the S&W site either. I've seen a few youtube videos but I really wanted to check here first. Afterall, this group is the most knowledgeable and trustworthy

- How often should I clean my M&P ? Does it really make a difference ?

- Is there a specific link/video you experts would recommend ? / ie process you follow ?

ps. I do have a gun cleaning kit (no instructions though)

Thanks !

Most people prefer to carry a clean gun, however, most people seem to over clean, and that can do harm as well, mostly from the use of unnecessary abrasives and so forth or from damage that results from attempts at complete disassembly as opposed to an ordinary field strip for cleaning. Unless it is dropped in a mud hole, there is simply no need to attempt disassembly any further than is recommended in the manual.

Here it is:

Required cleaning equipment:

- Cleaning rod with brass bristle brush and jag

- Cleaning patches

- Hoppes No. 9 Solvent

- Break Free CLP

- Shop rag or old T-shirt

- Old toothbrush (for any nooks and crannies - use is optional depending upon condition of the firearm)

Cleaning procedure:

UNLOAD.

CHECK IT AGAIN.

UNLOAD.

CHECK IT AGAIN.

REMOVE ALL AMMO FROM YOUR WORK SPACE.

CHECK IT ONCE MORE.

Field strip according to instructions in manual.

Dip a brass type cleaning brush into a bottle of Hoppes No. 9 Solvent.

Run the wet brush with the solvent through the barrel a few times and lay it aside so the solvent has time to "work" while you are cleaning the rest of the pistol.

Using a clean shop rag or old T-shirt, wipe the ash and burned powder from the exposed parts in the top of the frame, from the slide, the breach face and from the magazines. (This is where you may need to give a very quick scrub in difficult areas with the old tooth brush moistened with the Solvent.)

Using a jag, run a clean patch back and forth in the barrel until it appears bright and shiny inside when you look down the barrel. It usually takes only one or two patches. (They will never come out clean as most instructions say, so just move on when the patch is a foul black color and the interior of the bore appears clean and shiny.) Then use your clean shop rag to wipe off all solvent from the exterior of the barrel, the feed ramp, etc.

Using a high quality gun oil, such as Break Free CLP, apply one drop to the following locations:

- The muzzle end of the barrel (use your finger to spread it around the muzzle end

- The barrel hood

- The unlocking surfaces of the "cam" under the chamber

- Each slide rail

- The top inside of the slide

Reassemble according to instructions in manual.

Wipe excess oil from exterior surfaces.

This whole process should take no more than 3 or 4 minutes.

 

[OpsMgr]

Clean them the same way you would clean a Glock.Simply put them in the dishwasher when done air dry and lubricate.

Indeed. Cascade's sheeting action works like a champ...

 

[jlfirehawk]

I pretty much follow Shawns advice as well and clean mine after each range use, but each time I put at least 300 rounds through it so I figure it needs to be cleaned, I enjoy cleaning it and dont see it as a chore, the only thing I would like to learn is how to work on it further than the normal field stripping so I have been researching all that I can find.

 

[rsrocket1]

At least once every 1000 rounds or so (whether it needs it or not, usually not).

Heck, I shot 200+ twice last week.