Has anyone NOT cleaned their revolver for 1000 rounds?

[jag1954]

I quite enjoy cleaning my guns after a day at the range or out in the woods hunting for varmints. Justa habit on my part and it gets me more familiar with them. Having said that, back in the day, 25 years ago or so I put probably 1000 rounds through my Model 29 and Model 10 without EVER cleaning them, guess I didn't know any better, yet they still went bang just fine. Not recommended that's for sure.

 

[6string]

Do any of you guys use woodworking handtools: chisels, planes, etc.?
It would be unthinkable to just keep using them without sharpening, honing or dressing the cutting edges.
They get dull, they cut less efficiently, they take more effort....next thing you know, you have an accident!

Why would I let a nice revolver get gummed up? The lockwork parts have to work harder, and eventually you'll break something, jam something, or wear something out.

 

[WheelGunMagic]

Nope, have never shot 1,000 rds without cleaning. The most I've gone is 350 rds, but that was at a one day class. I clean mine after every range trip, usually the next day. That has a side benefit of forcing me to closely examine them for any lurking or potential mechanical problems that need tending to.

 

[kaaskop49]

I'll agree on the lax cleaning for the competition guys.
Carry guns and service weapons are an entirely different ball of wax.
Klyde

It can also depend on the type of ammo used. Our NYC range used commercially reloaded WCs and revolvers would be FILTHY after a range session. When I was between gov't jobs, I worked in a storefront office and befriended some NYPD street cops. I wound up cleaning several service revolvers for them after they had qualified at Rodman's Neck. I can attest to the fact that NYPD range ammo was extremely clean burning: all surfaces, bore and chambers were easy to clean. The guns would have functioned well w/o cleaning and I know that many of them did!

I just MIGHT get a bit lax re bore and chambers but will always run a clean patch through them. Also, I always clean the ratchet and hand areas of a revolver so the gun is more likely to function properly.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[jeffrefrig]

I've found that the GP100 Ruger needs at least a little brushing under the ejector with a wire toothbrush, at least the .327 for some reason. It gets gunked up with powder residue after maybe 75 (1 1/2 box) rounds and gets picky about letting the cylinder go back in place after loading. No big deal; takes a couple seconds.

 

[Radny97]

I've gone over 3000 before with a GP100 in 22lr. When the action would get slow I'd just squirt in some RemOil and keep going. Usually only clean it right before a match. Works just fine.


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[balin]

I have watched Jerry Miculek say he doesn't clean his guns till the accuracy degrades. And the first few rounds out of a clean gun can be more irratic then later ones. As for my self I run a bore snake through the barrel and cylinders and that is all for many years and there is no fouling.

 

[jaymoore]

I'm another IHMSA shooter who doesn't clean until needed. Running "lead bullets" in all the revolvers. The .44s get cleaned as needed. Plus a little oil added as required. I can't remember when the 629s got cleaned. One of the 29s had a little trigger glitch this year, so the sideplate came off. Bore still "as shot". Thousands and thousands of rounds. (Not so much this year for the .44s- saving powder and all that.)

The woods guns get cleaned much more often as they get wet not infrequently! And full of gritty dust, debris, etc. Sometimes they get cleaned twice without a shot having been fired.

Do as you find what works. If you don't know what is required to keep things running at top form, cleaning more than less often is probably better. Unless you do more damage than good....

 

[StrawHat]

I competed in PPC for about a decade. I was also an assistant Range Officer with my Dept. I was at the range constantly. Between competition, practice and training duties, probably 5 days a week. I would compete on weekends, one or two matches and the rest of the week probably 3-5 practice matches. Instructing was easier for me as I rarely shot more than a demonstration course, unless I needed to repair or test an Officers revolver. I also reloaded my practice and competition ammunition. I did not have time to clean my revolvers. Maybe twice a year I would clear my schedule for that purpose. My competition guns, duty and off duty guns all ran fine. I did brush under the extractor and wipe off the outside every trip to the range but that was it.

As for the idea the revolver is like a chisel or an axe? Not really. A dull chisel won't cut. A dirty revolver will fire.

Kevin

 

[OLDSTER]

I clean my revolvers every couple hundred rounds, and semi-autos less often-probably 500 rounds. However, my favorite pistols to shoot ( Rugers MKII and MKIII ), probably 1000 rounds on the average.

 

[raljr1]

My brother is in the "never let the sun set" group. Me clean them when I get one of these. Someone said it only takes 15 or 20 minutes....maybe so, but when I go to the range I take 4 or 5 different pieces....so 20 minutes becomes an hour and a half......A little dirt won't hurt.....told my mother in law that when my wife was young and sick all the time,.....shoulda let her eat some dirt when she was a kid....

 

[stansdds]

I've never fired a revolver, or any firearm, for 1000 rounds without cleaning it. I have a Taurus Model 96 (22LR) that had one range session of 300 rounds. My Ruger GP-100 went through a few USPSA matches, shooting 150 to a little over 200 rounds each match. There are lots of moving parts in a revolver, the biggest being the cylinder. A build up of GSR and lead between the cylinder face and forcing cone can stop a revolver as can partially burned powder getting trapped beneath the extractor. Maybe Jerry Miculek has fired 1000 rounds without cleaning, but not me.

 

[max503]

I clean mine, but then again, I'll wipe off a drill bit with an oily rag after every use.

 

[cmj8591]

I am of the opinion that more bores are ruined with cleaning rods than ammo.

Flame away

There's a lot of truth in that. Cleaning, especially improper cleaning, puts more stress and ware on a gun than shooting it. I've shot bullseye for many years and always waited until the off season to clean. During the season, the gun would get a wipe down at most and a nylon brush across the breach face every few weeks. That's with about 1500 rounds a month. Some of the guys I shoot with don't even do that. Self defense guns are a little different and should be carried cleaned and properly lubed. To me that's more about keeping and eye on the guns condition than having a clean gun. A modern gun that has been properly broken in should just about function indefinitely with almost no cleaning. But, if you like to clean, go for it.

 

[wbraswell]

I very seldom clean rimfire bores, but I clean my guns after I shoot them. It's not about the old days with corrosive primers and black powder. It's about pride of ownership. I trust a clean machine more than a dirty one. I enjoy my car more when it's clean, and I enjoy my guns more when they're clean. It can be tedious, but worth it. If your gun isn't clean, I really don't want to shoot it. If your dog isn't clean, I don't want to pet it. Dirt is the enemy.

 

[stu1ritter]

Having shot Bullseye for over 60 years, I clean them when they stop functioning properly. In an average month, shooting club league on Monday nights and a 2700 once a month and practice 3 times a week (3-4 full national match courses), that's about 1,000 - 1,200 round a month for two guns, the 1911 shooting 2/3's of the rounds and the Victor the other 1/3.

I think both would go two months without cleaning but I would get nervous before the 2nd 2700 match and clean then a week before so I had a couple of hundred down the barrel before the match. Of course, they get wiped down with an oily shop towel before going back into the safe, but other than that, excessive cleaning makes no sense. Cleaning a gun every time you shoot it, why?

Wiping down tools after every use, that's a different story. I'm a retired Mercedes-Benz mechanic and that 13mm wrench may be used on suspension the first time and inside a white leather interior the next time so, of course you clean them each time you use them.

Stu

 

[mtgianni]

I shoot a lot of cast and have seen how a clean bore reduces accuracy. I have 22 revolvers I have not cleaned in what I am sure is over 1000 rounds. I might oil and wipe down the cylinder but I am not putting anything down the bore until the groups tell me to.

I think for a center fire it depends on loads. Is your powder smoky? Is their powder flakes in the bore after a session? Clean it up.

If I shoot a different lube than normal I know I will need to take the bore to bare metal and re-season it with the new lube. That might be as little as 10 rounds or as many as 25-30. I am not in a war and believe most Drill Sargents are as full of it as most people. I live in a climate that will rust metal if I leave it under the sprinklers for a day or to. It will not rust anything sitting in a garage or a safe. Do what you find to be best for your guns.

 

[Claymore33]

NOT MILITARY ?

If you had ever been in Military , you would not let your gun go 1,000 rounds without cleaning unless you were in the s&#% every day on the front lines.

 

[H Richard]

Back when I was shooting in various competitions, especially USPSA, it would be normal to shoot up around 500 rounds in a weekend match. I would seldom clean until I was finished shoting, but then I would do a tear down and clean to be ready for the next match. Clean guns are far less apt to malfunction.

I don't think I ever ran near 1000 rounds without cleaning.

 

[The Norseman]

Care Taker

I shoot a lot of cast and have
seen how a clean bore reduces accuracy. I have 22 revolvers I
have not cleaned in what I am sure is over 1000 rounds. I
might oil and wipe down the cylinder but I am not putting
anything down the bore until the groups tell me to.
I think for a center fire it depends on loads. Is your powder
smoky? Is their powder flakes in the bore after a session?
Clean it up.

If I shoot a different lube than normal I know I will need to
take the bore to bare metal and re-season it with the new lube.
That might be as little as 10 rounds or as many as 25-30. I am
not in a war and believe most Drill Sargents are as full of it as
most people. I live in a climate that will rust metal if I leave it
under the sprinklers for a day or to. It will not rust anything
sitting in a garage or a safe. Do what you find to be best for
your guns.

I'm of the same mind set as you. One thing I do, do is carefully
clean the outside surface of my Revolvers with a few Cotton
Makeup Rounds and always a Synthetic Motor Oil.

It cleans the residue off and puts a protective oil barrier on. Bores
are cleaned like you do but, I only use Foam cleaners and
patch only, once in a great while a brass bore brush and
Chore Boy copper stand wrapped on it.

I have more Tips, but don't want to Bore you.

The more you try to Clean perfectly and the more chances you
are to Damage something (screws, muzzle crown, scratch
surfaces, not put something together correctly, etc.).

 

[Claymore33]

I am of the opinion that more bores are ruined with cleaning rods than ammo. I have a model 18-4 that has become an experiment. It has well over 1000 rounds since last cleaning and works fine.

I clean them when they get wet, gummy or filthy. Some burned modern powder isn't going to hurt anything. The days of black powder and corrosive primers is gone. If I cleaned my guns every 30 days if I had shot them or not and it took 15 minutes apiece I would spend 40 hours a month just cleaning clean guns.

The I don't wash my car every time I drive it is a good analogy,.

Flame away

I agree with that comment . BORE SNAKES have saved hundreds of barrels. Most people know how to shoot a rifle but many do NOT know how to properly clean a rifle.

 

[Frank46]

Used to shoot steel plate matches with either a 1943 Ithaca or a semi custom Springfield Armory 1911A1 NM frame. Day before would put approx 300 or so rounds through either of the two. Cleaned and lubed both that night. Next day at the matches same deal. Never had a malfunction except for the nut behind the wheel. Since most if not all local ranges are now closed due to covid I pull one of my handguns out a clean for old times sake. Same with any of my rifles or shotguns, get cleaned, lubed and put away when done for the day. Frank

 

[Green Frog]

What? You mean we're supposed to clean them? I fall into the category of "clean it when it stops working right." In fact, my old mentor and gunsmith, a retired Navy Team shooter, once looked at my High Standard Bullseye gun I was using those days and observed, "You know it is OK to clean these every once in a while."

I just got my 22 Bullseye gun out after a long tour of duty in the safe, and I actually did have to clean it... at least a little. The trigger shank had nearly frozen inside its channel and had to be taken out, polished, and lubed before I replaced it in the pistol. That's probably the most extreme example though.

Froggie

 

[stu1ritter]

If you had ever been in Military , you would not let your gun go 1,000 rounds without cleaning unless you were in the s&#% every day on the front lines.

I spent 5 years in the Army (1959-1964) and 1959-1960 was the only small arms repairman in the 1st Cavalry Division fixing everything from 1911's up to 50 caliber machine guns. As I mentioned above, I clean 'em when they stop working or the accuracy tapers off. Of course the military keeps them clean; could you imagine an IG inspection team getting their white gloves dirty?

Stu

 

[kbm6893]

I clean after every firing session. I enjoy it, too. My guns looks new and I take pride in their appearance. I even give a quick clean 5-6 times a year to guns I don't even carry or haven't fired.

 

[double-dipper]

I don't wash my car after every time I drive it, either.

OK its called maintanance! do you change the oil, replace the filters, air up the tires?

You can shoot your guns 10,000's of times and never clean them that's your choice but, I keep mine clean! same with my cars and truck!

 

[S&W-Keeper]

Hate dirty guns

Since I have got to be an old man, I hate to clean them.I have a safe full, but very seldom shoot more than one.I never put them back in the safe dirty.

 

[pistolpete10]

I clean mine after approx. 200 rounds, revolver or semi. I do brush out the chambers on the revolvers, especially during a match.

 

[cmj8591]

If you had ever been in Military , you would not let your gun go 1,000 rounds without cleaning unless you were in the s&#% every day on the front lines.

Don't confuse the need to instill discipline with the need to clean a gun. I spent a lot of time in the military cleaning clean guns just to give the unit something to keep us busy, to remind us how important it is to keep your weapon working and to create a bond between solider and weapon. Those exercises had nothing to do with the need to get dirt out of the gun. I used to shine my shiny boots daily also.

 

[Groo01]

Groo here
I have guns that have not been "cleaned" for YEARS.
The revolvers have always fired.
The autos usually nee some oil or grease.
Modern primers coat the bore and help with rusting.
Modern Powers use graphite in the production process and help with lube.
I find ,once you sight in your gun and/or prove it still works [12 or so rounds] leave it be.
Anything else changes the conditions of where it shoots or how it works.
Ps . Full clean if it gets wet, muddy,sandy etc but requires proofing again.
Pocket carry guns usually get get grease to keep "stuff" out but they are "carry much,shoot little" and ranges are short.