How often do you clean

[Old Corp]

A personal choice, certainly.
My Dad, raised as a very poor Depression Era kid and then a WWII Marine, taught me that cleaning and maintenance is part of the pride of ownership.
This includes guns, lawnmowers, chainsaws, cars/trucks, boats, etc.
That's always stuck with me.
I'm in the 'clean it every outing' camp. Enjoy it.

 

[Groo01]

Groo here
Unless blued, [I almost always shoot SS] my guns get a total
tear down clean when they get slow , gritty, rained on or groups open
enough to effect use. [more for small game guns less for larger]
The powders and primers retard rust and lubes are nonrusting[unlike BP] so I want the guns to shoot all shots in the same place.
No time for first shot variations...

 

[Kframerbluvr]

Since I am a cheapskate and shoot cast lead in my revolvers, they get a good scrubbing each range session. After about two hundred rounds of burnt powder and bullet lube, they get quite sluggish.
Carry Glocks get cleaned monthly at a minimum.
My M1 and AR-15s, about 500 rounds between cleanings.
1911s get cleaned every 200 rounds with cast lead bullets, 500 for plated.

 

[Huskerhunter]

I clean mine immediately after shooting, no exceptions.

I'm mostly concerned about lead exposure. After shooting, the gun is covered in microscopic lead particles. Everything the gun touches will be contaminated with lead. If you put it back in the holster, the holster is contaminated.

Each gun gets a thorough cleaning after every shooting session.

Interesting. Is this true regardless of the type of projectile (cast, jacketed, coated, etc?) I know there are some toxic compounds in primers (mercury).

I do often wear surgical type gloves when cleaning guns--not so worried about lead exposure but to protect my skin from the harshness of the various solvents. As my hands have gotten older they seem more prone to getting dried out from cleaning procedures.

Out of an abundance of caution I do avoid licking my fingers at the range, eating chicken wings while shooting, or kissing my guns (despite my love for them and the temptation).

 

[Huskerhunter]

In unit armorer school, they taught us that more small arms are worn out or damaged by over cleaning than by shooting...

I try to clean them after shooting, did it religiously as a kid, but now, if a few days pass (I always wipe them down tho) I don't lose any sleep over it.

Supposedly, the unit marksmen with the 1911a1 would not clean theirs, said it made them more accurate - I always thought that was likely BS, but it was what folks said...

Now that's the kind of validation for my wicked ways that I'm lookin' for!

 

[Muss Muggins]

I clean mine immediately after shooting, no exceptions.

I'm mostly concerned about lead exposure. After shooting, the gun is covered in microscopic lead particles. Everything the gun touches will be contaminated with lead. If you put it back in the holster, the holster is contaminated.

Each gun gets a thorough cleaning after every shooting session.

Lead is not skin absorbed . . .

 

[JohnRippert]

When I first get a gun I do a detail strip, clean and lube. After that, maybe every 500 rounds or so I will do a good cleaning. Just a quick wipe down of the outside after a range trip to keep the carbon off the towels in the safe.

 

[Huskerhunter]

When I first get a gun I do a detail strip, clean and lube. After that, maybe every 500 rounds or so I will do a good cleaning. Just a quick wipe down of the outside after a range trip to keep the carbon off the towels in the safe.

Gun or new girl?

 

[nachogrande]

IN THE LONG RUN

When/if you get into double digits or beyond in your modest "working battery" of guns, keeping track of what was cleaned when??? Can be tough to remember. If NONE go into the safe dirty, not so bad. I should double check/ surprise rust inspection, just to be sure ONE OF THESE DAYS.

 

[Breadman1]

My guns are cleaned after every trip to the range. Since I always go to the range with my son and I end up paying for the ammo, it's his chore to clean them all, until he ponies up for ammo he will always be cleaning after each trip.

 

[silentflyer]

After every use,they get cleaned, and twice a year everything in the gun safe gets a cleaning and fresh coat of gun oil even if they haven't been fired.

 

[AzShooter]

Just got a new Volquartsen LLV barrel for my Ruger Mark IV and I cleaned it today before taking it to the range. You've just got to take care of these things if you want to keep up you accuracy.

 

[Ron M.]

I got into the habit of cleaning guns after a range shoot with my Mosin 91/59 rifle, using surplus corrosive ammo. Had a squirt bottle of Windex and would spray the heck out of it before going home for a serious cleaning. As for my small arsenal items (handguns), I don't shoot as much as collect, so I give them all patience and love when the mood hits me while they are safe-bound. Every new (old) gun I purchase gets the salon treatment, Hoppe's on all carbon or lead/copper contamination points, wipe down, patches and brushes down the barrel and cylinders, Ren Wax, a little kiss (just kidding) and back in the safe. Everyone has there method..mine is a bit mad.

 

[mike from st pete]

I clean my guns whenever a thread about how often to clean guns comes up.

 

[JohnRippert]

I clean my guns whenever a thread about how often to clean guns comes up.

That often?

 

[GypsmJim]

I keep a shooting log. In the dead of Winter on a snowy Sunday I clean all on the list. So, that's once a year.

With the following exceptions:
* Hunting guns are cleaned at the end of the season because they probably were out in the rain.
* Rifles using corrosive military ammo (and black powder arms) are cleaned with soap and water. and then Hoppes, at the end of the day.
* Carry handguns are cleaned after each range day.

 

[Babysitr]

I clean them after every shooting session. Mostly because I enjoy it! Then when I take them out next time, they look and function great.Plus it makes the couple beers taste better after a range session

 

[Huskerhunter]

I'm waiting for someone to say they clean between shots.

 

[rwsmith]

Since the advent.....

Since the advent of smokeless powder, non corrosive primers and some other things that I won't let touch my guns, they only NEED cleaning before function and accuracy is in question and depending on the components used.

If I only shoot a couple of cylinders or mags, I'll let them slide a few shootings before I clean them. Wiping off the outside is all they need. Now my 686 I like to keep PURTY, so I clean it almost every time I get back from the range. Since I can give semis a rudimentary clean I clean them more often than needed and make sure they are lubed up. I've let my Kel Tec carbine go for a while between cleanings because it's harder to clean with the big bolt that slide back into the stock. I'll clean everything a few times a year whether I shoot them or not.

I used to clean after every trip, but I've gotten so many guns now I'd spend hours cleaning. I cleaned nearly every gun in the house the other day and it took hours over two evenings.

 

[4barrel]

I'm waiting for someone to say they clean between shots.

You missed post 23.