How often do you clean

[tlawler]

Glock's need cleaning?

 

[kbm6893]

My father was an old school U.S. Army sergeant. He had the same philosophy as your dad. Putting a dirty gun away was a sure way to get to go on a "wailing expedition". I saw my dad direct soldiers to polish the breech blocks on 105MM howitzer with Brasso, tooth brushes and cleaning cloths. Interestingly, my cleaning schedule mirrors yours. I don't care if it is a Glock or a fine shotgun. The drill is the same.

Me too. One shot fired or 500, it gets cleaned. I fired one shot from my .22 a few years back to dispatch a groundhog that was causing problems, and I cleaned it before putting it away. And all of my guns still look new.

 

[coachray]

I clean mine after every time I fire them

 

[kbm6893]

Clean my old 65-3 after shooting but don't spend a lot time using FMJ. I finally have the cylinder cleaned out enough so .357 casings don't stick

I chuck a cleaning rod to a drill and hit the cylinder holes for a few seconds in low. Cleans them to a mirror.

 

[cadmike]

IMO cleaning guns is way overrated. I'm not saying it's not necessary once in a while but after every use? Absolutely not. So I don't clean my guns very often. When I do it's usually just a quick bore snake through the barrel and chambers. It doesn't bother me in the least and my guns have never complained.

 

[patjmc]

The ones that are favorites that get shot regularly I only clean every 4th time or so. The others get cleaned within a few days of shooting. I try to do the .22's enough so I don't have problems.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Glock's need cleaning?

I dealt with revolver to Glock transition at two different agencies, about ten years removed. The Glock dude came in and trained the instructors first. Each time he (different dude) brought in two Pelican cases full of pistols which had never been cleaned. Drop of oil where the trigger bar meets the connector, drop of oil on the barrel hood, drop of oil in the locking lug, and a drop down each slide rail as the slide stood vertical. And that only when the course was done . . .

 

[CajunBass]

I clean mine every once in a while.

Unless, I'm bored...then I might do it twice.

 

[oldiesradio1560]

I clean after every use since its my daily carry and wipe the exterior down every few days. "A clean gun is a happy gun and it will save your life. A dirty gun doesn't care to save your life because you don't care about it."

 

[Huskerhunter]

IMO cleaning guns is way overrated. I'm not saying it's not necessary once in a while but after every use? Absolutely not. So I don't clean my guns very often. When I do it's usually just a quick bore snake through the barrel and chambers. It doesn't bother me in the least and my guns have never complained.

And I bet that with 5 minutes of work your guns would look and feel as "new" if not "newer" than the "I get cleaned if the safe door opens or exposed to a single photon of light" guns. As I mentioned above, all that disassembly and cleaning has to cause wear and tear on finishes, pins, etc.

MY main disclaimer is that I don't rely on my guns to protect my life, the life of others, or our great nation--at least on a daily basis.

However, I'm pretty sure my Glocks, and Beneillis (P&R'd S&W revolvers and fancy 1911's are for range fun), will function without complaint if pressed into action, even with a little powered residue and a few fingerprints.

 

[4barrel]

Cleaning a firearm is a hobby of mine. Most of the time a nylon brush an oil rag and a few patches is all it takes.

 

[robvious]

I clean after every use... any excuse to keep playing with them...

 

[bigggbbruce]

I clean mine after every time I fire them

Hope you don't fire a hundred times or more. That's a lot of cleaning.

 

[American1776]

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.

 

[iPac]

I clean my guns after every time I fire them. However, the extent to which I clean them is dependent on how much "firing" was done.

If I go to the range and shoot a couple hundred rounds out of my EDC Python, when I get home I clean the bore, chambers, and externals. Probably won't disassemble and clean the internal parts though.

I only disassemble and clean the internal parts after a certain round count, because it honestly takes a certain round count for internal debris to really build up. So it might be numerous range trips before I do a strip down clean.

Now, if I only shoot a round or two, or maybe just a cylinder full, chances are I will just wipe out the bore and chambers and do a quick wipe of the outside because that's all that is really needed.

This is on vintage revolvers. For semi autos, they don't get near the attention my revolvers do, but the appropriate parts are cleaned when needed.

When not shooting and just carrying my EDC, I give it a wipe down every other month or so just to de-lint it and reapply the wax layer.

 

[Weimar]

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...

 

[MichiganScott]

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.

Lead exposure by shooters is over rated. A couple of years ago I had my blood tested for lead. I figured that after shooting, hunting, and reloading for over 50 years I must have accumulated a fair amount. When the results came back my doctor told me that my blood level of lead was less than the levels usually found in people that were born and raised in the inner city. Note that although I reload and shoot several thousand rounds a year absolutely none of them have ever been fired in an indoor range.

 

[Dave Lively]

I clean them every time I shoot them because putting them away dirty just seems wrong. That is more of an OCD thing than a real need though. Kind of like the guys at work that change the oil on their cars every 3000 miles because that is the way they have always done it.

 

[TravisPNW]

I purchased my new 3" 686 last month... went to the range about 2 weeks ago and fired off 150 rounds... and put it back in the safe.

I plan to go back to the range next week... at which time I will most likely clean it afterwards. Can't say I'm going to be a clean after every use type person because I honestly don't feel it's necessary but I am by no means going to neglect my new weapon.

My shipment of Bassitol just came in 2 days ago which is one of the reasons I've waited. When Hickok45 recommends something you don't question it... you just go buy it. I saw his cleaning video last week shortly after my range visit and just had to wait a week for the delivery.

Apparently that stuff can only ship via ground.

Now I'm ready to clean!

 

[Dave Lively]

Seriously, go hang out on Glocktalk--not unusual for users over there to only clean after 1,000 rounds or more, although there are plenty of "If I look at it I clean it" folks over there too.

Someone asked how S&W 69s are holding up on one of the GlockTalk forums recently. One poster stated that they have to be thoroughly cleaned every 50 to 75 rounds (at most) or the cylinder binds up. I thought my habit of cleaning every time I shoot a gun was a little OCD but it could be worse. At least I do not clean guns part way through a shooting session.

BTW, I really like my M69. While the lack of a gas ring is a a real thing that can cause binding they do not need to be cleaned every 50 rounds, at least mine doesn't.