Lint lesson

[ameridaddy]

Lots of us EDC one way or another. Because I don't like shirt tails hanging out with long sleeve shirts, don't always have a jacket on, I pocket carry more often than not my Sig P938, a 9mm mini 1911, using a nice leather pocket holster. Even in the summer, when I live in T shirts with tails out, I still pocket carry because with my belly, the weight of the gun + the push of the belly tends to pull a belt holster down far enough to show the tip of the holster below the shirt, even with the hard leather 1-1/2" belts I wear.

I normally get to shoot about every other week, and always clean the gun(s) used within a day of use. Between weather and other distractions, I haven't been to a range in about two months now, so my EDC has been steadily in my pocket without a cleaning for that time.

I settled down to freshen it up today.
Holy cow! It looked like the lint trap on our clothes dryer, even down in the action, inside the holster, the full length of the inside of the barrel, and 4 or 5 cartridges deep into the magazine!

Lesson learned. Clean every two weeks, shot or not.

I have to believe that at some point, that lint buildup could cause a malfunction when the gun is needed.

And I'm going to look into suspenders to keep my pants up to where a belt holster doesn't hang out.

 

[SMSgt]

Who the heck carries a Chia Pet for a firearm?

 

[grover99]

I know what you mean. I had been pocket carrying my Glock 43 all winter and when I went to lay it on the desk I noticed that it was a mess with lint everywhere. Had to totally disassemble the gun to get it clean

 

[ameridaddy]

Who the heck carries a Chia Pet for a firearm?

It's deep concealment.

 

[ContinentalOp]

I try to wipe down my 642 periodically in between cleanings because I carry it in an ankle holster, so it can collect a noticeable amount of crud.

I carry my semi-autos IWB, but I still try to check them every couple of weeks both for lint/dust and proper lubrication. Over time, I've found I can go about a month without having to clean/lube my carry semi-autos, and my HD guns can go about twice that. YMMV.

FYI, I like Perry Suspenders.

 

[Jimmyjones]

The Bodyguard .380 I carry in an ankle holster gets pretty fuzzy.

 

[S-W4EVER]

Keeping your EDC clean is the mark of a professional. You’d be surprised how many bad guys have a FTF’s due to poorly maintained firearms. (During my LE career I cleaned and oiled my service revolver/pistol a minimum of once a week, sometimes more often during inclement weather.)

 

[fatcat3]

Turn your pocket inside out and knock the **** off em or use a lint roller EVERY TIME that will help.

 

[fatcat3]

WHAT JUST HAPPENED? I USED NO TYPE OF FOUL LANGUAGE, YET ENDED UP WITH ASTERISK. ARE WE BEING CENSORED BY S&W OR IS THIS NORMAL AND I'M JUST STUPID?

 

[OLDSTER]

The computer running the show doesn't allow words like *** or **** and ***** as well as *******. So if you use any of those words, your post will be corrected with a **** or a *******, and quite possibly a ********.

 

[s&wchad]

WHAT JUST HAPPENED? I USED NO TYPE OF FOUL LANGUAGE, YET ENDED UP WITH ASTERISK. ARE WE BEING CENSORED BY S&W OR IS THIS NORMAL AND I'M JUST STUPID?

No need to yell! You were censored, but not by S&W (see the bottom of any page). This forum is privately owned and not affiliated with Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation.

Our software has a language filter that blocks certain words and replaces them with asterisks. The word you used that rhymes with “rap” is blocked.

We typically don’t issue dings when the system blocks a word. We do issue them when someone gets creative and to avoid the filter.

Click and read this link: Creative Spelling Explained

 

[Donn]

IWB will cause the same result. Clean my Shield every week or ten days whether I go to the range or not. That said, there are any number of torture tests on You Tube where guys abuse firearms, Glocks in particular. Immersing them in mud, dragging them behind trucks, burying in snow overnight, and so on, showing how the gun functions even after severe abuse. While anything's possible, (and depending on the gun in question), after watching these vids, I doubt a little lint will cause a malfunction.

 

[jag1954]

I try to wipe down my 642 periodically in between cleanings because I carry it in an ankle holster, so it can collect a noticeable amount of crud.
.

I carry my 642 AIWB and also notice lint, so I've gotten into the habit of unloading it, checking the ammo, cleaning/wipe down if necessary and dry firing it before I re-load and re-holster.

 

[OLDSTER]

My EDC is a Seecamp. When I put it away every day, I blow it clean. I've found that really helps to keep from lint building up.

 

[Aegis]

Keeping your EDC clean is the mark of a professional. You’d be surprised how many bad guys have a FTF’s due to poorly maintained firearms. (During my LE career I cleaned and oiled my service revolver/pistol a minimum of once a week, sometimes more often during inclement weather.)

^^^ This.... cleaned my duty weapon once a week.. I worked in a marine environment so cleaning and inspection was paramount.. I'm retired now and still do it but not quite as much, every other week. We rotated ammo once a year now I do it every other year..

 

[NYlakesider]

Lots of us EDC one way or another. Because I don't like shirt tails hanging out with long sleeve shirts, don't always have a jacket on, I pocket carry more often than not my Sig P938, a 9mm mini 1911, using a nice leather pocket holster. Even in the summer, when I live in T shirts with tails out, I still pocket carry because with my belly, the weight of the gun + the push of the belly tends to pull a belt holster down far enough to show the tip of the holster below the shirt, even with the hard leather 1-1/2" belts I wear.

I normally get to shoot about every other week, and always clean the gun(s) used within a day of use. Between weather and other distractions, I haven't been to a range in about two months now, so my EDC has been steadily in my pocket without a cleaning for that time.

I settled down to freshen it up today.
Holy cow! It looked like the lint trap on our clothes dryer, even down in the action, inside the holster, the full length of the inside of the barrel, and 4 or 5 cartridges deep into the magazine!

Lesson learned. Clean every two weeks, shot or not.

I have to believe that at some point, that lint buildup could cause a malfunction when the gun is needed.

And I'm going to look into suspenders to keep my pants up to where a belt holster doesn't hang out.

I have noted a lot of what you say and I pocket carry most times in good areas, good times. That is why I carry a small revolver in a pocket holster not a SA.

Going out of my comfort area I then switch to a belt carried XDs 45.

 

[adwjc]

Lint

Ameridaddy,

I notice that no one has brought up one issue - do you run your Sig "wet"?

Oil really provides a great surface preparation to allow gunk to adhere to your gun. What type of lubricant do you use? How Much?

By comparison, revolver and plastic fantastics like the G guns require very little lubrication; yes they need some, but too much (no pun intended) is a magnet for trouble.

 

[ameridaddy]

Ameridaddy,

I notice that no one has brought up one issue - do you run your Sig "wet"?

Oil really provides a great surface preparation to allow gunk to adhere to your gun. What type of lubricant do you use? How Much?

By comparison, revolver and plastic fantastics like the G guns require very little lubrication; yes they need some, but too much (no pun intended) is a magnet for trouble.

You're right. Pockets are dirty, not only with lint but other abrasive crud as well. I carry and run it fairly dry for that reason.
With the gun field stripped, I can see 4 little spots on the slide rails where the black coating is worn - they get a dab of grease with a toothpick. I have a needle oiler, and the firing pin contact with it's bore, the firing pin block plunger, and the hammer, safety and extractor pivots get a drop of oil from the needle each. The barrel shows four little wear marks from recoil in and out of battery - each of those gets the toothpick grease.
The rest of the gun gets scrubbed with brushes and bore swabs, wiped down with Hoppes and then a degreaser, and that's it.

FWIW, there's no oil in the magazine, yet there was lint in all the cartridge extractor grooves down to the fifth round.

 

[haywood]

Wintering in Florida I check my carry guns daily. A quick wipe down with Ballistol usually takes care of everything. Detailed cleaning as needed.

 

[Oracle]

My EDC, a model 60, is pocket carry or OWB with particular shirts. I check it, blow it out with canned air and wipe it down every Sunday night with a piece of sheep lightly sprayed with Ballistol. It gets cleaned the first Sunday of the month. The ammo in the cylinders is the first I fire at the range.

This is probably huge overkill but it has become a decades old habit. I was laid up from March to July 2020 following surgery, no weight bearing, bed to wheelchair to bed with detours for toilet sitting and a bench in the shower. I continued the habit, even looked forward to it as a change to the daily routine.

As is hopefully the case with everyone here the absolute worst would be a need come up to use the revolver defensively.

Don