Should I clean it or should I keep going?

[JaPes]

First I want to State that I'm a recovered gun cleaning obsessive compulsive. I believe that your primary and backup firearm in each type (pistol, rifle, shotgun) be maintained and cleaned. I am fortunate enough to own a few handguns, and keep my carry and home defense pistols clean and lubed.

Lately, I've developed cleaning laziness and procrastination. My SD9VE is solely a range use gun only. I cleaned it after it's first and then after it's second outing. Third outing on, I haven't bothered to clean it. All I've done is run a drop of oil down each of the rails, and put a drop of oil where the recoil spring assembly contacts the barrel lug. So far it's digested:

• 200 rounds WWB
• 200 rounds of the last of my 115gr hard cast over Titegroup handloads.
• 600 rounds of the last of my 96gr (?) frangible over Titegroup handloads.
• 150 rounds of CCI Blazer 115gr Aluminum Case.

The macro lens pictures make it look worse than it is. I'd have taken pictures of the lower, but it's relatively clean. Not much to get down there and muck things up.

1,150 rounds down the pipe without cleaning it. The more I shoot it and don't clean it, the more I'm inclined to use the SD9VE so that I don't have to clean a pistol, and the more rounds get fired through it. I'm tempted to just keep on the way I have, no cleaning just three drops of oil before shooting. Part of me wants to see how long it will go before fouling induces a failure.

If it fails or I have a cleaning OCD relapse, I'll just detail strip it and put the disassembled gun into an ultrasonic bath.

As a side note: my SD9VE has fired a total of 1550 rounds.

 

[ou1954]

I can't wait to see the comments this post receives.

 

[Kronos]

Any gun I have gets cleaned every fifty rounds fired,and that may be once every few months as I only get out every two or three months when I get a wild hair up my butt and go plinking or target practicing if you will.

I shoot well enough that I get bored and stop after a hundred rounds.
I may shoot some between but that's of need (possum in the trash,seen a target of opportunity et cetera) I also check the thing every few weeks to see if it needs gunk cleaned out though,since I carry regularly you'd be surprised at the dust bunnies a pistol can have,lubing is white lithium grease so it stays lubed.

I can see needing to clean a traditional blued gun on a regular basis as they were basically corroding with the finish they had and any lacking on up keep resulted in a mass of rust and destruction.

I always found the admonishment to wipe down a gun with an oily cloth funny as you're saying this thing is so fragile we have to basically handle it with white gloves to preserve it,sure don't work if you actually use it

 

[ou1954]

Lately, I've developed cleaning laziness and procrastination. My SD9VE is solely a range use gun only. I cleaned it after it's first and then after it's second outing. Third outing on, I haven't bothered to clean it. All I've done is run a drop of oil down each of the rails, and put a drop of oil where the recoil spring assembly contacts the barrel lug. So far it's digested:
1,150 rounds down the pipe without cleaning it.

<snip>

Part of me wants to see how long it will go before fouling induces a failure.

<snip>

If it fails or I have a cleaning OCD relapse, I'll just detail strip it and put the disassembled gun into an ultrasonic bath.

<snip>

As a side note: my SD9VE has fired a total of 1550 rounds.

Sounds like a costly experiment.

How often do you change the oil in your car? It also has parts you don't see without disassembly.

 

[Peak53]

I am far from OCD, but I'd say that one is due. Your idea of shooting to failure is intriguing, but that is going to be a heckuva cleaning session. Probably no real harm done, though.

 

[AlHunt]

It must be a sturdy gun if it feeds rounds up that gravel road that passes for a feed ramp.

 

[dsk]

If a gun is used frequently at the range there's no need to clean it after every range trip. Every 500 rounds or so should be fine. Waiting over 1,000 rounds between cleanings only means you're inducing further wear, but on an inexpensive pistol like an SD9VE I don't see it being a big deal. Guns that I infrequently shoot always get cleaned after the range visit, because I don't like leaving guns for weeks/months on end with powder fouling in them lest it attract moisture. Defense guns also get cleaned after each range trip because I don't want to carry a gun that isn't clean and properly oiled. Of course there are also those who say to never trust a freshly-cleaned gun for defense because you never know if you put it back together wrong and it won't fire!

 

[Rpg]

I'm a bit of a cleaning slob by the standards of some on this board.

My attitude about cleaning was set early in high school. At the end of the first week of rifle team practice, I cleaned my rifle. When Sgt Elisario (our coach) discovered what I'd done, I was stoutly disciplined: I did a lot of push-ups that semester. Sarg said it would help me remember not to clean my rifle. In 3 years, I didn't clean my rifle and had no function or accuracy issues.

Today, I'm still a slob: I don't clean my 1911's for 500+ rounds, 22 pistols go much longer intervals between cleaning, shotguns I hunt with get cleaned at the end of the season. Rifles get cleaned very occasionally.

I do care for the outside of the firearm by waxing, wiping down with an oily cloth before putting away.

 

[ADP3]

"If a gun is used frequently at the range there's no need to clean it after every range trip."-dsk

Is this your opinion or have you found a pundit who confirms it? Let me know, and I'll inform them how bogus their sentiment is too.

Every cartridge that is fired leaves debris behind. Carbon, brass, copper, and/or lead are deposited with each shot. All of these create more friction. Friction causes wear. Wear shortens the useful life of any machine. How much is lubrication effectiveness reduced after prolonged use without cleaning? You will eventually find out.

It's your money boss. If neglecting your guns makes you feel like you're overcoming OCD then go for it.

Best Regards,
ADP3

 

[RJJ 1971]

Recovering OCD when cleaning firearms too.
I actually gave my 2 SD9VE's the day off.

Range trip today -

ATI 1911 - 150 rds
Glock 22 - 125 rds
Canik TP9 SA - 150 rds
Kel Tec Sub 2k - 100 rds
Hi Point 995TS - 150 rds
HP 22 - 200 rds

When I got home all were stripped, cleaned, and lubed - Except the Hi Point 995TS.
That thing takes longer to takedown, clean, and lube than the other 5 firearms combined. I have over 3500 rds through it now and I've only broke it down 3 times, to clean.

 

[JaPes]

I can't wait to see the comments this post receives.

It will be interesting for sure. I'm definitely not trolling. I know I was not cleaning the gun. I just did the mental math today and was surprised at the round count.

Part of me is saying, "Hey, you've gone this far. Might as well keep going and see what happens."

If a gun is used frequently at the range there's no need to clean it after every range trip. Every 500 rounds or so should be fine. Waiting over 1,000 rounds between cleanings only means you're inducing further wear, but on an inexpensive pistol like an SD9VE I don't see it being a big deal.

Expensive v.s. inexpensive pistol is subjective. I am not the type to take the $215 (if I remember right) that I paid for mine as chump change. I'm also not going to lose sleep about it either. The other thing is that it's a handgun. It's not a delicate fragile object.

Sounds like a costly experiment.

How often do you change the oil in your car? It also has parts you don't see without disassembly.

I change the oil in my car. What I don't do is pull the head off my engine to scrub the carbon deposits off the piston heads. Car runs fine.

On the SD9VE, the parts I can't see during a standard field strip other owners can't see during a standard field strip and clean. Fouling in those areas not readily visible will be similar between firearms of similar round count.

 

[JaPes]

When I got home all were stripped, cleaned, and lubed - Except the Hi Point 995TS.
That thing takes longer to takedown, clean, and lube than the other 5 firearms combined. I have over 3500 rds through it now and I've only broke it down 3 times, to clean.

Mean round count between cleanings is 1,667 rounds.

You know you should change the oil in your car because there are parts you don't see right?

 

[RJJ 1971]

First I want to State that I'm a recovered gun cleaning obsessive compulsive.


As a side note: my SD9VE has fired a total of 1550 rounds.

Keep on keeping on. Let it go till u feel like cleaning it.

 

[RJJ 1971]

Mean round count between cleanings is 1,667 rounds.

You know you should change the oil in your car because there are parts you don't see right?

Yeah I don't change my oil but every 5000 miles in my car.
People that change it every 3000 miles are suckers. Lol.

 

[Watchdog]

There isn't anything obsessive or compulsive about cleaning a gun after each use.

Why would anyone not clean their gun after shooting it? The only exception might be if you're out in the boonies or something. You brush your teeth after eating, right? Take a shower at least once a day, probably twice? Wash your clothes after wearing them?

It takes about ten seconds to disassemble my Glock 30S for cleaning. Maybe five minutes to swab out the barrel, clean the rails, give it a final wipe down, then reassemble it. Maybe a little longer, I've never really timed it.

The guns I have left are valuable to me. Why let them deliberately deteriorate?

'Nuff said.

 

[TriumphMan]

I wouldn't worry much about it.

The metal alloys and metal finishes of today are much better than 20yrs ago and 50yrs ago they were better than before and so on.

It won't be how many rounds you fire through your modern gun without cleaning, that makes the gun unusable, it'll be all the moisture on bare metal from the humidity/weather your gun is exposed to over time that will make your gun unusable from pits/rust.

I live in a heavy-humidity type area(Missouri). While not coastline, I do worry about rust on all my guns more than how many rounds I shoot through them without cleaning. I don't necessarily run a wire/nylon brush down the bores, I do make sure I remove the stocks and oil the exterior of metals good before putting back in gun safe and look/reoil/wipe-down regularly. I also put in packets of Desiccant packets from food products(after usage) on floor of safe to help keep moistures down and off the guns. It's worked so far.

 

[dsk]

"If a gun is used frequently at the range there's no need to clean it after every range trip."-dsk

Is this your opinion or have you found a pundit who confirms it? Let me know, and I'll inform them how bogus their sentiment is too.

Every cartridge that is fired leaves debris behind. Carbon, brass, copper, and/or lead are deposited with each shot. All of these create more friction. Friction causes wear. Wear shortens the useful life of any machine. How much is lubrication effectiveness reduced after prolonged use without cleaning? You will eventually find out.

It's your money boss. If neglecting your guns makes you feel like you're overcoming OCD then go for it.

Best Regards,
ADP3

You do realize that repeated disassembly and cleaning causes wear as well, right? Most of the nicks and scratches on my guns have come from taking them apart and trying to reassemble them. That's why you need to strike a balance with how often you clean your firearms.

And BTW that's the first time anyone has ever accused me of neglecting my guns. I've got some friends who would get a really good laugh out of that.

 

[osbornk]

I think frequent cleaning is overrated. The conditions they are stored in is what is important. I have 2 long guns from the 40s, one handgun from the 60s and one from the 70s that I am sure weren't cleaned frequently and they look and function fine. They were kept dry and in a heated environment. I recently gave a gun from the late 1800s to a local museum and it was fine.

 

[Rustyt1953]

WATCHDOG is spot on.

I actually like cleaning guns so it's a bonus for me.

 

[Steve912]

For the OP:

I'd say pop her open and see how things look inside the slide and grip frame. If you've got nothing crazy looking, keep on with the experiment.

I'd pay attention to stuff building up around extractor and it's movement area, the striker (free movement in it's channel) and the striker block plunger (same concern as striker, free movement).

Carry on, enjoy. Report back periodically, if you would. I'd guess your first problems will show as light strikes or extraction failures.