I've owned and shot handguns rifles for a long time, so I'm not a total newbie, but I was surprised by something I read in the owner's manual for my new (to me) High Standard W-105 Hombre DA revolver. It says "If, after extensive shooting, cleaning becomes necessary..." and describes how the gun should be cleaned using kerosene or "any other good cleaning solution", and then adds that "Unless mud or other foreign matter enters the bore, it should be cleaned very sparingly ... IT IS STRONGLY EMPHASIZED THAT THE BORE RARELY REQUIRES CLEANING ...". I have never put a gun away after firing even a single round without a complete cleaning, including the bore. Have I a) been wasting my time, and b) am I unnecessarily wearing out my barrels and destroying their accuracy? My guns still seem to shoot better than I do.
In my experience stripping and over-cleaning is a source of problems. In the extreme I bought a Savage dbl 12 gauge approx 1960. I loaned it out and didn't see it for many, many years. I thought it was history, but more recently it appeared. It was abused and used extensively and the wood looks leprous. Neither it nor the Colt .22 Scout I bought in the 50s had ever been cleaned. I cleaned and the bore and internals look like new - after more than 50 years of hard use!
It doesn't bother me to sit down and clean my guns after shooting them,it's kind of relaxing.I do like to hold them and mess around with them because I like guns.You know, rack the slide but don't let them slam closed then lock it in place and fiddle around with them while cleaning them.I guess you might know what I mean.But I don't dry fire them even with guns they say it's OK to.
I was raised by a father who grew up in a time, or was himself trained in gun handling at a time when corrosive ammo was still widely available and used. And I was taught to clean a gun after EVERY outing in which it was fired. And as youngster I used the be just fine with that. Enjoyed it. Now, not so much. I clean my guns when IMO they are dirty to the point that accuracy can be affected. Which IMO is around 25 to 100 rds depending on caliber type etc.
Man, nobody's getting in your pool without permission.
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