Cleaning my guns

[Jhugs]

I tried searching for this but couldn't find anything relavant.

I have two handguns that i shot regulary, a glock 27 and a Taurus 38 revolver. When i first bought the guns a couple months ago someone told me that you should clean them after every use. Then about a month later i heard that you should only do it after running about 500 to 1,000 rounds through it. I probably put about 100-200 rounds through each one when i go shooting.

My questions is how often should i be cleaning my guns?

[The_Rifleman]

I clean mine after each firing, even if I only shoot it 6 times... or once. I don't want to leave my barrel dirty and without oil so I might as well clean it.

Many people do it differently with satisfactory results.

If you clean them religiously and are out shooting, then something goes amiss, (pun intended,) you'll know it isn't because it is too dirty.

A little about wear from brass brushes or what have you... The pressures of a copper jacketed bullet being crammed down a barrel at high velocity is astounding; a brass brush running down a barrel to clean it can't compare. Chemicals harmful to your barrel may be a different story.

[johnlives4christ]

im different from rifleman, i clean some guns after ever shoot, and some guns i rarely clean. i dont clean the bore thoroughly very often, but on occasion i do.

after shooting my glock i will field strip it, and with a rag wipe the soot out of the chamber and off of the breech face and anywhere i can get the gun on the frame and slide. then i reoil the gun. this is what i carry so i make sure it's fairly clean, and oiled well.

my smith and wessl 38 snubby, i normally wipe the soot off of everywhere i can get a rag after i shoot it, but sometimes let it go if i only shoot a few cylinder loads through it.

my ruger single six, i clean it about ever 1000-2000 rounds, i normally clean it good with bore cleaner and brush, scrubbing the bore and chambers and removing all the soot with a toothbrush.

i've perhaps only cleaned the barrel of my shotgun once since i had it, but i keep the chamber, and the action pretty clean, and lightly oiled (action)

my sks, i'll clean it every thousand rounds or so, but after every couple times i shoot it, i field strip it and wipe the soot out of some of the parts and reoil

i always wipe each gun down with oil after i use them with the exception of my glock and my smith, the smith is stainless and the glock is a glock, i wipe them down only when i wipe the soot out of them.

so i guess my point is, you just need to decide whats the best for your guns and the way you shoot them. if you want to be diligent like rifleman, theres nothing wrong with that.

i think i give my guns just a tad over proper maintenance, since i shoot them all regularly, if i didnt plan to shoot each gun within 6 months they'd get cleaned thoroughly

[pinecone70]

It's all in the inspection. Look them over carefully after a session, if they are exceptionally dirty then clean deeper. Caliber may make a difference too, .22s are filthy while a cylinder of .38Sp barely leaves residue.

Like John says, if they will sit for six months, they should be clean and stored properly.

[LDBennett]

There you have it: the two sides of the cleaning issue. I'll go with The Rifleman for slightly different reasons.

I have many, many guns. Every gun that is in my safes is clean. Some may only get shot once a year and some more often but I don't want a safe full of dirty guns with no recollection of how much each gun has been shot.

I also have found over the years that a gun cleaned regularly is easier to clean than one that has multiple sessions of dried out stuck on glop. For me cleanliness for my guns is next to godliness. But we all get choose.

LDBennett

[gdmoody]

I also clean my guns after each outing. If time becomes a problem, I might wait until the next day. I have even had to wait 2 or 3 days but they get cleaned as soon as I possibly can.

Like LD, I have too many to worry about which one I did clean, so I just keep them all clean. If nothing else, I run a bore snake down the barrel and follow with a few drops of oil.

[LDBennett]

I attempt to clean the guns as soon as possible after shooting. Sometimes that is the next day, sometimes it is the next week, but it is almost never the same day. They do not go back into the safes until they are cleaned.

I also don't like guns out of the safes so the pressure is always on to clean them as soon as possible. Since I have no children living at my house, guns out is not really a problem but grandkids do visit. I don't want to be caught with guns out. All the four grandkids do know how to shoot (two have guns of their own) and understand gun safety but I think it better that guns are in safes when they are around, as kids under teenage years tend to not always remember to be safe.

LDBennett

[John'sWife]

the mos guns i had at one time was perhaps 10, guess if i ever had a hundred i would clean them differently. dunno, i hope if i had a mess of guns i'd be shooting each of them at least several times a month

this is johnlives4christ... .had a sign in mixup

[pinecone70]

For clarification: I clean all firearms after use, the ones that were more heavily used get a deeper cleaning and full break-down to do so.

[johnlives4christ]

i just put a video up on my youtube channel about cleaning... not addressing this subject, but in general how i clean a 22 rifle bore

[TheGunClinger]

When I get to go to the range, me and my nephew have about 30 handguns between us. After shooting, I get to clean every one of them. (lazy nephew) If I havnt been to the range I take them out of the safe and sit by the pool, have some beer and clean already clean guns, just because I like to do it.

[Jhugs]

Thanks for the different sides of the same disscusion. It was definitly helpful to hear not only what people did but why, so i know what will work best for me.
Thanks alot everyone.

[jack404]

clean it after every use

i'll be on the firing line at the range and cleaning one while waiting to shoot

habit i guess , always clean when you get a chance

a clean gun dont play up ,

especially if your needing it

[Sandman]

I do not clean my rifles after every use for one simple reason. A clean bore does not shoot the same as a dirty bore. Since it is sighted in with a dirty bore (unless you can sight in with one shot), I don't want to go to the deer stand with a clean bore. After a fair number of rounds have been put through it, I will clean it.

This is less important with handguns, but I still don't clean after every use. Just don't feel like it is necessary.

[lucky-gunner]

Old habit's die hard and I clean after every range visit. I enjoy cleaning my firearms though. It's my quiet time away from the wife and son (infant or he'd be cleaning with me).

I do not clean my AK's or Glocks though.

[hogger129]

Originally Posted by Jhugs

I tried searching for this but couldn't find anything relavant.

I have two handguns that i shot regulary, a glock 27 and a Taurus 38 revolver. When i first bought the guns a couple months ago someone told me that you should clean them after every use. Then about a month later i heard that you should only do it after running about 500 to 1,000 rounds through it. I probably put about 100-200 rounds through each one when i go shooting.

My questions is how often should i be cleaning my guns?

I only have one pistol right now so it's not as time consuming for me. But honestly, I always clean mine after every range trip. If I don't get it out for a month or so, I usually take a little time on the weekend and take it out and clean it. After I'm done cleaning it, I reassemble the gun, chamber a round, cycle the action a few times to make sure everything is function as it should. Then I take the magazine out, rack the slide a couple times to make sure the chamber is cleared, then it goes back in the safe.

A cleaner gun functions better. And in the case of a pistol, feeds better too. And that can be extremely important in a life or death situation.

[zb338]

When I was in the old "brown shoe Army" every time we went to the
range we were required to clean a rifle three days in a row. It wasn't
always the same rifle, but the guy in the arms room always had clean rifles.

Zeke

[Zane71464]

I normally clean every gun after a shooting session and lose sleep over it if it isnt done at LEAST the next day.
I'm guilty of taking already clean guns out and cleaning them every now and then.
I think they just need it, or maybe deserve it! Take good care of a firearm and I'm sure it'll outlast me!

[doug66]

I wipe mine down and run a few wet/dry patches down bore and call it good after each time out. Now if you are carrying daily, then you have lint and other environmental debris to deal with. Same if you are hunting, it is amazing that an 870 rem's action will still work when it's filled with weed seed.
If it's dirty clean it, protect it and lube it.

[graehaven]

Yeah, I try to clean out my pocket carry gun at least once a week, if not every other week.

Only takes a few minutes.

[Milspec78]

I use CLP, a bore-snake and an M-16 toothbrush to do a quick clean & lube whenever I shoot. I'll do a detailed cleaning a couple of times a year.

[Orin]

I'm a custom painter by trade so I keep & use a lot of solvents. Cleaning guns got to be too time consuming with all the little bottles of this n that, the little scrubbies. Found that a container of toluene was great for flushing all the residue & oil. It dries fairly quick & allows newly applied oil to travel. Seems to help with lead fowling too, a battle I'm just entering.

[johnlives4christ]

for a brush i like a hard handled oral b with the handle sanded like a shank so that it can pick out debris

[hogger129]

Originally Posted by Jhugs

I tried searching for this but couldn't find anything relavant.

I have two handguns that i shot regulary, a glock 27 and a Taurus 38 revolver. When i first bought the guns a couple months ago someone told me that you should clean them after every use. Then about a month later i heard that you should only do it after running about 500 to 1,000 rounds through it. I probably put about 100-200 rounds through each one when i go shooting.

My questions is how often should i be cleaning my guns?

I clean mine after every use. I'd say just use your best judgment. Try to keep them as clean as you can. They will function the best when clean.

[dbennett48]

I agree, keep them clean. I clean after shooting each time. I have a couple of Glock 9mm, a 19 and a 26.

Dave