Handgun maintenance

[hogger129]

Forgive me for asking this, but it's better if I know the correct and proper way rather than the wrong and dangerous way.

When you guys give your 1911 a clean, do you completely field strip it? Is it easy? I have never field stripped A gun let alone a 1911. Also, I would think they would sell lube and cleaning kits at say Gander Mountain? Thanks. I know it may sound like a dumb question, but I want to do it the right way.

[Brian48]

If you mean a detail strip versus a field strip, not all the time, but it's easy enough to take a part the slide and clean out the extractor hook and firing pin channel.

[40CalJoe]

Field strip yes, after each range trip. Detail strip, only when I have too My Glocks are much easier to deal with in the maintenance department.

[hogger129]

Originally Posted by 40CalJoe

Field strip yes, after each range trip. Detail strip, only when I have too My Glocks are much easier to deal with in the maintenance department.

I'm guessing by your name and comment that you have the Glock 22. How do you like it? I have shot the 17 9mm before, never shot anything in .40. I have heard from many people who don't like the .40 round. I don't know really anything about the .40 round.

[hogger129]

Originally Posted by johnlives4christ

field stripping the 1911 is fairly simple and easy. do you have high speed internet where you can watch videos? if you do i will find a good one on youtube, if i can, and give you the link.

normally you dont need to take the gun further down than a normal field strip, although once in a while you need to, especially if the gun is dropped in water or other adverse conditions.

i'll start by saying this is what works for me, everyone has their own opinion, but you will not find rust on my guns and they are lubricated and ready.


as far as a cleaning kit, and how to clean. all you really need is an old tooth brush, a bottle of hoppes #9 ( or other bore/copper solvernt), a pistol cleaning rod with patch tip, and a can of oil.

i do not like remoil for lubrication, i think it is too thin, and it evaporates too quickly. a can of 3 in 1 oil or something of the same viscosity is preferred. for cleaner you can use hoppes or break free clp or whatever you choose. i prefer to use a seperate oil instead of one that does both cleaning and lube.

basically you take your gun apart (field strip it) then use your cleaning rod to dip a patch in solvent (an old t shirt makes good patches) then run it through the bore so it soaks it. leave it to soak while you clean the other parts. then take your tooth brush and dip it in the solvent. scrub the outside of the barrel being sure to get the top where the lugs are, and the end where the bullets go all around the chamber. then scrub the breech face of the slide (the part where the back of the bullet rests) and you can scrub the slide rails but it's not needed most of the time. you can take a brass or copper wire brush and scrub the bore if you choose, most of the time i dont think its needed however, always work from the chamber end. normally after i have done a wet patch and let it soak i will either scrub it with a brush, or not. then i do another soaking patch. then i do however many dry patches it takes before one comes out dry and fairly clean. then i do one patch soaked with oil, and then one patch that is dry to remove any excess oil .

then i probably would dry the brush as best i could on my rag and scrub anything that looked dirty on the frame/grip assembly. the i would wipe all the dirt and cleaning solvent out of and off of the frame with my rag. and i would put a dab of oil on the rag and wipe off the frame anywhere you can stick your finger or twist the rag and poke it. dont soak it in oil, just a light coat.

dry the slide after you've scrubbed the dirt off, and oil it just like you did the frame. barrel and other small parts too.

then put a drop of lube on the barrel locking lugs and spread it out with your finger, and a drop of lube on the end of the barrel where it rubs against the bushing, spread that out. put the barrel in the slide, insert the bushing , then install the recoil spring and guide. then put one drop of oil on the rear end (inside) of the frame rails and let it run down the length of the rails to lubricate them. then put one drop of oil in the disconnector hole in the frame. slide the slide on and before you put the slide stop/barrel pin in, spread out a drop of oil on the pin.

this dont tell you how to disassemble or reassemble the gun, but it tells you how i would lube and clean the gun once you learn.

then wipe off the outside of the gun with an oily rag to prevent rust.

~john

Yes I actually hadn't checked YouTube yet (brain fart), anyway, a guy had a really good video up about doing a basic cleaning where he told what was needed, took the top part of the gun apart and explained it all. I am going to go out to Gander Mountain tonight and find a cleaning kit and some lube. I will probably take it apart this weekend and give it a good once over, then again after I shoot.

Thanks for yours and everyone else's help. I'm glad I joined this forum.

[TheGunClinger]

http://www.gunsworld.com/colt/1911_ad1_us.html
Here is a link on how to unassemble and assemble your 1911

Here is a kinda cool one to play with.
http://www.m1911.org/loader.swf

[parputt]

My procedure is as follows:

Field strip every 300-500 rounds.
Detail strip every 2500-3000 rounds.

[hogger129]

Originally Posted by parputt

My procedure is as follows:

Field strip every 300-500 rounds.
Detail strip every 2500-3000 rounds.

Yeah just field stripped it and cleaned/lubed it and had a he&& of a time trying to get the slide stop back in. I ended up fiddling around with it for awhile and I was sure I had it all lined up right and eventually it dropped into place. But what a pain. Anybody else have similar issues?

[parputt]

There are several ways to go about this. Most of the time what is happening is the slide stop is hanging up on the plunger. Take a small screw driver and depress the plunger until you get the stop past it. Or, very carefully cam the stop up toward the take down notch taking care not to rub the stop along the frame while doing so thus creating the famous "idiot scratch" The main thing is to take your time and don't force anything. You are dealing with steel which ain't gonna give. The harder you push the harder it will push back.

After doing it a few dozen times it will become old hat.

[LCaswell]

I have an old 1911 and the barrel bushing is split. The old bushing mic's about 0.585" and the barrel mic's 0.578. What brand and size bushing should I replace it with?

[navis128]

I had a horrible first time and I have a manual! I got a lot of help from a particular individual who I think I was driving crazy 'cause I kept whinning.

It's almost like they have a personality all there own and you have to stroke them just right and then it all comes together. Once I got it, I took it apart and put it back together several times to get like "muscle memory".

Next one is going to be a Colt! No "tools" required!

[Zane71464]

Didnt "Major Pain" do one of those upside down and blind-folded?

[Insulation Tim]

Once you field strip and reassemble, you'll get the hang of it. The nice thing, is that any 1911's essentially come apart and go back together the same.

You'll become an "Official 1911 Cleaning Guru".


BTW, the first then I do when have a question "how-to", whether gun related or changing a air cabin filter in a Honda Pilot....is go to YouTube. There's a wealth of knowledge on it.

I learn better if I can watch rather than read instructions.

[TheGunClinger]

Originally Posted by LCaswell

I have an old 1911 and the barrel bushing is split. The old bushing mic's about 0.585" and the barrel mic's 0.578. What brand and size bushing should I replace it with?

Find a good local smith and let him fit a new bushing. It will be worth it.

[TheGunClinger]

Originally Posted by navis128

I had a horrible first time and I have a manual! I got a lot of help from a particular individual who I think I was driving crazy 'cause I kept whinning.

It's almost like they have a personality all there own and you have to stroke them just right and then it all comes together. Once I got it, I took it apart and put it back together several times to get like "muscle memory".

Next one is going to be a Colt! No "tools" required!

The first time I took apart my nephews Colt Gold Cup it took me two days and some serious Scotch on the rocks to get it back together again. Now I own 3 1911's and all are different. One is an old Ithaca 1943 war horse which comes apart just like that Gold Cup and I have a "Parts gun" that my smith made for himself. It has a 2 piece spring and I have a Springfield that has a one piece spring. So I have to have an allen wrench for the 2 piece rod and a paperclip for the one piece rod. I can handle that.. The old Ithaca I can actually do with my eyes closed. I dont get to the range too often so I just take them apart and put them back together for fun. Must be getting old.