How often do you clean your guns?

This is where you can talk about all equipment issues; firearms, ammunition, magazines, care & repair, holsters, gun cases, etc.

Moderators: Chuck, Mustang380gal, Coordinators, Moderators

How often do you clean your gun(s)?

Only after shooting it. Clean is clean.
37
43%
Every month, even if I didn't shoot it.
13
15%
Every six months, even if I didn't shoot it.
7
8%
Annually, even if I didn't shoot it.
2
2%
Whenever I think of it, or get bored.
25
29%
Never. If it can't run with 10 years of dirt, it's not reliable enough.
3
3%
 
Total votes: 87

Vex
Posts: 2582
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2006 4:59 am
Location: Central Ohio

How often do you clean your guns?

Post by Vex »

Just curious. Round up if you're in between two choices.

For some guns like my AR, my duty Sig, and my off-duty Glock, I try to clean and lube once a month. For everything else, it's 6 months to a year, depending on how it's stored. Oil, grease, etc., all breaks down over time, and will eventually evaporate or gum up. Without cleaning, this can lead to lack of protection, effect on reliability, or even downright damage to the gun.
  • “You can get more of what you want with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word.” - Al Capone
  • “Victorious warriors win first, then go to war; defeated warriors go to war first, then seek to win.” - Sun-Tzu
SMMAssociates
Posts: 9557
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2005 1:36 am
Location: Youngstown OH

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by SMMAssociates »

Vex:

I used to clean 'em about two or three days after shooting them, or once or twice a year anyway. Guns being put into storage (i.e., I don't plan to shoot them for a while) get a special treatment, and require a quick fluff before being taken out. (Basement is a little too damp to suit me in the summer.)

My EDC's tend to get a quick fluff whenever I have a little time, and a serious strip-down every few months.

If I was Open Carrying (as in "uniform duty" or non-LE OC), I'd prefer to clean and lubricate as often as possible. Cold weather and moisture aren't good for these things.

(Which also explains Tupperguns.)

Regards,
Stu.

(Why write a quick note when you can write a novel?)

(Why do those who claim to wish to protect me feel that the best way to do that is to disarm me?)

יזכר לא עד פעם
charben
OFCC Coordinator
OFCC Coordinator
Posts: 10191
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2007 11:38 pm
Location: Wauseon, OH

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by charben »

It depends on if I'm about to sell it to Carmen! ;)
Chris

Crushing the First Amendment, one post at a time!

"If you walk out of your house carrying your gun (openly or otherwise) and you DO NOT fully understand the law, then you are NOT completely armed..."
User avatar
BobK
Posts: 15602
Joined: Sun Jan 14, 2007 10:26 pm
Location: Houston TX (formerly Franklin County)

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by BobK »

I said after shooting it, but I really do it a little differently. If I am carrying it, I've clean & lube every 2-4 weeks to get rid of the lint and crap all over it.

If it is a long time safe queen, not so much . .
I am a: NRA Life Member, Texas State Rifle Association Life Member, Texas Firearms Coalition Gold member, OFCC Patron Member, former JFPO member (pre-SAF).

This froggie ain't boiling! Shall not be infringed! Μολών Λαβέ
More Obamination. Idiots. Can't we find an electable (R) for 2016?
User avatar
Atilla
Posts: 1928
Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:18 am
Location: Euclid

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by Atilla »

Not too often. I am sorta doing a test on the CZ75-P01. I think it will go several thousand rounds before it has a hiccup. The grunge will probably get to me before it is even close to really 'needing' a cleaning. I do clean the other guns more often, especially if I am using dirty ammo. Also, in the summer I often bellyband or pocket carry, and those guns get cleaned/oiled much more often. The CZs and Sigs can put up with a LOT more dust/grime/dirt than the LCP or Kahr...those little guns are enough finicky when clean.

As far as a complete teardown and cleaning, when I change out springs or if there is an issue. So far only the j-frame and M&P have gotten the full treatment (while they were getting modifications as well).
C'mon! We're all going to die, die standing up!
User avatar
calvin56
Posts: 1225
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:10 pm
Location: Columbiana County

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by calvin56 »

For the guns I shoot at the range, about every 2500 rounds. That is about two weeks give or take and that is detail stripped. Those stay in a range box, I do not put dirty guns in the safe.

For my edc, every time I shoot it or every time I clean any others.
pleasantguywhopacks
OFCC Patron Member
OFCC Patron Member
Posts: 16747
Joined: Mon May 28, 2007 2:20 pm
Location: Whitehouse, OH

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by pleasantguywhopacks »

After a few hundred rounds. I will after each shooting session reevaluate the lube on the rails. Sometimes add a spot between cleanings with out an actual cleaning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOxXpNBdrVE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away!
Life Member NRA
User avatar
ATGglobal
Posts: 978
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 4:50 pm
Location: Located somewhere in NEO near the border of PA and WV.

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by ATGglobal »

Ummm usually after shooting. Hmmm (((checking guns))). Crap I gotta take care of something. Be back later....... :oops:
WARNING! This user at times may inadvertently be in violation of TOS

I can't believe the Officer cuffed me and threw me in the back of his car when I clearly called Shotgun

"With officers laid off and furloughed, simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option," Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


Ohio CHL, PA LTCF, OPOTA Private Security Firearms Certification, FAB Notation, Range Saftey Officer/Instructor
User avatar
Sevens
OFCC Patron Member
OFCC Patron Member
Posts: 7526
Joined: Thu May 07, 2009 8:30 am
Location: Far East Side of CBus

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by Sevens »

I have a typical method but it's tough to pigeon-hole it in a vote choice.

For my EDC, I only clean it after shooting, and it's typically the first one I will clean. I don't like to ever carry a dirty gun, and just about the only time that happens is on the drive home from the shooting range.

For other handguns, I will clean them at some point AFTER a range trip, but NOT if I have another range trip planned within a week or two and I know I will take that handgun. Like mentioned in an earlier post, I have been known to take down a semi-auto and re-lube or check the lube.

Sometimes a handgun will sit in the safe uncleaned after a range trip, but only if I have forgotten to clean it. This doesn't bother me, honest dirt from shooting isn't going to hurt it, I just prefer them to be cleaned. Also, much easier to inspect them for any possible "issues" if they are totally clean.

I will almost always ensure that anything I have shot cast lead bullets through gets thoroughly cleaned and I do this because I've long been wary of shooting jacketed bullets through a bore that has run cast lead without having been cleaned. Way back in the day, many suggested that a few jacketed shots down a bore would "clean out all that lead" and some time later, someone else began teaching that jacketed after lead will simply weld the lead to the bore and make it outrageously difficult to remove. So what's the real answer? I do not know, but I have dealt with heavy barrel leading before and I can tell you that it sucks out loud and not fun to remove, so I tend to not take chances.

On any handgun where I bring both cast lead and jacketed on the same range trip, I shoot all my jacketed FIRST and then cast lead later, and no jacketed again until after I have cleaned.

Rimfire rifles are a whole other ballgame... I tend to not clean them until they give me a reason to clean them. My semi-auto rimfire pistol (Ruger Mark II) doesn't get a full tear-down after each range trip, just every so often.
I like to swap brass... and I'm looking for .32 H&R Mag, .327 Fed Mag, .380 Auto and 10mm. If you have some and would like to swap for something else, send me a note!
User avatar
Shaolin_dragon
Posts: 1308
Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 2:41 pm
Location: Vermilion, Ohio
Contact:

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by Shaolin_dragon »

BobK wrote:I said after shooting it, but I really do it a little differently. If I am carrying it, I've clean & lube every 2-4 weeks to get rid of the lint and crap all over it.

If it is a long time safe queen, not so much . .
I used every month...but i'm the same way as you..just a quick once over to get rid of all the yuck as its my EDC every couple weeks.
I carry, because I care!
Vex
Posts: 2582
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2006 4:59 am
Location: Central Ohio

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by Vex »

Follow up questions: Does your choice of lubrication, oil, or grease determine when/if you clean it? Would you clean more or less if you kept it dry?

I use TW-25B on all of my guns, and S&W gun oil where I feel grease isn't appropriate (like on the recoil springs), so I feel confident they will work when I need them to, even if I forget to clean it. However, back in the days before I used grease and I just used Rem Oil, I felt I needed to clean them more often. This is probably why I have a more strict habit these days. Since using grease, I've noticed my guns appear dirtier, but operate smoother. It's weird, like the grease breaks down over use (especially on my AR, where it's most evident), and appears to be a total mess, but the bolt is much smoother than if I didn't use lubrication at all.
  • “You can get more of what you want with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word.” - Al Capone
  • “Victorious warriors win first, then go to war; defeated warriors go to war first, then seek to win.” - Sun-Tzu
NavyChief
OFCC Coordinator
OFCC Coordinator
Posts: 11621
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 10:22 am
Location: Greene County
Contact:

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by NavyChief »

"Whenever I think of it, or get bored."

Or, perhaps after an Appleseed, Fun'n'Gun, or the when getting ready to sell as charben mentioned...
Total repeal of ALL firearms/weapons laws at the local, state and federal levels. Period. Wipe the slate clean.
pleasantguywhopacks
OFCC Patron Member
OFCC Patron Member
Posts: 16747
Joined: Mon May 28, 2007 2:20 pm
Location: Whitehouse, OH

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by pleasantguywhopacks »

Only give the LCP a bit more cleaning as its in the pocket and the little bit of grease I do apply to the rails does attract the gunk. Funny though I tend to shoot a few rounds out of it right before I clean the gunk out. Never have had a FTF or any hiccup.

I did wash my spare mag last night..in the washer. :oops:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOxXpNBdrVE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away!
Life Member NRA
User avatar
TSiWRX
OFCC Patron Member
OFCC Patron Member
Posts: 6676
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:33 pm
Location: Cleveland/Shaker Heights

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by TSiWRX »

Last year, my range/class pistol usually saw cleaning after 1,500 to 1,700 rounds - that averages out to about 3 one-day seminars, and yes, I'll add a few drops of lube prior to each session. But if the gun gets muddy or excessively wet, I'll clean it, regardless of the round-count. This year, I'll likely let them go for twice as long, as at the current interval, I see virtually no malfunctions. Last year, I put 17,000 rounds on this gun, and this year, I'll likely double that.....

I like to shoot my carry pistol to verify function after disassembly, so I rarely end up carrying her completely clean. Now that I have an exact duplicate of her as one of my two range/class-pistols, I don't think I'll shoot her much any more (I put about 8,000 rounds on her last year). My main worry for EDC is built-up lint/gunk from carry, so the innards get inspected with a quick peek every month or so, while the outside gets a wipe-down once a week.
Allen - Shaker Heights, Ohio
curmudgeon3
Posts: 6534
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2007 11:31 pm

Re: How often do you clean your guns?

Post by curmudgeon3 »

I wish I could find someone to clean my guns for me at a reasonable price; the gunsmith offered to do it, but at $35. per gun. :| I clean the guns within a day or two after each shooting session because I like to take clean guns to the weekly range visits. Also, the rifle bores get a semi-annual bath with foaming copper dissolver that helps keep the accuracy satisfactory.
Post Reply