Gun cleaning... How important is it really?

[Nagano21]

Hi ya'll

Just got a quick question for all of you, and it does and doesn't have to relate to purely handguns.

My question is how important is it really to clean your gun? And I do not mean to NEVER clean it, but more so the frequency. Lately I have had the opportunity to go to the range more often then before. In the past, since I rarely got to shoot, I would shoot, come home and do a thorough cleaning to every gun I shot, then put it away. However now since I am able to go more often, it is quite the chore to actually come in sit down, take my guns apart and clean them like I like too.

Some guns such as my shotguns, and Ruger 10/22 I clean less often then some of my handguns. When I do go to the range I tend to shoot 50-200 rounds tops, and this is weekly to bi-weekly. (the past was once a month if lucky). So it is not like I am putting a HUGE volume of ammo through the guns.

Just let me know what you all think about this, and what you all do, since you all do shoot, and have their own opinion. I want to keep being able to take many guns with me and shooting them, but if you all believe it is wise to clean each one after each use, like I have been doing, I will def. start limiting on what I take with me.


Thanks

 

[Arub]

My Mossberg 590's manual says to strip it down to clean after 250 rounds. Between cleanings I just punch the bore and wipe the exposed surfaces in the receiver.

Handguns I don't clean if I intend to take them back out within the week.

Tactical rifles I treat like the Mossie, just punch out the bore and wipe down exposed surfaces between major cleaning.

 

[CraigC]

I clean mine when they need it. The exterior gets wiped down after shooting. Bores get scrubbed when they are leaded. Autos get broken down when function suffers. Rimfires almost never see a bore brush. Most gunsmiths will tell you the same.

To clean them after every range session is excessive and unnecessary. It may be necessary for the military for varying reasons but not for the civilian.

 

[Tom2]

I for one cannot stand to put a cruddy gun back in the safe. At least I clean off the carbon and loose stuff if not giving it a full scrubbing to remove all the dark stuff. IF it is for serious purposes, not fooling around at the range, I would keep it spotless myself. Need to clean the crud out of the magazines on auto guns too. That crud and unburned powder and little flakes of brass go right into the mags and you don't want something to cause a hangup in a critical situation. Just depends on what the purpose of the gun is. Last guns I bought were put away dirty by the previous owner and sold that way. So they got a detail cleaning. Some ammo is dirtier than others so you must decide based on that too. 22's are susceptable to crud buildup, mostly semiautos, as the ammo is often very dirty and lubricated. At some point you will have feeding malfunctions or the like from a crudded up Ruger 22. As long as you are just at the range and it jams, not a big deal unless it becomes a waste of time. Do they really say y'all in MA/RI?!

 

[Nagano21]

Haha, most people Don't say Ya'll in MA/RI, however I throw it out there here and there... sounds better to me than saying you all, you all almost seems like talking down, or rudely to me. Anyway thanks for all the advice. I guess coming from a family of Marines I was taught at a young age to keep em clean... all the time, and it is nice to know I do not have to run home and clean every gun after the range.

 

[Ozzieman]

Depends

I have a Chinese AK47 clone that after 2000 rounds has never been cleaned, just oiled and wiped down.
Then again I have a Remington 700 that has a trigger that cost more than the gun itself and also a set of peep sights that cost just as much. It gets cleaned between sessions AT the range.
I also feel that "how" you clean can do as much harm as good. Had a friend that asked for help with a Ruger MKll 22 auto. Kept jamming on him. Some one told him to just pore oil down the barrel and on the slide.
The gun had so much oil that after shooting the inside of the chamber looked like a coal burring furnace. The oil did nothing more than collect all the carbon and crap.
It was a very difficult gun to clean.
To me the way you should clean your guns should depend on how important there working flawlessly is to you.
I agree that they don’t need scrubbing every time there shot but I can guarantee you one thing. The gun that I have on my hip is extremely clean and very well maintained. It’s also shot a lot.

 

[jakeswensonmt]

I always pull a dry boresnake 2-3x through any gun's barrel after shooting, even if it is just a few rounds, to get the loose crud out. Will also check/add lube on all guns each time before and after they're used.

Other than that, I don't clean all that often anymore. Depending on the gun, I clean it when it gets good and filthy, anywhere between maybe between 300 and 1000+ rounds. The .22's seem to be the only ones I clean regularly, cause they malf when they get waxy/cruddy, and they rack up by far the most shots.

The fumes from most good solvents make me somewhat ill so I have to use them outside, so with any luck I won't be doing any serious cleaning until... March? (hopefully, hate cleaning with cold fingers)

 

[azsixshooter]

You mentioned you have a 10/22...so do I and I shoot it quite a bit. No matter if I shoot 1 round or 100 through it, I always at least pull the old bore snake through the barrel a few times when I get home. That thing is great because even though the 10/22 isn't all that hard to field strip and clean I usually only do that after an extended shooting session at the range or if it's been awhile since I really gave it a complete cleaning (including following the owner's manual for cleaning the magazines).

If I take my shotgun out quail or rabbit hunting and only fire it a handful of times I may or may not clean it, depends on how I feel when I get home. If I have a really successful day or go shooting skeet or something where I put a box or more of shells through her I always give a good cleaning.

My handguns, especially the Springfield XD, are super easy to clean so I pretty much always give them a thorough cleaning even if I only fire one or two shots.

If I was shooting a lot, like everyday, I might just keep something like a bucket of diesel fuel or a tupperware container of M Pro 7 by the back door to soak parts in overnight. Next day just wipe, oil and reassemble and give a detailed cleaning once a week.

I don't know much about the corrosive potential of powder/primer/metal/lead, but I'm more worried about corrosion in any rifled barrel so I'd say if in doubt fall back to the old adage that men have been living by for many years in this country:

"Never let the sun set on a dirty gun"

 

[Merk_fmr8511]

My guns get cleaned after every shooting. Even if I KNOW I'm going to shoot it again the next day. I do not want to risk any stopage or breakage because I was just to dayum lazy to clean it. Besides, cleaning it also gives me a chance to look for any signs of wear that need to be taken to a gunsmith.

 

[CraigC]

"Never let the sun set on a dirty gun"

Obviously leftover from the blackpowder days.

Most people that clean every time they shoot do so because it was drilled into their head early on and they never questioned it. They are completely unwilling to try anything different. Well I've been there and done that and these are happier days. The 'need' to clean every time is a perceived one. If I still cleaned every time I shot I'd be cleaning all the time and spending more time doing that than shooting. All for no good reason.

Try it.

 

[RoscoeC]

Guns are machines. My father was a machinist, and later in life became a watchmaker. For him, and subsequently me since I began training under him as a watchmaker at the tender age of 12, keeping any machine clean and properly lubricated was practically a religion. Will a machine perform without this level of care? Sure it will, but it will work better and last longer if it is kept clean and properly lubricated. When I shoot them, I clean them.

 

[Camguy]

I'd be able to hear my daddy spiining in his grave if I didn't clean my weapons after ever range sesion. This dates me, but I remember the old Rick o'Shay comic. The sheriff was investigating a murder, and he confronted the gunfighter character, Hipshot Percussion. When the sheriff suspiciously pointed out that Hipshot's gun had been recently cleaned, our hero replied "Mah gun's always been recently cleaned."
But seiously, especially if the weapon is for SD/HD, why risk a failure?
Damn, look at all them zombies! Oops, guess I shoulda cleaned it yesterday....

 

[AirForceShooter]

Modern ammo is non-corrosive.
Given that I clean my guns BEFORE I go to the range.
After shooting I put them away dirty.
Why?
I know they function.

Black Powder guns. Come back from the range and right into the sink.

AFS

 

[JWT]

Depending upon the ammo I find the feed ramps on semi auto handguns need to be cleaned regularly to make sure they function properly. I've had to clean them after 100 rounds at the range with some ammo (Winchester - don't use it any more).

Like many posters cleaning after every use was something I was taught by my dad years ago and I still do it. The semi auto handguns are easy to clean up, the revolvers take a bit more time.

 

[ZEBRARANGER]

One word......Important.

 

[Manedwolf]

The fumes from most good solvents make me somewhat ill so I have to use them outside, so with any luck I won't be doing any serious cleaning until... March? (hopefully, hate cleaning with cold fingers)

Use Break Free CLP. It's not noxious and can be used indoors. Smells like a household cleaning product, not diesel fuel. If I'm indoors in the winter, I take a sealable paint pail, put paper towels in the bottom, take the gun apart, spray all the pieces really good with CLP, put them in the pail and seal it for a little while to let it loosen everything without smelling up the house. Take out, wipe down, light coat, reassemble.

Can also do it in the bathroom with the exhaust fan running, or make yourself a cheap "fume hood". Basically, a cardboard box with a fan that sucks the air from the box and pushes it through either a charcoal filter, or out your dryer exhaust hose to outdoors.

As for how important cleaning a handgun is...ever have one go full-auto because crud jammed the firing pin forward?

 

[JWT]

If fumes from solvents are a problem use MPro 7. It works very well and has no odor. I use Hoppes to soak my choke tubes and remove the burned on plastic from the wads but use MPro 7 to clean my handguns, and the barrels and actions on my shotguns and rifles.

 

[JohnKSa]

Centerfires generally get cleaned every range trip. Exceptions:

• A rifle that needs to be 'ON' for the very first shot. I might wipe out the action but the bore will not be cleaned.
  
• If I'm going back to the range with the same gun in only a few days and I didn't put more than a box or two through it.

Rimfires get cleaned every 500-1000 rounds whether they need it or not.

 

[IdahoG36]

I detail strip and clean every gun I own after I shoot it. I just don't like to put my guns away dirty. The only exception is my CZ 452 17HM2. When I cleaned the bore on that the first time, the groups really opened up for the first 20-30 shots until the bore had some fouling.

 

[Hawg]

I just wipe them down and lube. If they get used a lot I might spray the insides out without taking anything apart. Maybe do a tear down every year or so. I usually try to clean bp guns at least within three days after firing tho.