OCD Gun Cleaning

[roy reali]

I think I have gun cleaning OCD. Please help.

If I take a gun out for any activity, even if I don't shoot it, I have to clean it as soon as I get home. I don't mean a patch through the barrel and a quick wipe of the outside, I mean take apart and completely clean it inside and out. If I don't clean I gun after I have used it, I can't rest. I can't go to bed knowing I have an unclean gun.

I am worried that if I ever come home after a long hunting trip, and my wife greets me naked, I'll end up in divorce court. I can not do any other activity until my firearms have been cleaned.

Am I the only one with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder when it comes to gun cleaning?

You normal people, please tell me that its okay to have dirty guns in your home.

 

[fprintf]

I do the same thing. I even have a pain in the ass to reassemble Colt Woodsman (the recoil spring always detaches) that I may run a single magazine through and I will always always take it apart to get it completely clean.

Part of the fun of gun ownership for me is cleaning them. I absolutely love the smell of Hoppes #9, sometimes I will reclean my guns just to let that smell waft around the basement.

 

[Slotback]

It's ok to have a dirty gun from time to time. I don't clean my Glock's after every range run. AR's, that's another matter.

 

[Dave R]

If I have only run 10-50 rounds through a gun, and I know I'm gonna shoot it again soon, I don't see a need to clean it.

Likewise, if its a nice day today, and I know it'll be rainy tomorrow, I'll wait till the rainy day to clean 'em.

Likewise, if they've not had a lot of rounds through 'em, I'm OK with a "quick clean"--run a bore snake through the bore and wipe out the action with CLP.

Maybe I'm just a slob. Maybe I'm just not OCD. But my guns stay usefully clean.

 

[45Gunner]

I am worried that if I ever come home after a long hunting trip, and my wife greets me naked, I'll end up in divorce court. I can not do any other activity until my firearms have been cleaned.

Send your wife to my house after I return from the range and see if she can stop me from cleaning my gun(s). Sorry....couldn't help it. Yup, it was a cheap shot. Again, my apologies.

I'm not quite that bad but I will do nothing before I clean my gun(s) after a range outing. I just tell myself that it is part of the total shooting experience and as just as important as shooting the gun itself.

I think it may be a throw back to my days in Vietnam when the first generation M-16 had to be cleaned three times a day and my 1911 had to be cleaned at least once a day. It kept me alive and I equate cleanliness of a gun with life itself.

 

[Kreyzhorse]

If mine are shot, they are generally cleaned as soon as I return home. That includes range time and day hunting trips.

The exception is during hunting season where if I take one shot and I'm hunting for several days in a row, the gun isn't cleaned until after the season is over.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

I'm with you except for the clean it even if I don't shoot it and the naked wife part.

Either of those will keep me from cleaning my firearms.

I do clean them, in an OCD type of way, every time I pull the trigger though.

I HATE cleaning them too, but I just can't leave them dirty.

 

[sixgun67]

I have OCD to an extent, that any time I've got one out of the safe, it will get wiped down with WD-40 when it goes back in. Just something I learned back in the '80s when me and a friend would shoot my guns. His hands would rust a firearm within minutes, and being my best shooting buddy, I just learned to improvise, I reckon. Doesn't take but a minute, and I like fondling guns
When I shoot my centerfires, like during hunting season only one or two rounds, I will at least run a brush thru them and lube/wipe it with WD. More shots, I will break out the solvents and strip it down.
Rimfires, any time I shoot I'll strip and wipe down, almost never using a brush. Usually only a patch thru the barrel to get the burnt powder grains out.

For me, it's gotta be slick and shiny always.

 

[Skans]

Cleaning a Glock devalues it. It's like cleaning and refinishing an antique piece of furniture - people like to admire and brag about the buildup of crud on old furniture and Glocks.

On the other hand, letting a perty gun get slop on it is like throwing mud at the Beauty Queen - it's just down-right disgusting and no one wants to see that!!

 

[GunsAreGood]

I clean my guns every time they get shot. After the range They must be cleaned. The only time I will go without cleaning a gun is when I am hunting. I will go a couple of days and clean them when I get home. I bought a Heritage Rough Rider about a month or two ago in the hopes of breaking my cleaning habit. I figured its a cheap gun that I will shoot and only clean maybe twice a year or when it really needs it. Yea right that didn't happen. I clean that thing every time I shoot it. I just can not bring myself to not clean it if it has been shot. The guns that I bring to the range and do not shoot will get a wipe down with a silicone cloth and put back in the safe. You do not need to do anything more than that if you have not shot anything though them. If you feel the need to clean than clean your house and your wife won't only be greeting you naked after you come home from a hunting trip.

 

[Microgunner]

Roy, I like em clean but man, you're neurotic. They may have pills for you.

 

[Casimer]

If it's going to drive you crazy, you might invest in an air compressor and either dunk or flush your pistol, then blow it clean. This will get you pretty close to what a full strip down will.

 

[Sevens]

My bro-in-law is one of my best shootin' and gun buddies and he's exactly like you. But then, he's that way with e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g, not just guns.

I don't think it's a mental problem... if it feels right to you and keeps you at peace, I think your head is okay.

I do think that on the whole, more good firearms have taken unnecessary wear and unintended abuse from over-zealous and improper cleaning than from neglect. (at least by gun folks. People that don't know anything about guns probably do more damage by neglect)

I have my own methods -- they aren't necessarily right, or more right than your methods. But it's safe to say that they aren't exactly like your methods.

 

[raftman]

For me, it depends on the guns, but I consider myself pretty lax. It depends on the gun. With my AK, I must have cleaned it maybe twice within the last year. I've fired it on countless occasions during that same time period. It's just not the sort of gun that needs to be spotless (or even sort of clean) in order to work properly.

My carry guns, on the other hand, I am pretty strict about cleaning, and never go more than 50 rounds between cleaning, if that.

My "historical" guns, I also am more strict about maintaining, just because it makes me happy to see and own something like a WWII-era rifle that's clean and well-maintained.

 

[mdd]

I did not spend a significant amount my hard earned cash on my guns only to treat them as disposable items. They are not "used", they are "enjoyed" and as such I maintain them in a manner that will extend their lives almost indefinitely. Someday my son will have my guns and he will never have to wonder "if this old gun is safe to shoot".
Besides, my wife doesn't like me enough to meet me at the door scantily-clad! So I buy, shoot, and clean guns. No OP, I don't think you're crazy....but if you are at least you'll have a lot of company. Save me a seat because I expect to arrive shortly.

 

[scottl]

I was taught to clean any tool after each use.Wether it be a gun,wrench,fishing eqiupment,or farm machinery.Reason was it let's you look for anything that might need fixed.

 

[J.Netto]

Send your wife to my house after I return from the range and see if she can stop me from cleaning my gun(s). Sorry....couldn't help it. Yup, it was a cheap shot. Again, my apologies.

 

[Dannyl]

It kept me alive and I equate cleanliness of a gun with life itself.

I can only agree. not in Vietnam, but we looked after our weapons and gear before anything else.

I guess some habits just stick to you.

Brgds,

Danny

 

[erict]

I'm with raftman, it depends alot on what type of firearm it is.

I have a couple of Glocks that have never been cleaned more than a basic run with a bore snake and wipe down. They have had several thousand rounds through them with no failures.

I do tear down and clean AR's after I shoot them and I tear down my Ruger MkII after 3-400 rounds because it just plain needs it when running dirty 22 ammo through it.

Older lever rifles and collectible stuff will get cleaned everytime they're shot. My carry weapons will get inspected or cleaned periodically and ammo rotated around once a year regardless if they're shot or not.

 

[dabigguns357]

i clean my guns at least once a month,if they need it or not i don't care.I still to this day can't let the cylinder on my revolver to be dirty or have ring burns on the front.I want all my parts that are shiny to remain shiny.

The main reason i clean mine all the time is because i sweat and i think sometime if i let sweat collect for to long it will rust some gun parts.So yes all my guns look brand new at all times.which also brings me to my next statement,i hate iwb.