Carry gun maintenance??

[dfariswheel]

I have a friend's son who's writing a paper for school on CCW.

He's asked for input on what kind of maintenance does a smart gun owner do to his CCW gun, BETWEEN shooting sessions.

By this, he wants to know what is considered acceptable maintenance on a day-to-day, or week-to-week level for a CCW gun that's JUST carried LONG TERM, not shot.

He'd like to know about both revolvers and autos.

I've given him my input, he'd like some from other perspectives.

 

[Jay Kominek]

I pop the barrel out once a week and blow the lint out. (lung power!) Maybe I get some hoppes and wipe down the outside if it is looking less than spotless. I'd hate to draw and have the fellow laugh at the condition of the slide.

 

[SpookyPistolero]

I field strip it once a week and give it a quick cleaning. Not nearly as in depth as after a shoot. I brush out any debris that has accumulated and apply fresh oil to necessary surfaces. If it is relevant, I carry a Glock.

The smart concealed carrier also rotates his carry ammo regularly, and also tests said ammo in his (or her!) carry piece.

But I'm sure different folks have different forms of maintenance.

-Spooky

 

[P95Carry]

Dang - this is runnin' slow!

Depends (obviously) on platform in certain respects but yeah - lint is main enemy. Shrouded hammer revo's not much prob with that but always check bore - muzzle end re any detritis. In fact revo's can and do collect some lint I find in cyl throats .. not a lot but worth eyeballing. Same too actually for rear of cyl - star and case heads ... do not want any crud to get under the star.

Anything with a hammer .. blast of compressed air and brush - to remove any lint around hammer slot. Otherwise, wipe over, in particular if blued. Frequency? I doubt I do mine more than twice a week usually.

I do tho - after practice ... clean thru a field strip but then from choice will always want to fire another mag - reliability check - and so holster the gun ''lightly soiled''

With semi's ... shoot top mag rounds if old and been chambered much - and also rotate mags .. maybe every two to three months.

 

[Old Fuff]

If this isn't one of the new Poly-whatever framed guns, a smart and seldom thought of trick is to give the exterior a good coat of paste wax (not polish). It will be protected against rust, but dry to the touch. Much better then grease or oil.

If you do have a Polymer frame the wax isn't necessary, but to coat the slide anyway.

In over a half-century I've never had a finish rust that was waxed.

 

[TexasRifleman]

No matter what maintenance I do to my carry gun, I fire an entire mag through it after, to make sure I didn't mess something up. So, mine is always carried "dirty".

 

[DMF]

I try and shoot once a week it usually gets a field strip and cleaning after every range session. In between I wipe it down daily. If for some reason I don't shoot that week, it gets a boresnake and silicone gun cloth wipe down after a week. If there is a reason I don't shoot for a whole month I will field strip and clean even though it wasn't shot.

 

[Maddock]

Autopistol –
After shooting: A complete strip, clean and lube.
Between shooting:
Weekly: Field strip, wipe-down and lube.
Daily: Wipe down

Revolver –
After shooting: Full cleaning and lube without removing side plate.
Between Shooting:
Weekly: Field strip, wipe-down and lube.
Daily: Wipe down
Every three to six months: Remove side plate and clean/lube/inspect.

Well, at least that's the schedule I try to keep, and mostly do. Especially with my all-the-time, a 442 that is usually in a front pocket holster and so gets exposed to more dust and lint than most.

 

[JohnBT]

"So, mine is always carried "dirty"."

Me too.

JBT

 

[shep854]

After shooting, wipe down w/CLP. Boresnake through charge holes and barrel. Visual exam in the mornings.

PS: I carry a Smith & Wesson Mod 49.

 

[mattk]

I always carry a dirty gun too. Wipe down the exterior every couple of days with a breakfree cloth.

 

[El Tejon]

I'm with TexasSIGman. Have always carried my guns a little dirty.

My primary is a 1911. Clean after shooting, light lube every other week.

 

[sm]

Another one here that carries one a bit dirty. Even the ones not carried ( house guns) are a bit dirty, including the Revolvers. Clean bores often do not shoot POA/ POI.

I use RIG or Carnuba wax , Wax on the current CCWs. After cleaning I shoot at least one mag or cylinder.

I rarely clean bores anyway, I concern myself with chambers , extraction, feeding .

Weekly or twice a month I inspect and maintain , lube ...Depends on elements, exposure, how carried.

Can of Dust Off gets rids of nelphs, toothbrush or most often pipe cleaners for other debris removal.

 

[Werewolf]

After firing, my carry gun gets a complete clean up.

Once a week it is field stripped, inspected and lubed as necessary.

I religiously function check my carry weapon at least once a week and sometimes more often. It gets a complete function check because sometimes things just break. My carry gun failed the function check - once - with hammer back trigger would not fire the weapon - that was a very upsetting thing to happen. At odd moments I wonder what it would have been like to actually have needed the thing, presented it, pulled the trigger (which wouldn't pull) and have nothing happen. I've got the shivers just writing about that right now.

 

[mtnbkr]

After shooting, I field strip and clean my gun. If it was shot fewer than 50rnds, then I won't obsess over cleanliness, but over 50rnds and I make sure it sparkles.

As for day to day cleaning, I only blow the dust out and put a drop or two of lube on the slide and hammer if it's an auto.

Chris

 

[Mannlicher]

For revolvers and semi autos, the only maintenance I do is to keep them clean, inside and out, and keep them lightly lubricated. Guns do not need a lot of constant work.