how do you clean your guns?

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cajun47

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i take them down and let them soak in hot soapy water a bit. then cover each part with dish detergent and scrub with a tooth brush. rinse with hot water. towel dry and let parts sit out for a while. then i spray the parts down with rusty duck gun oil. put the gun together and work the action as i wipe excess oil.

is this ok with semi auto handguns, ak47, shot guns?
 
I never intentionally let water contact my guns. I use Shooters Choice Bore Cleaner with brass brushes and clean cloth patches for cleaning. For lubrication I use FP-10 and if additional rust proofing is needed, I wipe the outside of guns with RustPrufe dampened applicator cloth. This regimen has worked for me with no malfunctions or rust on any of my guns. Other techniques and combinations can and do also work. Pick the one you like and go for it. Good luck.

Good shooting and be safe.
LB
 
The simple fact of the matter is that it doesn't matter how you clean them. The only potential problem you have is, depending on your climate, you may need to be RELEGIOUS about making sure you get a coat of oil on the parts to fight rust.

In my corner of the country, rust is a non-issue. However I am lazy with certain guns, and don't want to go to that much trouble. About the ONLY thing that WD-40 is good for is Powder fouling. It LOVES to dissolve it. Plus acts as(not a good one)a rust deterant when done.
 
Mostly I spray then down with WD40.
Let them sit a while.
Brush and wipe off everything good.
Lube as needed.
Wipe the gun and bore with Corrison X if the gun is going to be unused for a while.

Guns that I'm shooting everyday or so may go weeks without much more than a quick wipedown.
 
Clean... guns?

I've never cleaned a gun, I let my wife do it! She's gonna' have to paint the house soon too.

Honey, did you change the oil in mah pick-up today?
 
I field strip 'em first, then run a patch wet with BreakFree down the bore and let it sit while I clean the rest of the gun. I scrub the rest of the gun down with a toothbrush wet with BreakFree, and then lay a patch over the toothbrush, and scrub the now dirty BreakFree off with that. If things are really bad, I might repeat that, but I usually don't. Then, I go back to the bore, and run a wet bronze brush through it a few times. Then several wet patches on a jag, and run 'em back and forth. Then, one dry patch. If it comes out pretty clean, I'm done with the bore, but I usually do repeat this part once. The last patch doesn't have to be squeaky clean... a little grey is OK. Then, I lube everything with BreakFree and put it back together. Then I give the gun a light coating of BreakFree. I use lots of BreakFree. Then I'm done.
If it's safe queen, I usually coat 'em with Hoppe's Gun Grease, but that's too thick and gunky to use on a gun I shoot.
Marty
 
"Mostly I spray then down with WD40."

with semiautos? i heard that wd-40 would cause malfuntctions in semiautos. i would love to use wd-40, it smells great.
 
I field strip the gun in question, wipe down pretty well, coat w/ solvent - let sit, wipe...repeat where necessary, lube, reassemble.
 
I don't think WD-40 should ever be used on a gun, unless it has been soaked in water. The only function for WD-40 is to help to free rusted parts (and there are better things for that), and to displace water. Water is bad for guns, no matter how you look at it. I bought a used Bridgeport milling machine last fall, and on the 2 day drive home I got into a lot of rain/snow/sleet that drenched the machine. The ways of a bridgeport are just bare steel, and water can be devastating to one (if a glass with a few ice cubes left is set on a milling machine table, a rust ring will appear within an hour). On the trip, I coated all the bare metal with axle grease, but that didn't take care of the water in all the cracks and fittings... so I quickly unloaded a bunch of WD-40 on it when I got home... several times, concentrating on the joints and cracks. Later, I disassembled the Bridgeport to clean the WD-40 off and lubricate everything properly. I treat my guns like my machine tools, keep the water away if I can, lube with Break Free and never have any frets.

"Fortunately, I always keep my feathers numbered" -Foghorn Leghorn
 
Last edited:
My Glock cleaning regimen...

Field strip everything.

Spray M-Pro7 on barrel, recoil rod spring assembly and slide. Brush through everything to remove guck.

I start with the slide: spray solvent cleaner, brush and wipe dry. Then as barrel soak, use bore brush and jag with cloth through the barrel multiple times...until cloth comes out clean. Wipe dry.

For the Glock frame, I run it through the faucet with soap. Brush the whole thing and use a hair dryer to air dry...I also air dry the recoil spring rod assembly.

Allow to dry, then lube with Hoppes #9 and store away until next range session.
 
I generally get a can of Gun Scrubber for $6 and a can of Rem Oil for $6 at Walmart. Gun scrubber takes a lot of the scrubbing out of cleaning guns. I field strip the weapon, blast it with gun scrubber, use a toothbrush and CLP on the tougher parts, run a brush and patches down the barrel, use Rem Oil on the weapon (light coat) or gun oil as I reassemble. I'll keep a light coat of oil on the weapon in storage.
 
i take them down and let them soak in hot soapy water a bit.
Click to expand...

I clean the barrels of my semiauto handguns in the sink with a little Dawn on a nylon brush and lotsa hot water. The other small parts on some go in the sink, but the frame and slide generally just get scrubbed real good with a dry toothbrush and wiped down with an oily rag. About once a year I do a good pm on 'em, but generally I just field strip. Excess water dries out quickly if the water was good and hot. Bolts from long arms go in the sink too, but they get an additional heating and drying with a blow dryer to ensure all the moisture is gone. Quick wipe with an oily cloth and lubed at the proper points, reassemble, function check, and I'm done.

I clean rifle and shotgun bores in the usual manner, with a bore brush, patches and solvent. Ditto for revolvers, where excess water can get into places I can't reach to be sure they're completely dry.

I've actually cleaned M-16's with Windex when I was in the service. Worked great. :D
 
For the Glock frame, I run it through the faucet with soap. Brush the whole thing and use a hair dryer to air dry...I also air dry the recoil spring rod assembly.
Click to expand...

I've thought about using the dish washer, but I'm not sure my wife would like that. :D

(Honey, what's this next to the silverware?...)
 
G96 and sometimes Hoppes. Lots of patches, nylon brushes, patience, and basic knowledge on protecting the crown, yotta yotta. To get a good clean one must give the solvent(s) time to break down fouling. People who are impatient, or those in a hurry for any of a host of reasons, end up doing most of the work themselves "manually" instead of letting the chemicals do the work, and despite their best manual efforts junk is still left behind.

I saturate patches and run over parts to let rest in solvent a minimum of 4 hours. Any time after that I return to reapply another coat of solvent, then I begin brushing. If it's my 870 - "Bore snake". After brushing I start to run several dry patches through the barrel, or over parts, to collect the junk. I keep running new patches until I reach satisfactory results.
 
This is unconventional but it works great for me and my handguns. In my work truck I have a tank full of diesel and needless to say it's plentiful. One day I got the idea of getting some in a plastic bucket and soaking my gun in it and cleaning with it also. Using it on my cleaning patches and a small rag. It works great. Cleans and cuts the powder and grime, yet leaves a light oil residue.
 
I field strip the gun. I then take a patch and soak it in Hoppe's #9 and put it through the barrel once or twice.

I then take a Q-tip and soak it also in Hoppe's and wipe it along the breach and chamber. Finally I take a brush and soak it in hoppes and scrub the barrel and so the same to the chamber with another brush.

Finally I run clean patches through the barrel until they come out clean. And use Q-tips to do the same to the chamber.

I then take a clean patch and a Q-tip soak them in Break Free CLP and use those on the barrel and the chamber respectively. As the final act of cleaning on those items.

Finally I take lube and lube the recoil slide, barrel outside, and along the slide rails, and at the hammer pivot point if the weapon has a hammer.

Work the action a few times, clean any excess lube, and rub the metal parts down with a Silicon Cloth.
 
I used to do the whole cleaning rod, patches, brushes, hoppes, oil thing for years. Now I just use Breakfree CLP and boresnakes. It's soooo easy.:evil:

The only time I'd clean guns with soapy water is if I've been shooting corrosive ammo or black powder.
 
hoppes #9, kano kroil, or hoppes bore gel. First run a brush down the barrel, then patches. finish with a lightly oiled patch. toothbrush and chamber brush used to clean all the other parts. wipe down with silicone cloth and you're done.

I try to avoid water coming into contact with metal. My hunting guns do get subjected to rain/snow, but they get a thorough cleaning afterwards. It's probably fine if you're careful, but I'd rather not take that chance.
 
Field strip.

Soak a patch with CLP and run it through the barrel. Set the barrel aside to soak.

Put a few drops of CLP on a patch and wipe down all metal parts. Repeat until all gun parts are clean and no residue transfers to the patch.

Scrub the bore with a nylon brush. Push clean patches through the bore until they come out clean. Push a final patch thru that has a 2 or 3 drops of CLP so the bore isn't bone dry.

For a semi-auto, put a very thin layer of grease on the frame rails.

Reassemble. Done.

Occasionally, I'll hit the barrel with a shot of Outers bore cleaning foam to clean out any copper build up.
 
Patch down the barrel soaked with Hoppes, dry patches through till clean, and a wiping with a non-abrasive rag(all blued guns are wiped off after being handled, every time). Oil as needed. Now and again, a brass/nylon brush through the bore. Overcleaning kills guns. ;)
 
"i take them down and let them soak in hot soapy water a bit. then cover each part with dish detergent and scrub with a tooth brush. rinse with hot water. towel dry and let parts sit out for a while. then i spray the parts down with rusty duck gun oil. put the gun together and work the action as i wipe excess oil.

is this ok with semi auto handguns, ak47, shot guns?"
:eek:

Oh my.....
Were talking about guns, not dishes here. You can use boiling water to clean black powder guns, but that’s it.

When you discharge a round you leave lead fouling, powder fouling, and primer residue; there may also be copper or plastic depending on the loads your shooting

Hoppe's #9 will take care of the first three, if you shoot copper jacketed stuff; you need a solvent with ammonia in it.

I use a bore snake if I'm in a hurry, otherwise here's my process

-Field strip
-Run a wet patch with solvent down the barrel and let soak
-Using a brush and a soaked patch, wipe down the receiver, chamber and all other metal parts.
-Run bronze brush down the barrel followed by a wet patch and dry patch, until they come out clean
-Using dry patches, wipe down all solvent residues
-Apply a light coat of gun oil (flavor depends on temperature) on all metal parts.
-Wipe off excess oil
-Reassemble and work the action a few times
-If your doing precision work with a rifle, run a dry patch through the barrel before you fire, or you may have a flyer from the oil.

I use shooter's choice solvent and hoppe's gun oil
the spray can stuff works too, I prefer the stuff made by "Tetra", CLP's okay too

If you want to make your own solvents look here - http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm

Good Luck
 
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