How important is it to clean a new gun before firing?

[The Bushmaster]

Clean it!!!

 

[sideways]

came in a ziplock that was very oily. Per the suggestions I received on this board, I wiped it off, locked and loaded. Not supposed to disassemble for cleaning for 500, but I still lube it in the areas I can without tear down & I clean it as best I can without tearing it down til I hit that mark. Patch down the tube but nothing else I can't do with just a towel. Lube it up for next time.

You need to look at Kimber manual again I own serveral Kimbers and every manual says in RED BOLD LETTERS clean and lube before firing.

 

[grimjaw]

Even though it may not be strictly necessary it's not a bad idea to clean it anyway.

Ask me and my former Remington 870 how I know.

jm

 

[Owen]

I'd punch the bore out, just to make sure there aren't any metal chips, dust, spiders, etc. in there.

 

[Hatterasguy]

A lot of guns are covered in grease before they ship them, so you would want to clean that off.

I pull apart and go through every new gun I get, I want to remove the shipping grease and make sure nothing is wrong. Manufactures make mistakes, I don't want it coming apart in my hands.

 

[jeepguy]

i have done both but i prefer to clean first now. if i was in your situation i would just inspect relly well & work the slide, if everything looked good i would feel confident at least with a new gun.

 

[makarovnik]

Important. Helps you familiarize yourself with its manufacture and operation. Also you can see the inside before you start sending rounds downrange and you will be lubing it which is all good.

 

[JDGray]

I always inspect mine before shooting. A new pistol should function out of the box, unless it was oiled or greased to last a 100yrs on a shelf. But you wont know that unless you look inside. You also won't know unless you look at it before shooting, if something happened to it while you were shooting it, or if it came that way. Like someone mentioned, a burr forming on the slide, as one did on my Keltec P11. I knew it wasn't there before, so it happened while I was shooting. That KT is long gone, not keeping a gun arround that wears that easily

 

[JamesKelly]

Clean any oil or whatever lube out of the chamber.
Lubrication in chambers means higher pressures. Not good.

as already been said, make sure the barrel has no gobs of grease in the bore.

 

[Leafy Cronmer]

I agree with most of the others, I would prefer to clean and lube a new gun before going to the range.

If I was in your situation personally I would at least give it some Break Free before going to the range if you have no time for a complete cleaning.

 

[harmon rabb]

took my g27 out of the box, loaded the mags, and began blasting away. no issues.

 

[natman]

At the very least, clean the bore. I detail strip and lube all my new guns. Even the high end brands are sometimes full of metal chips, machining dust and dirt. Almost all are sparsely lubed.

I once pushed a 20" long cylinder of red grease out of the bore of a new Zastava Mini-Mauser 223. I was REALLY glad I cleaned that one first.

 

[Arthur2001]

When I bought my Glock 19, I fired more then 100 rounds without cleaning the grease. No problem at all. But the copper dust was so sticky when I cleaned. Thus in order to keep clean, de- greasing is important.
Please note that G 19 has only 34 components, which might reduce the chance of any failure due to the dirtynes.

 

[wally]

Unless its oozing oil or cosmoline, I just run a patch through the bore to be sure its not obstructed or fouled and start shooting. I'm not big on cleaning guns that don't need it just to "feel good".

Even the high end brands are sometimes full of metal chips, machining dust and dirt.

Name names! If I ever got one it'd go straight back! Implies a total lack of QA/QC.

--wally.

 

[Lv4snobrdg]

At the very least, clean the bore. I detail strip and lube all my new guns. Even the high end brands are sometimes full of metal chips, machining dust and dirt. Almost all are sparsely lubed.

By detail strip do you mean pins and springs out?
I have bought a couple new guns, one "high end", haven't seen any filings. I would disagree since the vast majority of guns are built then the finish applied as a final, pre-assembly, step. No one is painting/parkering/bluing a piece full of shavings. Sorry partner.

 

[Mad Magyar]

By detail strip do you mean pins and springs out?

I wouldn't go that far....I strip every new pistol for familiarity and generously lube the moving parts. This way, if it FTF, I really go berserk with the mfrg..
I recall Jerry Ahern, then CEO of Detonics, claim the reason his pistols failed out of the box was all operator: Bad ammo, Bad Maintenance, and Limp Wristing..
What a guy....