How Well Do You Clean Your Guns?

[Sam1911]

Agreed! If I had a car from the 1890s, 19-teens, '20s, '30s, etc. I'd probably treat it quite a lot differently than if I'm running around in a 2010 sedan or pickup truck.

 

[okiewita40]

I guess I am old School when it comes to cleaning my guns. I still do it the way the marine corps taught me. Completely field strip, clean and reassemble once a day for 3 consecutive day's.

 

[Blue Thunder]

I clean my Glocks when they get dirty, usually every 2000 rounds or so. My new FN-15 I am learning to do it every 500 rounds or so. Shooting clean firing ammo is the key to keeping guns cleaner so they do not have to get cleaned so often. When I do clean any gun, out to the range to insure it will fire afterwards. My 357Magnum Colt Python shooting my reloaded lead bullets powered by 2400 gets dirty at 100 or so rounds and must be cleaned. Cleaning is required when a gun gets dirty.

 

[captain awesome]

Bore snakes will change your life. I live in Mesa Arizona, hot and dry most of the time. The only thing I have ever had trouble with is the functioning of a saiga 12 when dirty. The rest I really don't mess with cleaning to often, aside from the bore of guns I am concerned about accuracy with. Most of them are more consitent after a fowling shot. The exception to that is when I shoot cast lead. They have to be.

 

[Hanzo581]

Eh, I'll give them a basic field strip and brushing/wipe down and run a few patches down the barrel with CLP when I get home from the range. Never more than 15-20 min process per gun. If I had hours for gun cleaning I'd just use that time to shoot more.

 

[kozak6]

I don't clean my guns terribly well. Smelly solvents cause a lot of conflict and drama.

 

[ColoradoShooter77]

I just run a bore snake through all my guns and wipe down the chamber area with gun cleaner. Every two month's, I'll strip them down, clean and lube.

 

[commygun]

Well, I actually enjoy cleaning my guns after a range session. Listen to history podcasts, have a soda, and spend some time alone while getting the guns squared away. It's pleasant but, except maybe for the AR, it doesn't take longer than about half an hour per gun. Less for revolvers and bolt actions.

 

[CraigC]

You make some very good points.....however I come from this at a pretty different angle.

Most of my stuff is vintage, still all smokeless but vintage. With this stuff I see myself as just a caretaker of this history, and I do want to do the very best that I can with these guns.....it is a bit of the past, and I want them to keep going as long as they can. So on my old Krag I ran 10 rounds in yes it got a total tear down grease and oil and put away for a few months till I get a wild hair to shoot it again.

On the other hand my AR was last cleaned about 10 years ago....it was last shot by my son about that long ago, and was cleaned before he shot it....like you said I will never use it enough to wear it out.....however I guess it is possible that somewhere down the road someone will think that a 1990's version colt AR is really a bit of history and valuable....and some jack wad really should have taken better care of it.

Makes no difference the age or value. I treat my multi-thousand dollar guns the same as my $70 Mossberg in this regard. You presume that shooting a dirty gun accelerates wear and I'd challenge you to prove it.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Even when a gun comes home looking like this, it usually just gets a wipe down with an oily rag and stuck back in the safe. It is over 40 years old and still as tight as new.

 

[CraigC]

Same here, just a wipedown.