Cleaning your guns or waste of time
- Thread starter Jack B.
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Ks5shooter
Contributing Member
I think I wont be buying a used gun from that guy.
Depends on the gun. My AR or my FAL, sure. I clean them once or twice a year and just make sure to squirt some oil on them before firing. Though I may only shoot 800 or so rounds a year. Never had an issue doing it this way.
My Hunting rifle gets cleaned after every firing. And yes, I shoot it just for fun during the year. The Barnes bullets copper foul my 375 pretty good so I like to stay on top of it. Wounding an animal due to a fouled barrel is not something I want to chance.
My Hunting rifle gets cleaned after every firing. And yes, I shoot it just for fun during the year. The Barnes bullets copper foul my 375 pretty good so I like to stay on top of it. Wounding an animal due to a fouled barrel is not something I want to chance.
Wisco
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Depends on the round counts between cleanings and the kind of gun.
I have a backup G19 I've never cleaned more than lubricant and a light brush to the extractor. 5,000 rounds or so. No problems.
My carry G19 gets shot very little past the initial 500 rounds, but I inspect it often and brush away lint and dust and use a boresnake after firing.
I wouldn't run an AR that long, but I also wouldn't bother to clean it after a few hundred rounds either.
It's a waste of my time to run 250-500 rounds through a G19 and then spend an hour cleaning it when I could be doing something more pleasant.
I have a backup G19 I've never cleaned more than lubricant and a light brush to the extractor. 5,000 rounds or so. No problems.
My carry G19 gets shot very little past the initial 500 rounds, but I inspect it often and brush away lint and dust and use a boresnake after firing.
I wouldn't run an AR that long, but I also wouldn't bother to clean it after a few hundred rounds either.
It's a waste of my time to run 250-500 rounds through a G19 and then spend an hour cleaning it when I could be doing something more pleasant.
It depends on the gun and how much they are shot. Cleaning after every range trip is usually unnecessary and it is true that improper cleaning could do more damage than leaving them dirty. Mine have the exterior wiped down and a quick wipe down of any crud inside the action after being shot. But as far as complete disassembly and a barrel scrubbing some haven't been cleaned in over a year. None in the last 6 months. A 22 rimfire can go several years without cleaning and this is one rifle where over cleaning can certainly do more harm than good.
I don't like to clean the barrel on my center fire rifles until accuracy starts to drop off, or if they get wet from hunting in the rain. This means 200-300 rounds with most of them. Most rifles accuracy isn't quite as good and point of impact from a clean barrel is different than a fouled barrel. After cleaning I like to fire 10-12 rounds through them before I'll hunt with it to get accuracy and point of impact back.
On a handgun, rifle, or shotgun primarily used for personal protection the cleaning may be more frequent.
I don't like to clean the barrel on my center fire rifles until accuracy starts to drop off, or if they get wet from hunting in the rain. This means 200-300 rounds with most of them. Most rifles accuracy isn't quite as good and point of impact from a clean barrel is different than a fouled barrel. After cleaning I like to fire 10-12 rounds through them before I'll hunt with it to get accuracy and point of impact back.
On a handgun, rifle, or shotgun primarily used for personal protection the cleaning may be more frequent.
Hanzo581
Member
I can guarantee you most of us clean our guns more than they technically need to be....but I kinda enjoy breaking down and cleaning a gun, it's relaxing and therapeutic.
Well, most guns.
Well, most guns.
Bad Ninja
Member
wally
Member
Anything that won't easily go at least 1000 rounds between cleanings quickly becomes a safe queen for me, 200-300 rounds per gun in an outing is typical. Usually I just wipe them down, a few drops of oil on the moving bits, pull a bore snake with a bit of Hoppe's on it and call it good after an outing. I usually only take them completely apart if I have problems. As mentioned above, periodically brushing under the extractor goes a long way to avoiding issues.
I'd wager more guns have been damaged by over-cleaning than under-cleaning.
Its only after shooting corrosive surplus ammo that I take them apart for a complete cleaning after every outing.
John_R, good point about the revolvers -- my revolvers are safe queens because of it.
I'd wager more guns have been damaged by over-cleaning than under-cleaning.
Its only after shooting corrosive surplus ammo that I take them apart for a complete cleaning after every outing.
John_R, good point about the revolvers -- my revolvers are safe queens because of it.
GBExpat
Member
I think that he is just one more of myriad Internet Experts.
Except for when I have been firing ammo with chlorate primers, I usually do not clean most of my firearms between outings.
Oh for heaven's sake!
Some moron posts on Facebook that he only cleans his guns once a year and suddenly people are questioning how often they should clean their guns. How lazy can you be? How cavalier about the preservation of an expensive instrument can you be?
I think Savage puts it best is their manual for the Axis rifle, "as a general rule, 'too much' is much safer than 'not enough'".
I clean my guns every time I shoot them. Period. I clean them in accord with the instructions in the user's manual which invariably calls for cleaning with an appropriate cleaning solution followed by lubrication with a "high quality firearms oil" or a "light machine oil". I will also use a high quality motor oil on generally inaccessible locations (such as the barrel under non-removable hand-guards).
While I did not intend for this maintenance procedure to be a long-term proposition, the unexpected neurological condition that nearly killed me kept me from my guns for years on end and so I have a unique perspective on gun preservation and so can say that the manufacturer's recommended maintenance - performed after every time the gun is shot - is sufficient for even long-term storage.
ColtPythonElite
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I shoot 3 to 5 days a week, multiple guns. I don't have enough time to waste cleaning a gun everytime it is fired.... I clean a gun when I think it needs it, which is not often. I wipe them down with an oily rag after use and put them in storage. I have a couple that have each had thousands of rounds through them that have never been cleaned since new.... One is a Colt National Match. The other is a Rossi M92 rifle. I also have a 686 that I am intentionally torturing. I am over 3500 rounds with it and no cleaning.
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Lazy people are able to rationalize their behavior, but it always comes back to laziness. Firearms are mechanical items, the ones we have today have evolved to be very robust and some are very dirt tolerant. However, some are still dirt sensitive.
I recall a story from a Navy bud of mine. He had gone through basic training in the early 1970's, when we were still in the Vietnam war. The firearm instructors were showing the recruits why the M16 was superior to the AK47. They poured handfuls of dirt on the AK and it always went bang. Then, one little teaspoon of dirt, and the M16 jammed. Proving that the M16 was a superior weapon because it was so precision built, that only a little sand jammed the weapon. Whereas the nasty AK47 was as loose as a goose and therefore an inferior weapon. Forty years later bud still had not figured out that what the Instructors had proved, was that the M16 was a POS which was dirt intolerant and would get someone killed unless consistently cleaned.
While the M16 is a little better, I pulled targets with Marine Reservists who found that the Iraqi AK's they played with, would not stop even when handful's of Iraqi sand were poured over the action, but that they had to clean their M16's three times a day or the things would jam!. Seems little changed in weapon characteristics from one invasion to another.
If lazy bones gets deployed, he will find his butt being constantly kicked by his NCO to keep his weapon clean, and not endanger his fellow soldiers by having his weapon go down in a firefight. Until then, until such time lazy bones learns responsibility, he can do whatever thing he wants.
T
What neurological condition do you have? I don't use motor oil on my gun.
JohnBiltz
Member
Far more likely to cause a problem in the cycle of fire cleaning a fire arm than not cleaning a fire arm. If you were really concerned about function after cleaning it you would then fire a couple a couple of rounds through it to make sure it still works.
I've got Glocks I've went over a thousand rounds without cleaning them, might pull the slide back and spray some oil in it but that is about it. And yes, I'm lazy rather than obsessive. I own my guns, they don't own me. Being lazy does not mean being wrong. Nor does being obsessed with cleaning mean you are right. Its not really a virtue. I've seen far more damage done to guns in the military by obsessive cleaning than anything else.
The simple matter is if you shot a thousand rounds through a gun without cleaning it will with near certainty fire a couple of more rounds. If you took it apart and put it back together, maybe not.
I've got Glocks I've went over a thousand rounds without cleaning them, might pull the slide back and spray some oil in it but that is about it. And yes, I'm lazy rather than obsessive. I own my guns, they don't own me. Being lazy does not mean being wrong. Nor does being obsessed with cleaning mean you are right. Its not really a virtue. I've seen far more damage done to guns in the military by obsessive cleaning than anything else.
The simple matter is if you shot a thousand rounds through a gun without cleaning it will with near certainty fire a couple of more rounds. If you took it apart and put it back together, maybe not.
Ironicaintit
Member
I have safe queens that get used periodically, and I'll clean them every time. Not a complete tear down, but field strip, brush, wipe and oil. Real gentle like. That kind of thing.
I have just a few that are for normal use, and that I don't go out of my way to baby.
In that category, If I look at it and think, "that's nasty", I'll clean it. I do always make sure they are oiled, and I will brush out the extractor nearly every time they've been out.
The exception to that, is if they've hit the dirt for whatever reason. Then they get detailed.
I have just a few that are for normal use, and that I don't go out of my way to baby.
In that category, If I look at it and think, "that's nasty", I'll clean it. I do always make sure they are oiled, and I will brush out the extractor nearly every time they've been out.
The exception to that, is if they've hit the dirt for whatever reason. Then they get detailed.
Wisco
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You could've led with that in your OP and saved all us lazy non-cleaners the work of responding!
Oh Well!
OK what ever you like. I guess some people like dirty guns.
Good Ol' Boy
Member
I shoot once a week religiously, sometimes more. It's generally my carry piece and HD pistol. I clean them every 2 weeks after having put 2-300 rds through each.
I do this because I almost exclusively shoot Tula. If I were shooting cleaner ammo it might be more like once a month.
When I say "clean", I mean a basic field strip. Don't spend much time with it, maybe 15-20min per gun. I just make sure all the grime is off and everything is lubed.
For a gun that I rely on with my life I want it in the most optimal shape. My "range guns" get cleaned every few months.
In regards to the OP's FB quote, that guy might not shoot much at all, in which case once a year might be realistic.
I do this because I almost exclusively shoot Tula. If I were shooting cleaner ammo it might be more like once a month.
When I say "clean", I mean a basic field strip. Don't spend much time with it, maybe 15-20min per gun. I just make sure all the grime is off and everything is lubed.
For a gun that I rely on with my life I want it in the most optimal shape. My "range guns" get cleaned every few months.
In regards to the OP's FB quote, that guy might not shoot much at all, in which case once a year might be realistic.
GBExpat
Member
OK.
Yea. I've talked to people at the range that shoot about once a year and think they shoot a lot.
EIB0879
Member
I used to shoot my rifles before hunting season and leave the bores fouled but have changed my mind on that over the last year. As long as I run a patch through I have been getting better accuracy than leaving the bore fouled.
My firearms get cleaned after each range trip. Maybe it's just my Infantry training.
My firearms get cleaned after each range trip. Maybe it's just my Infantry training.
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