Gun cleaning, how often?

Palladan44 said:

....Over a lifetime, its possible all that cleaning can put more wear on certain parts of the gun than the shooting part? Cleaning guns is my least favorite part of the hobby, and i try to get by with the least amount of it necessary.

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Whose lifetime? Yours or the gun's? The gun will live a whole lot longer than you will. I don't think you need to worry about that part. I enjoy cleaning my guns. I find it relaxing. I've even offered to clean other people's guns. I think that if you don't enjoy it, only do it as often as you think it's necessary, and don't worry about it until they stop working.

I probably clean mine every 100 rounds (or two uses). I use to do it every 50, but that would cut into my reloading time.

Palladan44 said:

...Im mostly interested in whats going on in the barrel. Im confident in the rest.

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OK, then just run a bore snake through the barrel after shooting and clean more thoroughly when it's needed.

Mine get cleaned after each use. They get a detailed strip-down, and cleaned to bare metal, then lightly lubed and reassembled.

I have a gunsmith friend who makes a lot of money cleaning guns for those too lazy/stupid to do it themselves. I laughed when I heard that.

He makes even more money ($100 a pop) from people who get those stupid Bore Snakes stuck in their barrels. I laughed even harder.

I clean mine every time I shoot them. But it's not that much of a cleaning.

I bore snake the barrel, if there's stubborn crud I'll run a brush down there. A quick once over with a small brush to remove power residue and any dirt from other areas. Then oil anything that needs it.

Revolvers have the cylinder removed if they're SA. Semi autos get field stripped. Bolt action rifles and semi autos have the bolt removed, but lever actions don't.

When I see evidence that more is needed, I do it. But this routine keeps all my guns clean enough for my liking.

The simple is answer is: As often as you feel comfortable with.
If you went through Recruit Training, that tolerance may be lower than if you learned shootin' from your granpa.

If the arm works, it's generally "good." Now, if touching it leaves grime on you . . .

Your firearm, your choice.

After each range trip. Field strip, bore clean, etc.

I was taught "the sun never sets on a dirty firearm." Weapons maintenance took priority over eating and even sleeping in my section of the military. While I don't take it that seriously anymore, I clean when dirty. For most firearms that is after I go to the range. For something I carry, I will knock the pocket lint out, relube as needed etc every month or so.

Ten posts in and nobody has yet eviscerated the guy for using WD-40? What happened to you, High Road forum?

For what it is worth, I stopped being a "sparkly clean after every range trip" guy when I started competing. Hundreds of rounds per day mean an eternally dirty gun unless you've got way more spare time than I did. So I tended to ignore my race gun until it got so dirty that passersby would get smudged. Then I'd wipe it down with WD-40 on a rag and call it good. A few days before a big match - or any time the gun started to act up - I would take off the sideplate, blast it with solvent, then brake cleaner, then a drop of oil on each pin blown through the works with compressed air. Once a year it would get the full monty of strip down, thorough cleaning and inspection, and careful reassembly.

These days I don't shoot nearly that much. At the end of each range trip, I will apply some WD-40 to a BoreSnake and pull it through each chamber plus the bore. Then I wipe down the exterior as well. I will check the chambers and bore for any crud left behind. I don't mind a bit of copper in the bore and normally will leave it. If it is really covering the bore, or has left lumps and bumps, I will strip it out with one of the bore foams meant for the task - and then I will figure out why there is so much copper and correct the problem!

<edit> With regard to lead, it is about all I shoot in revolvers. It is normal and healthy to have just the lightest bit of leading in the bore, and I never go out of my way to remove it. Anything more than just slight streaks in the bore indicates something is wrong - either with the gun, or more likely, the bullet. If leading is affecting your accuracy, or if you just get tired of scrubbing it out of the bore, then with a bit of work you should be able to find a solution.

.38 Special said:

Ten posts in and nobody has yet eviscerated the guy for using WD-40? What happened to you, High Road forum?

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Well, he's obviously using it for it's designed purpose, Water Displacement.

.38 Special said:

Ten posts in and nobody has yet eviscerated the guy for using WD-40? What happened to you, High Road forum?

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I'm a gunsmith. If I eviscerated every person with shoddy cleaning practices, I wouldn't have any customers. One of my first jobs was an Chinese AK with so much Vaseline on it the firing pin wouldn't move. The owner thought that was great stuff to clean and lube a firearm. Holding my tongue I explained Vaseline works well as a long term protectant, but he would need to use something else to clean if he wanted to readily shoot it. My advice got ignored and I ended up cleaning that AK once a year at least until I relocated.

I use wd40 on my snow shovel... works great!

I oil mine after every time I’m done with it. I may use breakfree CLP, 10-30, a 50/50 30w/STP mix, gunslick, tetragun... whatever I have close to hand... even plow fluid if it’s wicked cold out.

I only really clean them if I crack it open for oiling, and think “this one needs a cleaning”.

the only part I ever put any real serious care to, is the firing pin channel. Especially if it’s a new-to-me firearm.

field strip, and clean and lube after every range trip.

i use the brass brush, and the nylon brush each time in the bore, to make it squeaky clean and mirror shiny.

i don't use cut up t-shirts, i use gun cleaning patches

i use Weapon Shield for my go to lube, including running an oily patch thru the bore.

i paid a lot of money for all my current guns, and i will do so in the future purchases as well.

i respect the money i laid out, and i respect my equipment.

For me it depends on the firearm

Ar's and poly guns get cleaned every couple trips.

My finer wood and steel firearms get cleaned every trip.

.38 Special said:

Ten posts in and nobody has yet eviscerated the guy for using WD-40? What happened to you, High Road forum?

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I don't see where WD-40 was even mentioned before you brought it up?

Is WD-40 some kind of a THR forum bugaboo?

wiscoaster said:

I don't see where WD-40 was even mentioned before you brought it up?

Is WD-40 some kind of a THR forum bugaboo?

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It's in the opening post. And yes, WD-40 is often treated as the devil's own hot sauce around here. Mostly the argument is that blasting the innards of your gun with it over many years will cause it to gum up, but you'll also see claims that it damages bluing, kills ammunition, and causes syphilis. (I may have made the last part up, but I'm not 100% sure. )

.38 Special said:

It's in the opening post. And yes, WD-40 is often treated as the devil's own hot sauce around here. Mostly the argument is that blasting the innards of your gun with it over many years will cause it to gum up, but you'll also see claims that it damages bluing, kills ammunition, and causes syphilis. (I may have made the last part up, but I'm not 100% sure.)

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Hmm, not so much.
It does tend to attract dirt and crud, though.

I clean less and less over the years. Walnut & blued steel do get cleaned after use. Synthetic stock with stainless get cleaned when I feel like it. Carry guns get cleaned after shooting or every month or two, whichever comes first.

I used to be a freak about cleaning but then I realized I was wasting time. Crud in your bore won't do anything unless you're seeing accuracy issues.

There's no wrong answer but I will admit to having a gun that was made in the late 60s or early 70s that has been shot a lot and never has gotten more than a bore snake every couple years, works fine and is plenty accurate so I think some can take some considerable neglect and still be just fine.

Out here you clea gun at least to the point of removing anything that holds moisture, or you very quickly have rusty guns.....so I clean them at least minimally every time they get used, fired or not.

As needed.

MLs obviously shortly after they are fired.

Bolt action rifles, at the end of deer season I'll clean the action and oil the moving parts. I very rarely clean the bore. In fact I won't unless I notice fouling with the naked eye or accuracy starts to degrade.

.22s, when they start jamming.
I've had a Marlin 60 for about 18 years now and I can count on one hand the number of times I've cleaned it. And when I do it's spraying the action with Gun Scrubber and then oiling it. I think I've cleaned the bore once. It groups very well too.

Revolvers get wiped down after each range trip, just enough to wipe the fouling off the outside of the firearm. They get cleaned more often than centerfire rifles and certainly way more often than rimfire stuff.

I only have one auto pistol. It probably gets cleaned the most frequently. It's my carry gun and being an auto, I put a little more effort into making sure it's cleaned and oiled.

I believe that you should take good care of your firearms, I just don't think that automatically means cleaning it after every time it's fired.

The guns I use to hunt with or depend on for defense are always kept in pristine condition. Same with those that have significant monetary value. The "clunkers" that are pretty much "range training" guns, truck guns, and the like? Not so much.

I find it therapeutic so I clean often. Like maybe twice or thrice a month if I’m not using them, more often if they’re getting used.