Gun Cleaning....love it or hate it?

Changing the oil in your car's engine, love it or hate it?

Immaterial, it has to be done if you want you stuff to last and be reliable.

lysanderxiii said:

Changing the oil in your car's engine, love it or hate it?

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I can't even remember the last time I changed the oil in my car's engine. I pay someone else to do it.
I've never paid anyone to clean a gun though - at least not yet.

.308 Norma said:

I can't even remember the last time I changed the oil in my car's engine. I pay someone else to do it.
I've never paid anyone to clean a gun though - at least not yet.

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Still has to be done . . .

Don't love it and don't hate it. I do it because maintaining my firearms is part of participating in the sport. I want my gear to function properly and stay in tip top shape.

If I have time and nobody is bugging me, I like it. If I've just done a major range trip, and I have 5 firearms to clean, and just want it done, well - then it is a choir and I don't like it cause I feel like I'm just rushing through it to get it done.

bdickens said:

It is a chore. Not particularly unpleasant but there are a lot of things I'd rather do.

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This sums it up for me. Someone needs to come up with a self cleaning option for these things...

I hate it. Luckily, I also learned that cleaning after every range session is totally unnecessary. Especially now. I shoot nearly every day. If I cleaned every time, I'd spend more time cleaning than shooting. No thank you.

I used to REALLY hate mowing. I would say I'd rather smack my pecker with a hammer than mow. I would rather spend 3hrs mowing, which is how long it takes for 5acres, than spend it cleaning guns.

I've kind of grown to hate it because I'm a lil obsessive about it but I try to just tell myself that it doesn't have to be spotless, especially with AR's, all they need is a good bore cleaning and soak the bolt in some good solvent and scrub away the thick fouling, wipe it down and put the lube to it....

When I clean my glocks, I do a good job on those, pretty much spotless. I would enjoy it more if I had a proper work bench set up but I usually end up with some cardboard on the living room floor, but on nice days I can set up a picnic table outdoors and be a lil more liberal with the solvents and harsh chemicals out there.... I enjoy it I suppose, but I dread it at the same time.....

DustyGmt said:

I've kind of grown to hate it because I'm a lil obsessive about it but I try to just tell myself that it doesn't have to be spotless, especially with AR's, all they need is a good bore cleaning and soak the bolt in some good solvent and scrub away the thick fouling, wipe it down and put the lube to it....

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wait are you telling me there are people that don’t tear down the bolt and clean out the extractor every time they clean their AR?

for shame for shame.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that people who don't like gun cleaning probably don't like reloading either.

Gun4Fun90 said:

wait are you telling me there are people that don’t tear down the bolt and clean out the extractor every time they clean their AR?

for shame for shame.

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I don't have anything against folks who take it to the next level of cleaning, especially former military members who had to endure white glove spot checks, but it's wholly unnecessary and if you shoot alot of dirty Russian or even M193 for that matter, best of luck to ya.

I can't keep my AR spotless nor do I really care to at this point. I've found that a lil maintenance in the way of lube and wiping out the bolt, BCG, reciever will keep things running smoothly and reliably.....

I used to be a lil squeamish about sopping things down with lube and having a wet gun, I got over that. I know there's guys who will only put a drop in very, very sparingly and have good results... I tend to shoot a couple hundred rounds at least in a typical shooting session and have come to appreciate the lube, I think my AR does too....

Gus Chiggins said:

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that people who don't like gun cleaning probably don't like reloading either.

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A long ways "out on a limb," I'd say. I don't like cleaning guns, yet I love handloading - I'd rather build ammo than shoot.
That could be because I know that when I shoot a gun, sooner or later I'm going to have to clean that gun. But in order to build more ammo, I'm going to have to shoot some before I can build more, and sooner or later I'm going to have to clean the gun(s) I shot it in..... My love of handloading is a vicious circle in that way.

Gus Chiggins said:

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that people who don't like gun cleaning probably don't like reloading either.

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Many will disagree with that assumption and rightfully so but you are pretty much spot on in reference to me. There are certainly more things about reloading that I don’t like and just make myself do vs. things that I do like but the end goal/results are certainly worth the inconvenience to me.

Now as far as casting goes, I actually enjoy doing that.

.308 Norma said:

A long ways "out on a limb," I'd say. I don't like gun cleaning guns, yet I love handloading - I'd rather build ammo than shoot.
That could be because I know that when I shoot a gun, sooner or later I'm going to have to clean that gun. But in order to build more ammo, I'm going to have to shoot some before I can build more, and sooner or later I'm going to have to clean the gun I shot it in..... My love of handloading is a vicious circle in that way.

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Same cleaning is a chore, reloading is calming.

Now taking something apart to learn just how it works that is different from "cleaning". First thing I did with the model 8 I bought was take it apart to try to figure out just what all those little levers do inside and how they interact with other stuff inside the little rifle....just amazing stuff.

In reality I don't clean often, like another said, unless corrosive or it stops running. On my 1022 it is only cleaned after it quits running. I did an entire season of PPC and never cleaned the gun that I played that game with. Easy 100 rounds a week every week. The barrel end of the slide was just caked with black crud. I really wanted to see just how bad it could get....looked like hell but never did not work....and I don't think it got less accurate as time went on, my scores went up (never good at it to start with) but I think it should have done something.

Gun cleaning is not my favorite part of shooting, but it lets me look at and inspect parts for wear or breakage or find loose screws before they fall off into the gravel or the grips-sights-scope goes wonky.

But most importantly to me; a clean and lubed gun gives me the confidence that it will fire as intended when I pull that gun out of the safe to hunt or shoot targets, or out of my holster to confront a felon on duty or protect my life off.

Everyone has their own style and I am cool with that, I am not one to project my cleaning regimen preferences onto the masses. (But I will admit it is a different story if you work for me and your duty guns are in poor shape. Now you’re putting others at risk along with yourself if your gun malfunctions in a crisis situation due to lax maintenance. Those guys ultimately get convinced to maintain their stuff! )

Stay safe.

At one time I was one of those guys that cleaned each and every time. Then I did that ppc deal and I think I got home late and just tossed it in the basement till the next practice night.....after that I figured well this will be a good test to see just how bad I can get it and have it still work.

I think it is a little like washing your car or changing your oil. What is maintain and what is just for the looks of it. You can make an argument that the finish on the car will go south or it will rust out.....but on a gun? How grungy can you have a revolver and have it put you at risk, or a bolt or lever gun......on an automatic that can happen pretty quick, about 100 rounds in my 1022 before it starts to get stupid.....same for my gsg 1911. My real 1911 it ran over 600 rounds during that season with no issues at all.

Then you hear guys that say don't clean the barrel till it starts to fall off......And again like my last story you have a gun you know is going to be left laying around for years and you just oil that sucker up real good, it is going to be sitting in a box in the living room forever....you would think if you don't touch it for 5 years you should get it nice and oily, houses are dirty, and houses on gravel roads are really dirty....it would have been better if I had not "prepped it for long term storage" I guess.

This is like a what oil to use, I don't think there is a correct answer. My 527 has not been cleaned in about a year and is a laser, amazed at how well that thing shoots. The 1022 will fall off after the first 3 mags (10 rounders) Really don' tthink unless you are really being rough with your girls you can't hurt anything by cleaning it after every go....you need to know your guns.

mcb said:

I don't mind doing it, and even enjoy it sometimes. Listen to a good audio book and clean away. But in all honesty I don't clean very frequently, with modern propellants and primers there is no need. As others have said, I am more about good lubrication than clean guns.

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Good to know. I read somewhere that you only need to clean a gun after about 300 to 500 rounds are fired through it. that is 3 to 5 range trips for me.

I think the same article also said that one can clean their gun too often. Presumably too much cleaning can be hard on the gun?

Enjoy cleaning and reloading. Do like to have a sample rifle and pistol on a "no cleaning" status to collect data points. Dirty doesn't always correlate inversely with reliability. Even seen some rifles tend to fire a flyer on 1st round after cleaning, only to regroup tight for the next 3 rounds.

Scrod314 said:

I love it. I keep a rag soaked in Hoppes #9 under my pillow.

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Does that mean you are a hophead?

lysanderxiii said:

Changing the oil in your car's engine, love it or hate it?

Immaterial, it has to be done if you want you stuff to last and be reliable.

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That is one task that I am finally tiring of, but still do because I don't trust anyone else to do it right.

Let's also look at the big picture: If a gun is very reliable And fun to shoot, does this make cleaning a bit more pleasant?

At least we can Afford to shoot them....otherwise the guns would Remain Clean. No ?

When a gun is a really good value for my money, even my Very Filthy, after just 40 rounds, Roller-Delayed Blowback (HK--91 clones) PTR-91s aren't so bad.
And being ------retired-----, I would be a real hypocrite to complain about 20 minutes wiping grunge from inside a single receiver, while also rubbing Ballistol patches against "flutings" and into the Bore..

Off the topic, but Look at the +++ other bigger picture +++---a Federal Judge (yesterday) Struck Down the ludicrous Federal Mask Mandate for Air and Train Travel.

My former employer (post-merger airline) stated last night , for staff and travelers, no more!

This truly offsets any gun cleaning. We cancelled a trip to England a year ago - partly over the Mask b.s. .....ATL/ LHR Airports....Canterbury, Dover Castle here we come..

I hate it. I rarely do it. I've found no real reason to. For me it hasn't increased accuracy or reliability in any appreciable way.

I wipe them down with a lightly oiled cloth from time to time. This is purely to discourage rust.

If they're looking particularly nasty due to carbon from firing or dirt that has been picked up in the field I may clean them out with some soapy water. Again, this is only for aesthetic reasons, not because it needs it to function properly.

I don't oil my guns for lubrication purposes, I leave the actions completely dry to the touch, so that may help with having no issues.

Local gun store cleans guns for you lazy fer's out there. I think its $25 a pop.

Hate it. Getting them dirty is the fun part.

plainsdrifter said:

Local gun store cleans guns for you lazy fer's out there. I think its $25 a pop.

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I've seen where shops offer a cleaning service like that. I've always wondered if it's a hot seller.