How ok is it to NOT clean my Glock?

For How long? You could probably shoot it for the rest of your life without cleaning it but it would put unnecessary wear on the pistol. And it would look awful. This guy put 15,000 rounds through his without cleaning it but that was to prove a point.

I dunno, I clean all of my guns anytime I shoot them, even if it's just one shot, even if it's something as reliable as a Glock, a pump shotgun, or a bolt action rifle. I know they CAN go without it, but I like to keep my guns nice and clean

That said, I'm sure you could pretty easily put a few thousand rounds through it without NEEDING to clean it. That's really for the owner to decide

I don't see the wisdom in purposely abusing a tool that has the potential to maim or kill me if it seriously malfunctions.

I have no clue how long it would be ok not to clean it. I live by what my grandpa tought me. "Treat you guns like your underware, clean them after every use."

If you are shooting lead projectiles then clean it after every session, as the lead tends to strip off and fill the polygonal rifling. This can lead to tumbling bullets or worse still, a case blow out due to a pressure spike.
If you are shooting copper plated projectiles or jacketed ammo, clean it when it starts to malfunction or accuracy decreases. I generally go 1500 rounds between cleaning, but have found less than 50 rounds can lead to inaccuracy when using lead projectiles through my Glock 17.

If you are shooting lead projectiles then clean it after every session, as the lead tends to strip off and fill the polygonal rifling. This can lead to tumbling bullets or worse still, a case blow out due to a pressure spike.
If you are shooting copper plated projectiles or jacketed ammo, clean it when it starts to malfunction or accuracy decreases. I generally go 1500 rounds between cleaning, but have found less than 50 rounds can lead to inaccuracy when using lead projectiles through my Glock 17.

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Sounds like good advice to me. That said, I clean my guns every time I shoot because:
A. I dont have that many guns
B. I'm slightly obsessive
C. I like to tinker with stuff


To answer the OP question in a word, probably.

as long as you are using fmj ammo and not lead, the exact lenght of time is unknown to me, but i would imagine a very very long time, as long as you replace the recoil spring when you are supposed too, you wouldn't need to clean it per say but you would want to change out the guide rod and spring, so you don't caue major damage to the lugs etc.

Once a decade whether it needs it or not (jk).

I usualy went a about 2000 rounds between major cleanings but I wasnt using lead.

Not specific to Glocks or even handguns in general, and obviously answers vary, but I personally don't clean my guns but about every few range trips, and then I take a day and clean everything at once. It probably works out to once every 250-300 rounds or so. The exception to that is certain surplus guns. Those get cleaned immediately on account of the corrosive primers.

I don't see the wisdom in purposely abusing a tool that has the potential to maim or kill me if it seriously malfunctions.

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On the one hand, this makes sense. On the other hand, I don't want anything so delicate as to require constant cleaning to feel at ease. I am not saying you are wrong necessarily, but I am saying that if you shoot a box or two of ammo at the range and don't clean your piece, you aren't in any more danger of a malfunction than you would be if it were clean as a whistle.

Still, it's a good point to make, and I don't know that there is a 100% right answer. I genuinely do not feel that it is necessary to clean a firearm after each shooting session, but that doesn't mean it is wrong to do so. Who am I to say that you are incorrect if it makes you feel better or if that's just what you like to do? Please don't mistake my opinion as me preaching from the mountain-tops!

Another aspect of this is how you actually maintain your guns. If you are the sort that goes through a half a bottle of oil every time you clean a gun, you are probably inviting trouble if you don't clean more frequently on account of gunky build-up. The climate here where I live is dry: I use a touch of moly grease on the rails and that is pretty much it. I don't get gunk in my guns (at least if I follow my normal maintenance routine) as a result. In particularly humid climates, you may not have that luxury.

You don't really need to but if it's your defensive weapon, I would clean it after every shooting session.

if i fire one round or a few hundred rounds i clean all my guns after i shoot them,every time. respect your weapons and they'll take care of you when you need them.

Why even try it. Clean them man!!

I'm in the minority.

When my Harley gets too dirty, God makes it rain.

With modern materials, stainless, superfinishes, dry lubrication (as opposed to oil), plated or jacketed projectiles and clean burning powders, cleaning is almost a ritual performed because that's how it was back in the day.

Some firearms are not up to modern standards and demand to be run wet of course or are delicate designs and so those continue to need a lot of TLC.

I shoot way too much to clean them all every time. It'd be like washing my truck every time I drive to the corner.

The best reason to clean your firearm after every range session is so you can carefully inspect it for any damage.

As you clean you should also be looking for cracks in the frame, excessive wear on the slide or the slide rails, that the springs aren't damaged, that the guide rod isn't damaged or bent, that the extractor isn't damaged, etc......

If you don't clean and inspect after a range session, you might get a rather unpleasant surprise the next time you shoot.


I clean my firearms after ever range session.

Immediate cleaning, and especially white glove cleaning, are holdovers from the days of blackpowder and corrosive priming clung to by the military. Since the military clings to them, many in the civilian sector do as well. Cleaning is necessary when function or accuracy is degraded. We can take that a step further, even, and include risk of cosmetic damage. Anything above and beyond that is a waste of effort and cleaning materials.
Thus, when I shoot one of my guns that gets corrosive ammo or blackpowder, it is cleaned immediately after the session with aqueous cleaning solutions. Corrosive priming residues and blackpowder residues can damage the gun.
Guns that use non-corrosive priming and smokeless powder usually just get wiped off with a silicone or Balistol rag after a session, lest fingerprints damage the finish.
More guns have been damaged by improper and excessive cleaning than by neglect in the era of smokeless powder and non-corrosive primers. Don't believe me? Go to a gun shop or gun show and look at all the used guns with damaged crowns, buggered screw heads, and the like. Ask any gunsmith how many times he's had somebody wander in with a bag of parts that used to be a working gun.

I probably put around 500 rds through mine between cleanings, on average. I'll clean a pistol a week or so before a big match, just to make sure the extractor, firing pin channel, and other critical areas are free of gunk.

I've only had one tightly-fitted 1911 (with a weak recoil spring) fail due to being dirty (maybe 1,000 rds through it?) -- and it only started to not quite return to battery. A squirt of oil fixed that for the rest of the day and I cleaned it when I got home.

If you're using modern ammo, this just isn't an issue.

Obsessive cleaning ("Every time -- even after one shot!") is probably a sign you should be shooting more, tinkering less.


(ETA: When I shot competition smallbore, it was considered EXTREMELY bad "ju-ju" to EVER clean a competition rifle. The match-gods would smote thee!" But, then again, the same rule applied to the sweatshirt you wore under your shooting jacket. )

If your life depends on its reliable operation, you need to clean it like your life depended on it.

Otherwise, you can store it in an old salt-encrusted tube sock on your windowsill.

If your life depends on its reliable operation, you need to clean it like your life depended on it.

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Which means what, in terms of actual cleaning?

Which means what, in terms of actual cleaning?

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Some people ask the most brilliant questions.

I'll have to get back to you on that after I have researched it, and cross-checked all the footnotes for the report.

Some people ask the most brilliant questions.

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Do you have an actual answer?

If your life depends on its reliable operation, you need to clean it like your life depended on it.

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Exactly my point! If I don't clean my carry and match guns at least every 500-1,000 rds, they might someday become unreliable. I clean mine like my life depends on it -- every month or two.


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Now that we have that settled, let's do remember to be polite to one another. Ask, answer, agree, disagree, but do it respectfully or excuse yourself from the conversation. (Lest ye be excused from it involuntarily.)

Maybe I just like the zen aspects of cleaning... but I clean my firearms after every use.

Please do not adhere to the myth that Glocks do no need to be cleaned or properly lubricated. They are mechanical devises that need to be properly maintained like any other gun.

I am a little OCD about my glocks, because the wellbeing of my family and myself may depend on their operation, and I clean them after every range session and re-lube/de-lent them every two weeks if they are not fired.