Gun cleaning

Like you I clean after every outing, one shot or hundreds. Haven't worn out a gun yet from cleaning too often.

Generally once a year except black powder guns. I have rarely seen a gun worn out from not being cleaned but have seen a lot of guns damaged from improper cleaning. I wipe the sweat off the exterior after every session and call it good.

Years ago I cleaned after every trip and found myself not wanting to shoot... Now, I shoot 2-3 times a week, sometimes up to a dozen different guns. I clean them when I think they need it and not before. I just wipe them down with oil and store them. I am happier with this process.

Gun care; tips....

In 2014 there are more & better gun oils & gun care products than ever before.
Some products or brands work better than others. Old timers & veterans seem to have the "secret sauce" or "know what works best for them".
I have purchased & used a few big name brands over the last 25 years or so.
I tend to get the best results from CLPs or cleaners that are non toxic, CFC free, safe for use with bare hands & don't have harsh fumes or odors.
I've bought or used: RIG, LPX, B-C Synthetic Cleaner, LPX, Hoppes #9(both old style & the new synthetic version), FP-10, Ballistol, and the latest(and superior) FrogLube CLP.
Ballistol & LPX are both fine for general cleaning/lube for the casual shooter or gun owner who keeps a home security firearm that may clean/inspect it every few weeks. I use Ballistol often around my home & for my Jeep too. It's light pine scent & non toxic formula make it bearable.
I've read a few + reviews & tests of Hornady One-Shot. It prevents rust & it's sold in many sporting goods/gun shops.
Id suggest new gun owners & armed officers(military/LE/corrections/security) learn the proper ways to clean-check guns. Learn not use tons of gun oil/CLP/grease.
I've posted on gun forums often that law enforcement/security agency armorers often say the over-use of oils or lubricants is one of the main problems they see.
A small or light amount of gun oil/CLP is fine. Large amounts may clog or cling to dirt, grit, dust, etc.

There are many DVDs, online videos & books out there for new gun owners to learn proper gun care.

No regular schedule for me. I try to at least give the bore a swabbing after a day at the range, but sometimes go two or three outings before doing a complete cleaning, whether pistol, rifle or shotgun.

And then there are times when I'm bored, I drag a couple out and clean them just to be messing with guns; that's usually when I haven't been to the range in a while, don't feel like reloading, but have a need to do something gun related.

About every several hundred rounds, or after exposure to rain.

i shoot a lots each week with different guns. so i clean when i feel they need it. but the carry gun get clean right after the range. i don't like carry a dirty gun.

My old WWII vet daddy, & the U.S. Army later, taught me to clean them when you shoot them.

Worked for me my whole life!

But I change the oil & get a lube job on my vehicles every 3,000 miles too.
And I brush my teeth at least once a day.

That also works out well in the long run!

Rc

Every range trip, but sometimes they sit for weeks before I get to cleaning them.

I used to clean religiously after every outing and do a wipedown after every handling.

These days, I'm far more lax because I've not seen evidence among my own guns that the occasional delays, be it days or weeks, between cleanings (even after shooting) produces any noticable corrosion at all.

I don't store my guns in conditions which might be conducive of corrosion, and I will clean/oil them before actually storing them. But a range gun or carry gun? I've no problems shooting those and cleaning them whenever I feel like it. So long, of course, as I do not have any functionality issues or might have a concern with possible corrosion.

GoWolfpack has a rather lax attitude towards cleaning as well, and as his guns don't have corrosion or function problems, I can't say he's doing any harm.

In fact, he brings up one very important issue with respect to functionality: When you break down your gun, clean it, oil it, and reassemble it...what objective evidence do you have at this point that it will actually WORK they way it's supposed to when you need it? A primary reason why he feels no need to be obsessive about cleaning his carry gun after shooting it. He's already verified it works.

For a huge portion of my life (youth, adolescence, and large chunk of adulthood), I'd clean them every single time a shot was fired. Now ...

Automatic handguns; every time.
Revolvers; close to every time.
Rifles; when they need them and/or corrosive ammo was used. Using quality ammo, I'd go 100-200 rounds or so.
Shotguns; rarely. Maybe once a year. They get a good wipe down, an oily mop run through them and and hosing with Baristol if needed.
Silencers; yah, pretty much every time. They don't necessarily need it, but ownership is a semi-PITA compared to the aforementioned.
Blackpowder guns; All the time when I used to bother with them, but, meh, I haven't done that in almost 20 years. The one and only BP gun I still own is hanging in the living room.

Good habit....

In the early 1990s, after my military service I got into the habit of applying a small amount of gun oil/CLP to the metal parts & action prior to any long term range shooting(100-500 rounds).
I learned this aids clean-up & maintaining later.
Lead, gunpowder, dirt, grit wipes off quicker since it's already got a light film on the surfaces.

Carbon & powder fouling cleans off way easier before it gets hard from aging in place too!

I can't prove it.
So just trust me O.K.?

rc

Leave the carbon alone. It might get hard enough to turn into a diamond.

Would that make a Python with crusty rusty chambers a Diamondback?

Inquiring minds want to know!

rc

I will be ticked if my Pythons turn into Diamondbacks.

semi-auto pistols. Rag wipedown and very small amounts of syn. oil afteror before shooting. When the "soot" doesn't want to wipe off the feed ramp, I'll clean it. Depends on the powder , but 500/600 rds usually needs some Hoppe's Semi-Auto and a relube.

Once in a while I use spray brake cleaner to get in the extractor channel, mag-release holes, trigger spring, trigger bar, Firing pin tunnel, and around the trigger and sear areas. Then relube and start over.

Only a couple don't get used often, and those I take and wipe down and relube when the urge comes over me.

I have a family owned Belgium Browning Sweet 16 shotgun (ALL original parts) that is well over 50 years old and 100% reliable that likely started life being fed some 3-in-1 oil on a rag. I shoot it in a local shotgun steel comp. and have shot trap and hand thrown clays with it. My son will inherit it.

I won't carry a clean gun. Maybe I didn't put it back together again.
I don't keep them dirty dirty but my carry gun and night stand gun gets test fired after cleaning.

When I was shooting IPSC after cleaning my 1911 I would go shoot a magazine through it to make sure everything was working correctly before the next match. That way I had time to get anything broke fixed.

I clean them when I think they are dirty. If I pocket carry for a couple months. There will be some lint down the barrel, that is a given. Blow it out with some compressed air or a patch if it sticks a little. After visiting the range I usually let them warm up (or cool down) to room temperature for a couple hours before cleaning.

I used to give a thorough scrub after ever range trip. Now I clean here and there usually after I notice the gjn not functioning as it should. When I am bored with nothing to do I will scrub one clean.

My carry gun gets attention after any 100+ round range trips. Or if I deem necessary.

Cleaning sucks shooting is fun.

I always wipe down the outside, clean barrel when I think it needs it or I've ran corrosive ammo. I'm a backyard shooter, cleaning every time I shoot would take the fun out of it.