New Guns, Clean them first or no?

Further... besides the 'preservative' yuck they put on them, some of that may actually be oil from the machining processes... with metal chips or shavings from manufacture. Even if I don't completely disassemble a new handgun, I hose it down pretty good with CLP prior to it's first session, to flush the junk out.

Like changing the oil and filter in a new car after the first 100 miles to catch and rid the motor of casting sand, metal bits or other junk, I clean and lube my guns (new or used) before shooting them.

It may be overkill, but I have yet to have an engine or a gun fail because I did it.

Stay safe.

This thread brings to mind a brand new rifle I recently traded for. It was oozing oil every where and it certainly felt like real oil. I took it apart just to clean up the excess oil. It's just sitting there waiting for decent day to head to the range and see what's what. March is almost finished and we should start having a day now and then when one hand isn't busy hanging on to your hat or cap.

Brubz said:

I confess I am guilty of shooting new guns right out of the box. Is this a mistake? How many of you clean and oil a gun first before you fire it?

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I do the same thing, doesn’t hurt a thing.

Depends what kind of gun. Most revolvers I clean, lube, and dry fire. I dry fire 2000 times. That smooths the action and it’s ready for double action practice. The few semi auto I have were very clean so, I only Lubed them before shooting.

Clean first, except that time I didn't. Also disassembled all my toys/bikes as a child.
Dirtiest NIB gun I've ever seen was a kel tec ksg (barrel and magazine tubes).
Haven't run across any filthy NIB handguns yet.

Charlie98 said:

Further... besides the 'preservative' yuck they put on them, some of that may actually be oil from the machining processes... with metal chips or shavings from manufacture. Even if I don't completely disassemble a new handgun, I hose it down pretty good with CLP prior to it's first session, to flush the junk out.

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This.

They might have done something terribly wrong. Much of the oil on the thing is for sure leftover manufacturing stuff. Even if test fired, it could have gotten stuff in the wrong place while in shipping (lots of things in the box, I've seen bits of plastic in the bore from this). LGS touched it: who trusts them!? Anything could have happened including disassembly.

I have bought lightly-used guns that still have factory grease and metal chips down in non-wearing cavities, etc. so not everyone does it but there's stuff I don't want in there.

New or new to me, disassemble and basic inspection, function check, wipedown, lube. If something wonky like lots of weird wear or metal chips, a deeper clean. Not like I degrease and start over, but for sure don't pull from box, load, and fire.

I clean and oil new guns just to remove any gunk that might be in guns straight from the factory. It’s probably not necessary in 99% of cases, but I do it anyways for good measure.

I lube but not clean even if it’s poly.

New gun, or especially if it's used, I read the manual (if there is one), inspect, clean, then lube.

Always, unless I’m going straight to the range from the shop.

even then I’ll give them some lube and maybe a quick wipe down

I will confess I've probably taken a couple or even a few guns straight from picking them up to an indoor range next door because... I couldn't wait to shoot them. Used to be an immediate gratification kind of guy.

But never an expensive semi-auto, especially any 1911. Fieldstrip, clean, lube.

Probably a good idea to break down an auto into
its main components for a wipe down and inspection.
Depending on the model/design lubing or oiling helps
it function. ( IIRC the Glock design requires virtually
no oiling or so-called lubing.)

With revolvers not so much. They come from the factory
usually pretty dry and they function fine that way. A short
bit of dry firing a DA revolver can tell you quite a bit. I doubt
very many of those fine Colt and S&W revolvers of yore ever
had their side plates taken off by their owners.

Sometimes when I've picket up a used revolver with "issues,"
I've found the issues are the former owner went inside and
applied all sorts of gunk to slick up the action. That gunk just
attracted dirt and also congealed with time. Generally a drop
or two of Rem Oil or 3-in-1 oil at a few contact points is more
than enough, way more than enough.

Brubz said:

Good advice all. My problem is my lgs has an indoor range so when they notify me that my gun is ready to pick up there is the temptation to bring eye and ear pro and shoot it right there. I guess I had better stop doing that

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I'd just wipe it down, hit it with some gun oil, and push a patch through the barrel. Would take all of a minute or two. Range would probably let you do it right there.

I take this approach to prepping new guns. If the gun has a good reliability record, and therefore is likely to be fine at the range I take it home and clean and lube it before firing it. If it is an unproven gun I try to shoot it when I buy it. I have only done that with two pistols, a Ruger LC9 in 2012 when it was a new model and recently with a Ruger Security 380 which has only recently come on the market. It was just a few weeks back that I bought the 380. I wanted to test it immediately for functionality. I bought it and an hour of range time. I put 50 FMJ rounds through it with no issues or failures. I took it home, cleaned and lubed it, a few days later I took it to the range and put 200 rounds through it to check reliability and accuracy. It met the mark on both criterion. There is a specific reason it shot without cleaning and lubing. I needed to trust the gun from the get-go so I needed a fast testing. It worked out.

i field strip and clean the gun, barrel included, and then lube it. Gives me a chance to inspect the gun closely and look for issues rather than having something blamed on the ammo later on.
2 1911s, however, came dripping with CLP with instructions to just wipe down the outside and shoot without breaking it down for at least 500 rds and you better not complain about any issues till at least 500 rds have been fired.

I always clean the bore and take it apart lube/inspect , just my ocd.I guess if the bore was clear what could it hurt to just fire it ?

Yes. I clean out every new gun I get before firing. For new in box firearms, the manufacturer uses a corrosion inhibitor grease that isn't very suited for shooting right out of the box. And for used, I don't know with what they were cleaned with last or when. I've bought used firearms that were "cleaned" with Vaseline and wouldn't fire if I tried.

JohnKSa said:

When I get a new gun, I read the manual, and clean it before taking it to the range. Sometimes I find things that need attention. Once, I found a lot of what appeared to be blasting media jammed into a small area inside the works of the gun. Sometimes I'm just doing it to make sure the gun is lubricated and that I have an idea of how it all looks. The latter is good because that makes it less likely that I'll get it home and see something that I haven't seen before and decide that the first range trip damaged/broke something when really there's nothing wrong.

Besides, I just like doing it. It's a new gun. It's fun to look at and handle, it's fun to learn about it. Maybe if I didn't like guns I would do things differently.

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This ^^^^^

I couldn’t have said any better myself.

Yes, most either have to much oil or some other kind of greasy preservatives.

red rick said:

Yes , I clean it before firing it and if one of my guns sits for a long period , I oil it and swap out the barrel before firing it .

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Doesn't that get expensive?

Yet another topic that we all tend to way overthink. For me, it comes down to let your conscience be your guide. I don't believe there's really a scientific or mechanical engineering basis for having to clean and lubricate some handguns directly from the factory -- especially since most manufacturers shoot them for a function check at least once at the factory prior to shipment. Moreover, the grease put in the guns at the factory probably, for the most part, shouldn't impact functioning.

Most of the time I give it a once over and lube.

Many manufacturers say you should clean a gun before you use it for the first time. I would be careful before disregarding any instructions to do so specified in the owners manual. Below are a few references from owners manuals:

Glock 17-48 Owners Manual
Your GLOCK pistol should be cleaned and lubricated as follows:
1. when brand new, before first time it is fired, , plus
2.after each time it is fired, plus

Smith&Wesson M&P M2.0 Owners Manual
Before using your firearm for the first time, it should be cleaned.
• Your firearm was treated at the factory with either a preservative or oil to protect it against corrosion during shipping and storage.
• Preservative and oil should be wiped from the bore, chamber and exposed areas using a clean swab or patch before using the firearm.

Sig Sauer P365 Owners Manual
Prior to firing the pistol for the first time, we strongly suggest that you perform an initial cleaning and lubrication of the pistol after you unpack it.