Cleaning Procedure OK?

sounds pretty extream to me

What kind of firearm, for starters. You _sure_ don't wanna do that with any plastic parts.

I field strip and clean after each trip to the range. Maybe once a year, I pull the firing pin and extractor and clean the gunk out of those. I use lots of Breakfree CLP, and very little else. I LOVE Breakfree. Like the name says, it cleans, lubricates, and protects. Only one complaint. If you get just a couple of drops in a glass of lemonade, it ruins the whole thing. Tastes terrible.
Marty

Way to extreme for after every range trip, IMO. After each range session I field strip and clean the bore, wipe the major internal parts clean with a wet patch, then dry and lube according to the manual and reassemble. I'll also clean the external finish and then either wipe it clean or oil it, depending on what the gun is used for. About every 1000 rounds or once a year I'll do a complete detail strip and clean. But I'm not a big believer in soaking gun parts in cleaner, nor have I ever found it necessary.

What
Kind
Of
Gun
?

bogie asked a good question. If it's a 22, for example, it may seldom--in my opinion--need more than a bore snake and a wipe-down. It's easier to damage the bore of a .22 through cleaning than it is through shooting.

After each range trip, depending on how dirty the gun is and how many rounds I fired (if I just fire, say a mag or two: 7-15 rounds or so, I don't bother cleaning beyond a quick wipe on the outside with an oily cloth and then a dry cloth).

Generally, I clean like so:

Disassemble. Oil a bore brush, then brush bore a few times. Oil a patch and swab a few times. Swab with a dry patch a few times - if barrel looks clean, then move on.

Wipe everything else with oily cloth to remove soot. Put a drop of oil on the moving parts, then wipe off with dry cloth. Maybe put a tiny dab of grease on the frame rails.

Reassemble, and make sure no oil or grease is dripping off the outside. Wipe down with oily cloth, then dry cloth.

No soaking necessary unless it's been thousands of rounds of dirty ammo with no cleaning, or long-term buildup of gunk or something.

I plan on getting a .22LR, AK rifle, military surplus rifle, 9mm carbine, and a 12 ga.

Click to expand...

Nice diversity!

I'm guessing the .22LR, AK, and 12 ga won't need to be cleaned often based on what I read.

Click to expand...

I clean each gun every time I shoot 'em. It's just a question of how much to clean 'em. 22LR? Bore snake & wipe 'em down. Maybe swab out the receiver. Other guns get at least wet & dry patches pulled through 'em. My personal sidearm gets the most attention.

My sidearm gets more detailed attention than rifles that only see range use. It's a bit more of a safety-critical item. It's not the bore I'm as worried about as it is the receiver and slide, since it must cycle every time. I'm going after lint and the like, since I carry it around quite a bit and it does collect some amount of "everyday life" that needs to be gotten out of it. After a range session is a good time to get that stuff out of it with good swabbing out, then lube it all up nicely before putting it back together.

So that's why bogie wanted to know what kind of gun. The answer really is "it depends."

My whole family having been military, Officers and Enlisted, and my self having put in 13 years I was totally indoctrinated into the clean it every chance you get philosophy.

I followed that philosophy for many years until one day I got lazy and really didn't feel like cleaning all the guns I shot at the range that day. Took some of them out a while later along with some different ones. Didn't clean them either and the ones I'd shot before and hadn't cleaned didn't fall apart, blow up or all of a sudden shoot minute of barn side.


None of the horrible things I'd been led to believe by my father, uncles and grandfathers or by drill sargeants, shooting instructors or any other gun expert had happened.

My relatives were turning over in their graves, they haunted me but I persevered and didn't clean my guns for another 2 or 3 months. AND they still worked just fine! Imagine that.

Now - I clean 'em at least once a year if they haven't been fired in that time and after every 3rd or 4th range trip.

The only exception is my carry gun. It gets function checked every time I put it on and relubed about every 2 or 3 weeks. It gets fired once a month or so and cleaned afterwards but that's more for inspection purposes than anything else - plus it calms the ghosts for a bit.

So don't sweat it. Your guns aren't going to rust away, freeze up, lose all their accuracy, or any of the other things you've been told or imagined.

Enjoy your guns by shooting them and if you enjoy cleaning them then do so (there was a time when I actually enjoyed cleaning my guns - grew out of that though )

EDIT: If you're really new at the gun game I'd advise a regular cleaning regimen for a while. Not so much to keep your new acquisitions clean but to get you very familiar and comfortable with taking them down, inspecting the parts etc etc etc...

More gun bores have been worn out by cleaning than by shooting....

Just clean the bore and wipe out, wipe down the metal parts with a lite lube and wipe down the stock. Lube, very lightly, trigger, bolt and other operating parts as the manual says. Clean mags as needed.

I'm lazy as hell when it comes to cleaning my guns, and they've been plugging along just fine so far. I'll second what a few of the above posters said - you're just as likely, if not more likely to damage the bore of a .22 by cleaning it as you are just shooting it. My MK III has had thousands of rounds through it, and I've never cleaned it beyond wiping down the exterior and swabbing the chamber if/when it got super sooty.

Now, if it's a carry piece or something that you use for competition or just shoot alot, sure, go ahead and clean it more frequently - but once again, as another commenter said - there have been plenty of guns that haven't seen a proper cleaning in years that are still chugging along happily.

Long and short - there are no hard and fast rules. Some are clean freaks, and will have a heart attack if they hear of someone skipping a cleaning after a short trip to the range. Some barely clean their guns at all. Find the routine that works for you, based on how much and how often you shoot, and how much you like to mess around with your guns.

I agree with everything the others have said. Your procedure is way too extreme. Just get a nice aerosol can of Break Free CLP,field strip the gun, give everything a light spray, nylon brush scrub, and dry cloth wipe down. CLP on a bore brush, in and out, wipe away excess oil, and put it back together and call it a day.