Periodic cleaning of unused guns.

I don't re-clean my clean guns. Some do, but I don't.

Sometimes, I might add a little more lube or RIG to a gun, but that is also pretty rare for a gun that has been RIG'd up for a long stay.

The action can definitely take another cleaning, but simply wiping down everything clean and then reapplying some lube should suffice. I've heard and read enough about over cleaning and over lubing that I keep it to a minimum. However, I live in a relatively dry climate, so I have that luxury. If I lived in a much more humid environment, I'd likely do a relube job during the storage period.

Guns that I don't shoot, I will take out and re-lube every six months to a year or so just depending on when the mood strikes. This is mostly a "just in case" measure to prevent any chance of rust forming. It shouldn't, since the "gunroom" is indoors/air conditioned, but it is in an area that I otherwise don't use much, so I'm less inclined to regulate the temperature closely, and it swings by as much as 15 degrees depending on the season.

If you have cleaned them and not shot them, they should still be clean... as we are all fond of saying, guns don't shoot by themselves, and therefore have no way to dirty themselves up.

Much depends on just how long a period we are talking about.

Oil and grease can harden into gunk if allowed to sit too long but that's genrally years, not months.

A blued gun should be wiped with an oily rag every few months to keep it from rusting, but stainless guns or those with epoxy-type finishes can sit for much longer without any attention. Aluminum and plastic frames, too.

Too much oil can be bad, too, especially in long guns where the oil can run down into the stock.

Just be sure to swab out the barrel before shooting.

Personally, any gun that has not been shot for a few months will get wiped down and relubed but I do not use solvents on them.

I break down my two defensive handguns every two weeks and my shotgun every six weeks and wipe down-relube.

Now that I have time to attend to my guns they get proper attention such as periodic inspection and lube etc.

However, I have two revolvers, acquired in the mid to late 1960s, that sat untouched in a drawer for 30+ years, no oil, nothing. Neither shows a trace of rust, and both function flawlessly and look as good as the day they were purchased.

Periodic maintenance is important and prudent but it can be overdone. I've damaged more guns through overzealous cleaning than through neglect. Like most things in life there's a proper balance.

I do a clean on my blued guns every 6 weeks (just a wipe down and inspection to assure they stay oxidation free). My stainless pistol, only after each use.

Inspect for rust, fouling, tarantulas, or whatever on a periodic basis.

Wipe-down everything with CLP.
Put back in gunsafe.

When I carried a 1911 at work I would clean about 3-4 weeks then wipe down during the fall and winter and during the summer when you're likely to sweat I kept it wiped down regularly.

Now that its not carried (but close by) I wipe it down now & then. The long guns that are put away get a wipe down about every 6 monthe with CLP. After every use they are cleaned then wiped down and put away.

If I don't shoot them I don't use solvents on them, just lightly wipe with an oil rag that doesn't scratch .

HTH,

CI

Don't forget guns in leather holsters; leather is an excellent attractor of moisture!

When ever the voices in my head tell me to.

I have some that I have not fired in years and been that long since they where cleaned.....guess I should have a look at them.

As a guy who has a small collection of over 200 firearms I can say some I have not touched some for 10 years. No Rust. The main thing is to keep them is a dust free and humidity controled area. no I don't clean every one of them every 6 months. If you don't shoot them *** clean them?

Use Corrosion-X and don't worry about them for a year or two.............

Glocks & Not Cleaning or lubing

The Glock pistol, it continues to amaze me with the more I learn.

I became a certified Glock Armorer this year and have been reading all I can find out. This one guy took a Glock 21 and put it through a grinding test. Here is a photo of this Glock after torcher test, he had just fired the gun successfully if you can believe it.



The Glock is still designed as a combat weapon, to be dropped into a combat zone and fired 1000's of times right out of the box.

But I still do clean "My Glocks"

TK

I periodically refresh the lubricant and check for signs of corrosion.

When I was on the NRA staff and DC changed their gun law we had to pack up and store hundreds of Museum guns on short notice which were put away in a warehouse for several years until they reopened the museum in the new Fairfax, VA HQ building.

We used a variety of stuff which was available and some expedients we could get at the drug or hardware store when we ran out. A few lessons learned. None of the thin liquid aerosols worked rust-free after 4-5 years. WD40, LP11, CRC556 etc.

Best for long term storage with absolutely no rust issues and easy cleanup were Mil-L-63460(Break Free), Alox 606-55 (Lee Liquid Alox bullet lube) and Mobil (Dexron II) ATF. Nearly as good was plain ordinary mineral oil USP from the drug store.

RIG is good IF you be sure to get full coverage so that there are no gaps. There were some guns which got rust spots where there were gaps in the RIG. BEST way to apply RIG or any preservative grease such as Cosmolene is to warm the metal with an electric hair drier and then to apply the grease so that it melts and flows uniformly over the surface.

For my money the best preservative is Lee Liquid Alox. This is chemically similar to the stuff which Ziebart uses to rust proof cars, just a bit thinner. Good substitute for cosmolene, although you can get that from Brownells. But best expedient for volume use which you can get cheap is ATF. Makes great weapons lube too, thin 50-50 with mineral spirits or Kerosene for cold weather gun oil.

I had stuff of my own in storage for 5 years or more protected with either Lee Liquid Alox or straight ATF. No rust. Today I use ATF on the shooters and Liquid Alox on the wall hangers and safe queens.

Recently took some guns from the back of the big gun safe that has not been out in many years. Ran a patch wet with Militec through the bores, wiped the metal parts down with Militec and put them back.