wacki
Member
I'm just wondering as my local trap/skeet range rarely cleans their guns.
After trap/skeet, how important is it to clean?
- Thread starter wacki
- Start date
- Status
Otherwise, I was told "Shoot the d**n thing!" 
There are a lot of shooters who don't clean their guns after each outing.
Cleaning the barrels isn't essential but for an o/u cleaning the grease from the hinge pins is something to be done after each outing. Dirt and grit turn lubricant into an abrasive.
On semi-autos keeping them clean and well oiled keeps them functioning properly but a full cleaning usually isn't necessary.
Cleaning the barrels isn't essential but for an o/u cleaning the grease from the hinge pins is something to be done after each outing. Dirt and grit turn lubricant into an abrasive.
On semi-autos keeping them clean and well oiled keeps them functioning properly but a full cleaning usually isn't necessary.
Milkmaster
Member
If I am going to store the gun for a month or two or more before using it again then I clean it. An example would be a gun that I only occasionally exercise and put back into the safe. Then I don't have to worry if I don't use that gun again for a year. It is clean and protected from corrosion.
IF I am going to shoot a gun again within the next week, then I may just wipe it down good with rem oil or CLP. This is the case with my regular trap gun (1100). I do perform a complete take down and cleaning regularly, but it is not an exact number of rounds. Probably a 1000 or so. It doesn't take long to shoot a 1000 rounds in trap for me. Probably 4-5 weekends.
IF I am going to shoot a gun again within the next week, then I may just wipe it down good with rem oil or CLP. This is the case with my regular trap gun (1100). I do perform a complete take down and cleaning regularly, but it is not an exact number of rounds. Probably a 1000 or so. It doesn't take long to shoot a 1000 rounds in trap for me. Probably 4-5 weekends.
Last edited:
KINGMAX
Member
A gun is something you may trust your life with.
A gun is something you may trust your life with. If I shoot it today, it gets cleaned today. I clean and inspect it for anything that isn't correct. Wipe it down w/ just a touch of REM-OIL. If there is any wood I put a light coat of NATCHEZ Solution to protect the wood. I am just old school in that way.
A gun is something you may trust your life with. If I shoot it today, it gets cleaned today. I clean and inspect it for anything that isn't correct. Wipe it down w/ just a touch of REM-OIL. If there is any wood I put a light coat of NATCHEZ Solution to protect the wood. I am just old school in that way.
oletymer
Member
I always clean the guns after every outing. My parents and grand parents preached taking care of the guns. I guess it worked as my grandfathers two Parkers are still going strong after 80 plus years without a single part failure or rust on both of them.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Prior to chrome lined barrels, it was extreamly important.
When plastic shells first came out, it brought about a rash of rusted chambers never before seen with the old waxed, paper shells.
Turns out, the plastic residue (or fumes) was very likely to cause rust in the chamber if it was left to it's own devices for very long.
rcmodel
When plastic shells first came out, it brought about a rash of rusted chambers never before seen with the old waxed, paper shells.
Turns out, the plastic residue (or fumes) was very likely to cause rust in the chamber if it was left to it's own devices for very long.
rcmodel
evbutler462
Member
I have guns that I have been using over 50 years. They get cleaned once a year whether they ned it or not. The gas guns get the gas system sprayed out a little more often.
I got tired of the BS about cleaning them after every shoot. I noticed after i got out of the military, that some of the vets had guns they usec during their tour of duty. They cleaned them only when they began to malfunction, which was almost never.
Back in the 1960s, I got out of the military and started my gun collection. I used to clean them evry shoot but shortly gave it up. The military use and the civilian use is a different animal.
Some people have obsessions. Have at it. If you are anal about cleaning after eacxh shot, go for it. I have more important things to do. If anyone can find a speck of rust on any gun in my two safes---or if they can show me one that will malfunction, it is yours. It ain't gonna happen.
My motto: Clean them once a year whether they need it or not. Wipe them with an oily rag once or twice a year to keep them from rusting.
Happy shooting!
I got tired of the BS about cleaning them after every shoot. I noticed after i got out of the military, that some of the vets had guns they usec during their tour of duty. They cleaned them only when they began to malfunction, which was almost never.
Back in the 1960s, I got out of the military and started my gun collection. I used to clean them evry shoot but shortly gave it up. The military use and the civilian use is a different animal.
Some people have obsessions. Have at it. If you are anal about cleaning after eacxh shot, go for it. I have more important things to do. If anyone can find a speck of rust on any gun in my two safes---or if they can show me one that will malfunction, it is yours. It ain't gonna happen.
My motto: Clean them once a year whether they need it or not. Wipe them with an oily rag once or twice a year to keep them from rusting.
Happy shooting!
wacki
Member
thanks all!
I think I'll try the evbutler462 route. I shoot 2x a week and work 10-11 hour days. Time is precious to me.
I think I'll try the evbutler462 route. I shoot 2x a week and work 10-11 hour days. Time is precious to me.
Many of the people who are so particular about cleaning their shotgun after every use spend the overwhelming amount of their cleaning time on perhaps the least important part of the gun.......... the INSIDE of the barrel.
With a rifle or a pistol, the condition of the rifling is very important to accuracy. With a shotgun, the barrel is just a steel tube that the shot travels through while fully cushioned inside a plastic cup. The condition of the inner surface of the barrel is of very little importance in performance or accuracy of the shot.
I'm not suggesting that a person never clean the inside of a shotgun barrel. I'm simply saying that there is no reason (IMO) to be anal about it.
The condition/cleanliness of the trigger assembly, bolt assembly, and gas system (if applicable) is of FAR more importance in the functioning of the gun, yet many of the shooters who spend hours scrubbing the inside of the barrel almost never remove the trigger assembly or bolt assembly for proper cleaning.
Just my 2 cents. Don't mean to criticize anyone or their methods.
With a rifle or a pistol, the condition of the rifling is very important to accuracy. With a shotgun, the barrel is just a steel tube that the shot travels through while fully cushioned inside a plastic cup. The condition of the inner surface of the barrel is of very little importance in performance or accuracy of the shot.
I'm not suggesting that a person never clean the inside of a shotgun barrel. I'm simply saying that there is no reason (IMO) to be anal about it.
The condition/cleanliness of the trigger assembly, bolt assembly, and gas system (if applicable) is of FAR more importance in the functioning of the gun, yet many of the shooters who spend hours scrubbing the inside of the barrel almost never remove the trigger assembly or bolt assembly for proper cleaning.
Just my 2 cents. Don't mean to criticize anyone or their methods.
I think it largely depends on the gun. Obviously every piece is different, and may have different requirements for good operation.
I went well over a year without giving my old model 37 a real cleaning. It would get wiped down here and there to prevent rust as I was out in different conditions - but as far as a real complete cleaning, it was a very long time. Never had a single problem with it.
Would I do the same thing with some high-end custom made over/under? Absolutely not. Not the kind of gun you can treat that way.
Now - would I do the same thing with the Model 37 now that i'm a bit older and wiser? No, I wouldn't go that long, but i also wouldn't obsess and do a full on cleaning every single time I take it out. It's excessive for that gun.
I went well over a year without giving my old model 37 a real cleaning. It would get wiped down here and there to prevent rust as I was out in different conditions - but as far as a real complete cleaning, it was a very long time. Never had a single problem with it.
Would I do the same thing with some high-end custom made over/under? Absolutely not. Not the kind of gun you can treat that way.
Now - would I do the same thing with the Model 37 now that i'm a bit older and wiser? No, I wouldn't go that long, but i also wouldn't obsess and do a full on cleaning every single time I take it out. It's excessive for that gun.
Ricky B
Member
After shooting and when it's time to go home, I take off the barrel or barrels and run my Tico Tool through, which removes all the loose burnt carbon. The Tico Tool looks like a giant pipe cleaner, and I keep one in the trunk of my car. Then I spray some Breakfree CLP onto the oiler (like a mop for a cleaning rod) that comes with the Tico Tool and pull the oiler through the barrel from the muzzle to the chamber. The oiler has enough spray on it that some drips onto the ground when it squeezes down to enter the barrel (which is off the gun). Then I lay the gun and barrel(s) flat in the case in the trunk of my car. All this takes about a minute extra.
When I get home, if it's the Rem 1100 barrel, I use a special wire brush on the gas cylinder. I run a patch through the barrel to remove the excess lubricant and loosened crud (don't want it running down the barrel into the action or the wood). Then I wipe the exterior metal parts with a patch or cloth moistened with Breakfree CLP. All that takes is another minute. Then into the safe.
When I take the gun out of the safe, I run a clean patch through the barrels to make sure that there is no wet lubricant in there (or spiders or whatever) that could build up excess pressure.
On the Rem 1100 I will clean the magazine tube and action bar assembly regularly.
Just an ounce of prevention regularly applied
When I get home, if it's the Rem 1100 barrel, I use a special wire brush on the gas cylinder. I run a patch through the barrel to remove the excess lubricant and loosened crud (don't want it running down the barrel into the action or the wood). Then I wipe the exterior metal parts with a patch or cloth moistened with Breakfree CLP. All that takes is another minute. Then into the safe.
When I take the gun out of the safe, I run a clean patch through the barrels to make sure that there is no wet lubricant in there (or spiders or whatever) that could build up excess pressure.
On the Rem 1100 I will clean the magazine tube and action bar assembly regularly.
Just an ounce of prevention regularly applied
Beagle-zebub
Member
On my 1100, I make sure to get rid of those weird burnt-powder flakes that build up in certain parts of the trigger assembly. Speaking more generally, I clean waaaay more than I need to.
Ricky B
Member
Just keep in mind that circumstances differ. Where I live the air is dry (San Jose is classified as a semi-arid region). A humid region (or humid storage area) could give quite nasty results.
And from what I've read, some people have acid in their fingerprint oil, which can start the rusting process in guns in hours!
So take into account your circumstances. And ask as the local skeet/trap range exactly what they do.
- Status