Am I being a Jerk?

Status
Not open for further replies.
A few observations. Guns don't need to be cleaned every time they are shot. Just because the military indoctrinates this practice does not mean it is really necessary. Different reasons, different purposes, we can go in-depth if necessary. Nor is it an excuse for ex-military personel to look down their nose at civilians who don't agree with the practice. I simply wipe mine down after shooting and clean them when they need it. I don't change the oil in my vehicle every time I drive it to town either.

I also agree with those who say they don't want anybody cleaning their guns. I may let trusted friends shoot them but I don't want anybody cleaning them. Just like I don't want anybody washing my truck or motorcycle but me. You want to preach about courtesy, I would consider it extremely discourteous for anyone to break down and clean my firearm without permission.

That said, he shot the gun, it belongs to you, you believe in cleaning every range session, you asked him to clean it afterwards, he should've cleaned it to the best of his ability. Even so, it's a Glock, it takes five minutes to clean and it's not worth losing a friend over. Lighten up and clean the damn thing. ;)
 
Personally, I say he was kind of being a jerk not offering to clean it, but I wouldn't want to cause harm to the relationship by calling him out on it. Taking the time to clean it myself is worth it to me.
Click to expand...

I agree.

Also, I don't spend 15 minutes on my glocks to clean them. 5 minutes and the bore is spotless, along with the breechface and under the extractor. It takes less than 10 minutes to strip a glock down to a bare frame, a bare slide and a pile of small parts.
 
I clean my own. Ask and you can shoot it, if I am sure you are safe and aware of the controls etc. If not I will show you, I will also show you how to clean it, my way. If I sell it then it is yours to do with as you wish.
 
Wow! ......... :scrutiny: 80 Post!

I sure wish he woulda just cleaned the dang gun!
Click to expand...

I hear ya. My 8 year old and my 12 year old will do that without prompting. My 12 year old is a little gun-crazy and he'd clean them every evening and morning if I asked with a smile on his face.

Speaking of soapy water, I have a good friend who was a cop. He cleaned his Glock 17 in the dishwasher. It was dry when it came out and he'd just put a drop of oil on each of the four rails, squirt some rem oil from the aerosol can down the barrel and call it a day. He used a bore snake for 3 pulls before the wash and 3 pulls after the wash. Say what you want, but it was a reliable and accurate pistol for thousands of rounds and 5-6 years before his department switched to 357 Sigs.
 
Use your own judgement on the frequency of required cleaning. Me personally, I don't beleive that guns and alcohol mix, on any level, at any time, including cleaning sessions. Your mileage may vary...
 
As much as you need another friend he might need another one too.
I am not Doctor Phil so you have to figure that one out on your own.
I feel that if someone doesn't want to do something don't force them because they will not do it right and you have to check later if the thing is put together correctly, specially a firearm.
Cleaning a glock every 100 rounds is not necessary. You wear it more cleaning than the shooting itself.
 
I thought it would be assumed that he should clean it if he fired it....
Click to expand...
I don't clean my guns every time they are fired, generally. When they are cleaned, I don't obsess about it, but I am particular about how they are cleaned and lubricated and wouldn't want someone else to do it for me unless I knew they do things the same way I do.
 
Benbru - if your "friend" complained about cleaning the pistol after only 100 rounds, he may not have done "due diligence" in the cleaning of it either.
As for selling it to him, that's up to you. If he complains about cleaning it now, what is he going to say if something goes wrong with it from his poor maintenance?
 
I don't clean my guns every time they are fired, generally.
Click to expand...

Same here. The exception is military surplus (or that cheap tula/wolf stuff) that my or may not be corrosive. Even if it is just 50 rounds I fired off to blow off steam, I'll clean it or at least boresnake the barrel if I use that stuff.
 
As for selling it to him, that's up to you. If he complains about cleaning it now, what is he going to say if something goes wrong with it from his poor maintenance?
Click to expand...

I'm not the manufacturer. If you buy it from me and it fails, that's your problem. If it is a really close friend who is clueless...I'll help him out at my convenience.

That's just me. I also feel that a small round count like 100 doesn't dictate a mandatory (even on my carry piece) cleaning unless the pistol is going to sit for longer than a month. Will I clean it? Probably. But if I'm pressed for time, I have no issues putting it away or back into my holster until I get a chance to shoot and clean it on the next weekend.

I don't believe that cleaning a modern pistol compulsively is going to cause wear...so I don't find fault with compulsive guys that clean after 50 rounds or guys that go 500 rounds and a couple of weeks without cleaning (corrosive ammo would be different, I feel that warrants a cleaning even after a couple of mags).

So in short, either way is cool with me. If I'm shooting a friend's weapons, I'll clean it to his standards (and supply his preferred ammo type) and hope he returns the favor to me without trying to force his opinion about cleaning on me. It is just a respect thing IMO. :)
 
As part of the military v civilian thing, you dont have to pay for your issued weapon, and those are all the same and pretty tough. As a civilian paying hard earned money for a nice gun, thats where attachment sets in. I would not want someone else cleaning my guns because I take better care of my guns because they are mine. I've had other people help clean guns, and they didnt get very clean so I just skip that part and do it myself. Plus they didnt pay for it, nor did they no the proper take down procedures and I had to do it anyway. Having them clean parts they cant mess up like pins and wiping down the slide I will allow them to do though, just so they can help. Besides, Hoppes #9 smells pretty good :) And I clean my guns after I shoot every single time so I clean them a lot.
 
I agree with some of the other posters here. I think 10-15 min. is more than adequate time to clean a pistol after only 100 rounds have been fired. However, I am going to take a different angle on this as well: I wouldn't want/expect someone else to take apart my gun and clean it. I would look at is as treating a friend to an afternoon of shooting. I would just do it and wouldn't think twice about it. However, if the friend were to wipe it down well, I would see it as a sign of good gesture. Beyond that, I would expect nothing and would surely not say anything. Personally, I don't want anyone taking apart my firearms, unless I know they know what they are doing. Even then, I wouldn't want them doing it. That's like saying you drove my car earlier; clean it! I mean come on...Well, I don't know, maybe I'm out of line on this one. Either way, unless it was an extended use situation, I wouldn't expect (much less tell) someone else to clean one of my firearms. And like I said before, I wouldn't want them to either...

Lighten up. You took your friend out shooting and you let him use one of your pistols. It shouldn't take more than 15 min to clean up after 100 rounds anyway, last time I spent more than 15 min to clean a gun after that light of shooting was Basic Training. If you want to pass the "white glove test," spend the extra 30 min (cleaning with q-tips?) to clean it and talk to your friend a little more. My $0.02...


-Deacon
 
Unless you guys have a habit of cleaning each others' guns, maybe you are expecting friends to have your perspective and standards.

Nobody ever wants to shoot more than eight-ten rds. out of any of my rifles (SKS, Enfields, Garand), and we go our separate ways afterwards.
Maybe you are a bit picky, but that depends on what is normal for you guys.

If any of you guys need motivation to clean a gun, can you clean in the tv room (over two towels etc) and switch on the Military Channel or History/TBS etc?
 
Last edited:
Friendly said:
Actually, I would rather that the gun stay dirty than have someone else clean my gun! Now, if I were selling it to the guy and he had the money on the table, he can clean away, as it is now HIS GUN, NOT MINE!
Click to expand...
I agree! BUT The OP mentioned that he wasn't quite sure that he wanted to sell it! If he wanted to part with it..then yep..leave it just the way his friend left it. If I did NOT want to sell it...I wouldn't let ANYONE touch my gun to clean it. My Son shoots my pistols and rifles quite a bit! I never thought of him actually cleaning them. Now..he's 29 yrs old and on his own, but if I invite him..I usually don't expect anything except for him to bring his own ammo.
 
I've taken many people shooting. I have never expected them to clean my guns. Granted I've never really had them over afterwards, nor taken them with the possibility of them buying. Certainly not if I was waffling on selling. If you had decided to sell, it would have been his to clean, or not, as he sees fit. Since you opted not to sell, the responsibility falls on you. Also, if someone did clean one of MY guns, I wouldn't complain if they didn't meet my expectations. They just made it easier when I did it for real. IMHO, YMMV.
 
Am I being a Jerk?
Click to expand...

If you have to ask someone else then you might as well assume you are. I tell myself this any time I worry about how I am acting. (Which is quite often).

All of us are different, but I personally have let dozens of people shoot my guns (even my expensive $2000 ones) and as long as they are responsible with them I don't ask for anything more. I think guns are for fun. If you are finding ways to make them unfun for you then maybe you should turn it into a job.
 
Those borrow my own guns/ammo up for can either clean it or pony up for the ammo used.

Note, I expect my own ammo to be used in any of my own guns.

The lazy friends buy the ammo, the wise friends just clean it. I always clean a gun after borrowing it.
 
Don’t be too harsh. People need to learn gun etiquette from someone and at sometime. It was a good opportunity to teach some.
 
Expecting him to clean it? No, you're not being a jerk.

Not selling it to him just because you had to remind him to clean it just sounds like hurting yourself.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
Jerk at a gunshow
2 3 4
Replies
97
Views
4K
Larry Ashcraft
Larry Ashcraft
N
  • Locked
Jerk at the range
2
Replies
48
Views
3K
Sam1911
S
1
  • Locked
Am I Crazy?
Replies
19
Views
1K
Maia007
M
R
  • Locked
Dealing with a Jerk
2 3 4
Replies
84
Views
5K
fatelk
F
B
  • Locked
Are all gun engravers jerks?
2
Replies
35
Views
4K
Monkeybear
M
Back
Top