Am I the only person who cleans his guns?

[WVRJ]

It depends on the gun.Some of mine lose accuracy after 50 or so rounds and some will shoot who knows how many without any problems.My carry 1911 gets it every two weeks of carry time,but I carry it on the farm a lot and it gets dirty and dusty.The AR gets it about once a month regardless of how many rounds are put through it.Hunting rifles get the outside wiped down every trip afield.Some types need stripped down to get cleaned up good while others don't.I don't like to take any of my better shooting bolt rifles out of the stock until it's neccessary.Any used gun gets taken apart,cleaned and inspected,sometimes before I'll buy it.If the deal doesn't go through,at least the seller to be will get a free cleaning.The last used Bushmaster I bought belonged to a local Deputy,and it was sterile when I popped the pin.To each his(or her) own,but clean means reliable to me.

 

[Migr]

I clean all after every outing except my glocks. They get cleaned, but less frequently.

 

[MuleRyder]

My father taught me not to put a dirty gun away. I'm kinda amazed at some of these responses, I thought everyone cleaned their guns after using them.

 

[Sam1911]

My father taught me not to put a dirty gun away.

And lots of dads and grand-dads did.

Remember, all guns used to be wood and blued carbon steel. A few fingerprints would rust the surface quickly. And, even earlier, all ammo would leave salts on the metal that would corrode blued steel overnight. And earlier than that, all guns used black powder and produced lots of corrosive residue and massive fouling so heavy that a dirty gun couldn't even be easily loaded.

There were indeed very good reasons for our ancestors to learn and remember to follow strict cleaning discipline. Kind of like how there were really good reasons to avoid certain foods and observe dietary restrictions back before modern safeguards were put in place and modern medicine identified underlying health risks. Or, brining it back to guns, why revolvers were traditionally loaded, "load one, skip one, load four," so you didn't accidentally shoot your foot. All have legitimate reasons back in history.

But these days, most of us eat pork, and tomatoes, and drink milk, load our modern revolvers with six rounds (or seven, or eight, or nine!) and some of us are starting to see that a "dirty" modern gun will work just as well and last just as long as one that is religiously cleaned after every outing.

 

[788Ham]

I understand your position on this Sam, but there is also a pride in ownership involved here too! If I take a revolver, H&R 922, out and shoot it, along with my 6" Colt Python, they are both going to be cleaned when I get home. Not just because of the Colt being used, but I don't put any of them away without the cleaning first. I've worked hard and long to buy these firearms, just not giving a damn doesn't even enter the equation!

 

[jakk280rem]

Picked up a 10/22 like that at a pawn shop a few years back. Looked to never have been cleaned. The action was so fouled the bolt wouldn't go into battery and the trigger had a 9lb pull. Took the better part of the afternoon to detail strip it and clean it.

Same thing with a blued 5.5" Ruger MKII slabside a year later. It was filthy. And top it off the guy that traded it to me had hose down th bolt to try to give it the appearance of being cared for. It was so sloppy the oil was coming out of the magwell and pooling at the bottom of the case.

 

[Sam1911]

just not giving a damn doesn't even enter the equation!

Did I give you the impression that I don't clean mine every time because I don't give a damn?

Surely not.

Do I feel pride about owning them? I'm not sure. I like them, and enjoy shooting them, and like sharing them with others, so I guess that might be a kind of pride of ownership. (In the end, stuff is just stuff.)

If it makes you feel good to clean them that often, and to look at them in the safe lined up shining and beautiful without any fouling on them, then that can be a reason to clean them every time.

But to say that it makes them shoot more accurately or more reliably just isn't true, most of the time.

Many posters here have said, "I clean every time I shoot. And just look at this example of a gun that was never ever cleaned." As though there were two choices -- meticulous, obsessive, religious cleaning, or abject neglect. Surely we don't have to believe that.

Nor do we have to believe that if you care about your guns and value them you will clean them after every session -- without any clear physical need to do so.

It appears to me -- though I won't say it absolutely is the case -- that a lot of the folks who use their guns a lot (competitors, self-defense carriers, and such) tend toward a utilitarian view of cleaning. And that folks who tend toward more casual, occasional uses -- or collectors & military recruits -- tend to more of the "veneration" model, where cleaning is part of the ablution ritual performed by the devotee. And that's fine, but it seems that it is difficult for either side of the question to look on the practices of the other without a raised eyebrow of superiority. And that's not nice.

 

[Skribs]

My floor is covered with dirty clothes. My kitchen is littered with dishes and grocery bags. My desk has an assortment of papers and a collection of Dr Pepper cans. However, even I clean my guns after every range trip.

 

[UKarmourer]

Its probably the armourer in me, a dirty weapon is a sin- that I punish accordingly!

I currently work at a recruit training depot, an I can safely say I have seen it all as regards to dirty weapons!:banghead:

Personally I clean my shotgun after every trip to the range

 

[X-Rap]

Some almost insinuate poor upbringing if one doesn't clean their guns before the sun sets. I agree fully with Sam and I am willing to bet I have a few laying around that haven't seen a cleaning rod in years and maybe since I have owned them. I do keep a rag soaked with some type of oil in each safe so that I can wipe them down when handled but that has little to do with the topic IMO.
My go to hunting guns might get a bore snake and a rubdown after the season but most of them are stainless so that is even a rarity.
Back when I used to fire 100's of rounds on a prarie dog town I would swab a barrel after a couple hundred rounds and still do with my AR's if I shoot hundreds in a weekend but if I miss it I don't worry much.

 

[Hit_Factor]

I shoot too many matches to clean the guns after each.

Usually four or five guns are selected each year as my primary guns. These will get cleaned twice during the year. If I notice them acting up, adding oil is the solution. Anywhere from 3000 to 6000 rounds will have been fired in these guns.

Carry guns get cleaned after a range session.

Safe queens get wiped off if I can't remember the last time they were looked at.

 

[Prophet]

My Dad always made us clean our guns every time we used them. The guns were cleaned or you didn't go to bed. I've never even considered not cleaning my gun when I get home from hunting, etc. I guess it's just habit. Plus, we live in a relatively moist climate so things like to rust. If you don't at least run a snake with some oil on it down the barrel and wipe the outside with a silicon rag, you're gonna be working the rust out on your next serious cleaning.

 

[VT Deer Hunter]

I clean mine after each use. Its probably just brainwashing after being in the military. I have much more confidence in the weapon if it has been cleaned and function checked after each use. To me they are too expensive to leave unmaintained. It doesn't matter 5 rounds or 500 rounds. You wipe your butt after you take a dump each time no matter how much comes out.

Coming from a military man right there! 100% true! I trust a clean gun, i dont want to risk it shooting a unclean gun that may have rust in the bore.

 

[ChCx2744]

There are many people out there that never clean their guns. I'm not exaggerating either, there are gun owners out there that never clean their guns. It worries me sometimes.

 

[Grmlin]

When my father passed I aquired his guns and as I have been going through them I noticed in his later years he didn't clean as often as when I was a kid. I try to clean shortly after I shoot then they go into a gun sock and into the safe. At one time his guns and mine sat in a safe for almost 4 yrs, never touched until I went home and picked them up. Remarkably I haven't found any bad rust or damage. It's been over a year know and I still haven't finished cleaning. I have also noticed that brand new guns always seem to be dirty.

 

[mljdeckard]

The reason Army armorers are picky is because their arms rooms are subject to inspection at any time, or they may need to do a massive turn-in, and if they person in charge doesn't think they are clean enough, the armorer either cleans them himself on the spot or takes them back home. The Army damages weapons from overcleaning.

And no, not all guns function 'much better' when properly cleaned and lubed. I had a Glock I could run hard and dirty and it never made a difference. My SKS is a running abuse experiment. My dad shot a bajillion rounds through his 10/22, which I later inherited, and proudly proclaimed that he even cleaned it once or twice. The only time I ever saw it malfunction was when using a cheap aftermarket magazine. I have a friend who has an AR he built for competition that has seen THOUSANDS of rounds, and he has cleaned it precisely.....NEVER. Just runs it sloppy wet.

This isn't to say I never clean, but I'm much less anal about it than I used to be. My carry gun gets cleaned every few hundred rounds. My .22 conversion gets hosed with gun scrubber every few hundred rounds. My hunting guns get cleaned at the end of the season, my 700 VSSF in 22-250 actually gets cleaned bu a specific process, but really, for the most part, I save redundant maintenence and butt kissing for my wife. (Lest she cease to indulge my hobbies.)

 

[Ignition Override]

Until 2007 my only gun was an ancient 40's Savage .22 rifle. We lived in Jackson, MS, then KC, but were not raised around guns.
The .22 had been seldom used, never cleaned since my grandfather died in '77. Regarding that gun, frankly I was a slob, but then my attitude quickly changed in middle age, as I began to buy about fifteen classic military rifles.

Not only do I clean each of them within days of use, but despite having been very neglectful, I now can not imagine expecting anybody to consider Buying a Dirty Gun, at least one with a Dirty Bore and Chamber/Bolt.

Any potential seller who has time to eat potato chips in front of a game has time to clean a gun when the cheerleaders do their ' Heiny wiggle', unless he decides to disrespect both the gun and a potential seller by willfully ignoring such a simple, minor task, which requires about ten minutes. Many of our decisions are a personal choice.

Why buy a gun from a slob? They even bring them to Memphis-area gun shows, whether on their shoulders, or onto tables. They can clean a bore which has minor/moderate fouling in about five minutes.

 

[OneLiveRound]

AK gets cleaned every 6mos or so (Saiga 12 gets cleaned with it)
AR gets cleaned after every use (gets run wet , lubed with Mobil 1)
PX4 gets cleaned once a month (G19 gets cleaned with it)
Mosin gets cleaned after every 4th or 5th use
336 Marlin gets cleaned after every use
590A1 gets cleaned every 6 mos
Colt 1911 XSE gets cleaned & lubed after every use (does not go into sonic cleaner)

All weapons get cleaned immediately if they have been in the wet or have gone through 2temperature extremes (cold outside to heated home, or AC at home to summer heat) due to condensation.

Pistols are put in a sonic cleaner , BCG from AR is put in a sonic cleaner. Ar gets lubed with mobil 1 , the rest froglube or breakfree CLP.

The frequency of the cleanings have to do with each particular weapons intended use , and type of ammo used.

I'm very anal with the 1911 and AR.

 

[wolf695]

I clean mine too! I admit if I could get someone to do it for me, blackpowder guns, rusts quickly! I clean my hunting guns after every season!

 

[The Sarge]

After shooting or once a year.

 

[GoWolfpack]

At one time his guns and mine sat in a safe for almost 4 yrs, never touched until I went home and picked them up. Remarkably I haven't found any bad rust or damage.

So guns sat for four years untouched with virtually no physical damage, and this means they should be cleaned more often?

I save redundant maintenence and butt kissing for my wife.

There it is, right there. Truth in its purest form.


I've got an old Anschutz smallbore target rifle that so far as I know has never been cleaned. Most competitive shooters I met in college never cleaned their target guns.

 

[Sam1911]

I've got an old Anschutz smallbore target rifle that so far as I know has never been cleaned. Most competitive shooters I met in college never cleaned their target guns.

Yes, that was considered extremely bad ju-ju. Some heretics cleaned between seasons, but most didn't.

Kind of like the sweatshirt you wear under the 3-position jacket. Never wash that! Important layer of magic builds up in the fibers and helps guide the bullets. And, of course, no one will "borrow" it, either.

 

[stonecutter2]

I try to clean when i'm done with a range trip, however i really don't worry about it UNLESS I've shot corrosive ammo through the gun - then it's clean up time ASAP. Sometimes I'll let guns sit (when shot with non-corrosive ammo) for weeks before cleaning. But it stays on my to-do list until I do it.

My home defense Glock 19 gets a good clean frequently, even when i haven't shot it and it's sat around for awhile. I just like keeping it in really good shape in case I need it. I also like getting out my guns periodically to clean because it helps me make sure that no corrosion has occurred, and because i find it kind of fun to make sure a gun is in nice, clean shape.

 

[tnxdshooter]

Nope your not the only person that cleans his guns. I clean mine after every range use or asap there after. On new guns I clean them out real good then shoot them and then clean them again.


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[Davek1977]

788 Ham Said:

just not giving a damn doesn't even enter the equation!

Disagree if you must, but not cleaning every gun after every outing DOES NOT equate to "not giving a damn" in the slightest. Every gun I own is in perfect working condition. That said, NOT every gun was cleaned before putting it away. Just because someone doesn't follow YOUR cleaning procedure DOES NOT mean they don't give a damn about their guns. I treasure my guns...I take pride in them, and yes, I want them to be reliable. That doesn't mean every time the firing pin hits a primer that I need to clean my gun, however. Its just not necessary, and in some cases, can actually have adverse effects on the gun. Heck, if I cleaned that religiously growing up, the only things I'd have ever accomplished were shooting...and cleaning

At one time his guns and mine sat in a safe for almost 4 yrs, never touched until I went home and picked them up. Remarkably I haven't found any bad rust or damage

Four years? I have an Ithaca Lightening X5 22semi auto. The gun belonged to my father, but being mainly utilitarian with his guns, hung it up in the gun rack when he acquired a BL-22 he liked much more. Fast Forward 15 years or so, and suddenly my dad has a son (me) interested in firearms. The Ithaca and also his Western Field .410 and Marlin 336, which had not been shot for a decade, maybe closer to two, were rust free and in perfect operating condition. If stored in a relatively stable environment, one shouldnt EXPECT their guns to become rusty or inoperable due to time alone. While every gun should be checked for rust periodically, I wouldn't EXPECT rust under normal conditions