Am I the only person who cleans his guns?

[pockets]

Am I the only one who doesn't act like a martyr about how often I clean my guns? My guns are MINE to clean as often as I want, and nobody is impressed with how often you clean your guns. Your guns are yours, you clean them whenever you want and stop acting like you're a modern day saint for it. To hear some of you talk cleaning your guns makes you Rosa Parks or something. Get over yourselves.

No sir, you are not the only one.
That doesn't mean I have several dozen rusty firearms laying around on the basement floor.
It just means I maintain those several dozen firearms to my personal specs.
I don't disassemble my vehicle's engine every month and scrub the cylinder bores with a toothbrush either.
But, like Swayze said, 'Opinions vary".

.

 

[CZguy]

Am I the only person

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who doesn't act like a martyr about how often I clean my guns?

My guns are MINE to clean as often as I want, and nobody is impressed with how often you clean your guns. Your guns are yours, you clean them whenever you want and stop acting like you're a modern day saint for it.

To hear some of you talk cleaning your guns makes you Rosa Parks or something. Get over yourselves.

Perhaps your life would go more easily if we all thought just like you. But in this imperfect world of ours we all have different opinions, and come here to share them. You may wish to review THR rules for posting, as our moderators don't usually tolerate this type of behavior.

 

[gunguy0829]

When people wait to clean their weapons, I agree, its up to you when you do it, however, waiting isnt smart. What if something happens and you need the gun you "waited to clean"? Some guy is harming your family and you take a shot and miss, things go from bad to worse all because you didnt feel cleaning your weapon was important. True you dont clean your cars after you drive, but a gun and a car are two totaly differant things, accuracy of a gun partially depends on a clean bore, clean parts to work correctly. My family's life depends on how well my guns work, and if something bad happens because I didnt clean it, well who's fault is that? When I was in the army on deployment it was a daily life or death situation, trust me if I didnt clean my weapon, I may not be here. Not cleaning your gun is your choice, its a free country, do what you want, mine get cleaned, my opinion, I honestly could care less what other people do, Cleaning it is the right thing to do, proven, tested and true no ifs ands or buts about it.

 

[Sam1911]

I agree, its up to you when you do it, however, waiting isnt smart. What if something happens and you need the gun you "waited to clean"? Some guy is harming your family and you take a shot and miss, things go from bad to worse all because you didnt feel cleaning your weapon was important.

My opinion on that is that there is NO conceivable realistic instance in which you could not defend yourself or your family because your gun wasn't clean. If you take a shot and MISS, it is NOT because your gun was fouled -- and if you're accustomed to making such excuses for poor shots you really need to a) get better training, and b) be more honest with yourself.

As I said before:

In fact, WHY would you trust a gun that had just been disassembled and reassembled? Would you not be significantly safer with a gun that had been (at least) function fired a few mags' worth to make sure everything went back as it should have and no extra bits of cleaning rag, bristles, debris, etc. got lodged somewhere they shouldn't have?

I don't ever take a freshly-cleaned gun to a match -- that's just begging to find that some pin wasn't seated fully or that I managed to put a spring in backward. I always put at least a week's practice session through the gun before an important shoot.

Why would carrying a defensive gun be any different?

Clean guns are NOT to be trusted!

accuracy of a gun partially depends on a clean bore, clean parts to work correctly.

Not really. Not in a defensive, close-to-medium range weapon. Not to any conceivable degree that could matter.

I shoot ~ 1,000 round between cleanings of my defensive and competition guns. I see no measurable accuracy loss over that number of shots. None. None AT ALL.

Clean parts to work correctly? No. They require serviceable parts that aren't so gummed up as to become UN-serviceable. Not spotlessly clean so you can eat off of them.

If I shot a gun 200 or 300 times, recently, the chances are very VERY good that it will fire the next time I pull the trigger, too. And, due to my own shooting practices I know that, there is a very high likelihood that it will keep on firing accurately and reliably for at least another 1,000 rounds beyond that.

Pull it all apart, clean it out, and put it back together. Will it fire the next time you pull the trigger? Well, you hope so. You believe so, but you don't know that it went back together just right, no springs are displaced or in backwards, no pins were misplaced, no lint ball is hung up on some critical part that you didn't notice.

Shoot it and you'll KNOW it's right. You can't trust a CLEAN gun.

 

[gunguy0829]

Well, my combat experiance shows, a DIRTY gun can not be trusted, combat is a lot differant than shooting steel stationary targets that dont shoot back, dirty guns jam, miss feed, stove pipe, proven, in combat, case closed. I have had friends die because of jams from a weapon jamed with sand and dirt, sometimes you go through 3 to 4 hundred rds. in a battle or more, in a lul, the first thing we did was clean our life line, what you do is your business, i dont care, this is my opinon, so dont get your g string twisted, i stated, this is what i do, if you do good with a dirty gun than fine, thats your thing, i dont care, i have REAL world shooting experiance and I know what can happen with a dirty gun. That being said, after i clean my hunting rifle i will take it to the field with one round fired from it cause it does better, but that means one round not 1000.

 

[gunguy0829]

oh, and if your argument is that when you clean it and the next time you shoot you are not sure it will work cause you dont know you put it back togeather right, than one you didnt table test it, or do a functions test, therefore you shouldnt own a gun, mine go back togeather perfect every time, I know they work, no doubt in my mind, they will work, they will be accurate and, no i dont miss, no choice, i cant miss, mine and my family depend on me not missing, i know how i shoot under stress, i.e when bullets are flying by your head and your buddy gets hit next to you and oh, look a mortar, what else could happen, i can block that out and make effective shots at moving targets, and when its done, no one sits there and cheers and claps, and hands me a trophy, we just move on to the next mission.

 

[Sam1911]

Heavens! My apologies! I thought you were talking about self- or home-defense with guns that might be dirty from range use. I didn't realize you were talking about combat and weapons jammed with sand and dirt!

My comments apply to guns that might be a little fouled from a few days of competition or practice. Not fighting in the jungles of Vietnam or the dunes of Iraq. All depends on where you call "home," I guess!

 

[X-Rap]

Who has their thong in a knot?
I didn't think this discussion was over cleaning a gun after a combat action. If I were out dragging my rifle through a muddy rice paddy or spent the last 24 hrs in an Iraqi gunfight or sand storm then no doubt that gun would be scrubbed cleaned. If I just went out back to run through a couple mags and test a new hand load or pop a coyote then probably not so much. The same would be true if I was actually looking for the limits of performance from a gun. You are literally talking about a world of difference.


Gosh Sam ya beat me to it but that post involked the same sentiments.

 

[gunguy0829]

well, someone busts into my home and it is combat, may only last 5 seconds, but yes its combat, sand/dirt and burnt powder and other fowling is no differant, dirty parts dont move as well, too many risks for me, would i take a dirty gun over a dirty sock, you bet.

 

[gunguy0829]

but again what other people do is their thing, i will simplify it and bring this all back to earth before it gets out of hand (which it probably is anyway)

I clean everytime i shoot and when the gun has sat for too long, You dont? Thats cool, just got a new 686-5, nice revolver, couldnt wait to clean it, just to take it apart and see how well its made, so far looks great.

 

[LongTimeGone]

Thanks Sam.

I put my target .22s away without cleaning today for the 3rd time this week.
I'll probably shoot 'em dirty tomorrow.
My HD weapons have had a mag thru them and stored for quick access.
I did clean my carry pm9 after I shot it last because it was 100 wwb.

 

[GoWolfpack]

Heavens! My apologies! I thought you were talking about self- or home-defense with guns that might be dirty from range use. I didn't realize you were talking about combat and weapons jammed with sand and dirt!

My comments apply to guns that might be a little fouled from a few days of competition or practice. Not fighting in the jungles of Vietnam or the dunes of Iraq. All depends on where you call "home," I guess!

I could be wrong, but I'm detecting subtle notes of sarcasm in your response. Always nice to see somebody go heavy on the subtlty.

The last gun I shot that jammed because it was dirty was a Marlin 60 with probably 8000-10000 rounds through it without cleaning. Jammed on some CCI Blazer junk. I'm currently testing my P99 for endurance; I've come between 400 and 500 rounds with no cleanings and no signs of trouble. Can't wait to see how long I can keep this going. Maybe I'll go 1000 rounds then clean it. Maybe not.

 

[sgtstryker]

Guess there are alot of ideas about cleaning guns, huh? Who woulda thunk it? I went from ammo man to A gunner to gunner to squad leader in the Marine Corps. Cleaned alot of dirty weapons. Moved on to a better job but still had to clean my rifle, guess it's a mantra, of sorts. I clean 'em when I shoot 'em. My wife hates the smells but, I think she understands..I HAVE to clean every new gun I get, another ritual. My EDC is a G23, I disassemble and lube it for peace of mind, regularly. Some foks never clean their guns and never change the oil in their vehicles either. Ain't America Great..

 

[Sam1911]

I could be wrong, but I'm detecting subtle notes of sarcasm in your response. Always nice to see somebody go heavy on the subtlty.

Well, I was actually at least partially serious. It DOES depend on what you're putting your guns through -- or putting through your guns. If I've been on a two-day shoot in a downpour, dropping mags into knee-deep mud puddles (sounds about average for a big match!) there's no way I'm leaving that gun in that condition -- or trusting it to be ready to shoot with mud caked in it.

If I was hunting in inclement weather, I'd be cleaning right away. No interest in abusing my guns.

If I did a prolonged training course with my home-defense shotgun or carbine and the course was high-round-count, using field-expedient positions and realistic scenarios (read: down in the dirt) -- oh, yes! They're getting cleaned.

But if we're talking about my competition and carry guns and the regular use I put them through -- no. I know these guns, know how long they can keep going, know how long it's been since they were lubed, know what makes them malfunction. I have faith that comes through a lot of experience.

 

[gym]

I clean my guns everytime I fire them. Also my pocket gun every month. Anything else is just lazy, and asking for trouble. The only way you find out if there is a crack or metal fatigue is ti dissasemble the gun, if you don't then don't be suprised if it fails one day.
All guns should get at least a once over every 6 months, even if not fired.

 

[CZguy]

Guess there are alot of ideas about cleaning guns, huh? Who woulda thunk it?

You ought to see a cleaning thread over at Rimfire Central.

 

[Crex39]

Guess there are alot of ideas about cleaning guns, huh? Who woulda thunk it?
You ought to see a cleaning thread over at Rimfire Central.
__________________

I guess this should just about sum up the thread

 

[One_Jackal]

Rimfire semi-auto pistols should be cleaned very often. The firing pin is very short in most rimfire semi-autos to prevent accidental discharges. It doesn't take a lot of gunk in there to cause a lot of "clicks."

If you carry a rimfire pistol for deep concealment you should take the slide off it and brush the cartridge seat each time you do some plinking.

 

[golanglobus]

I do a detail strip when I buy a gun, new or used. Some are dirty, some not. Either way I want to check overall condition, see how it operates, grease contact points (big fan of grease), and just generally get to know my new toy. I know, I know guns aren't toys, but... yes they are. It's fun for me. I also think I use a bit more potent bore solvent than some of the more popular ones(1:1 kroil:shooter's choice), and I always end up pushing black and blue patches out of the shiniest bores. A beautiful sight to MY eyes.

I also detail strip and oil everything once a year whether it's been fired or not. My basement can get pretty dank in the summer and I just have those cheap sheet metal safes down there. I neglected a .22 rifle that I store for a friend one year and it got freckles. So for me this late winter project is a must. I have no experience with sealed, climate controlled safes.

As far as other cleaning, it depends. If I shoot corrosive I clean right away. I learned that the hard way, too. I cleaned the bore and receiver of an SKS but neglected the gas system once after shooting surplus. The next time I took it out it was a single shot rifle. Oops. Kroil saved the day, it works now, but the gas valve will never be the same.

.22 semiautos get field stripped after every outing, for obvious reasons.

Beyond that I keep things only reasonably clean. I'll usually just wipe down exposed bluing with an oily rag and put it away. I don't usually shoot any more than 100 rounds out of any one gun on any one range/plinking session (except for the .22s, read: truckloads) so I don't see the point in cleaning a reasonably clean gun. They will get a field or detail strip every, lets say... 2-8 shooting sessions, based on whim.

I also have to admit - it depends on the gun and how easy it is to strip/assemble. I have two (roughly) Browning-pattern bottom eject pump shotguns (BPS and Ithaca 37). For me, the receiver/bolt assemblies are a major PITA to reassemble (more-so the BPS), so they get their annual detailing only, and they are lucky to get even that much. My DA H&R Sportsman got detail stripped once. Once. Never again. I came this close [holds thumb and forefinger very close together] to taking a loose baggy full of revolver to a gunsmith, throwing it down on the counter and screaming ,"Here! YOU put this GD effing POS back together!" But I took a deep breath, had a beer, and with all five of my hands was able to get her back together again. Great gun, otherwise - seriously.

 

[SharkHat]

I stated, this is what i do, if you do good with a dirty gun than fine, thats your thing, i dont care, i have REAL world shooting experiance and I know what can happen with a dirty gun.

It's probably best to not assume that you're the only one in a forum like this that has "REAL world" experience, or even combat experience. Don't confuse the fact that someone has a different opinion from yours with the fact that they have no experience in the matter at hand.

 

[knoxy]

I like clean guns. I bought my cz82 at a gunshow. It was spotless and well lubed. Nicely taken care of. All of that vendors guns were squeaky clean. Was happy to pay $50 more for it than the other one at the show that was filthy.

If I'm not shooting it, it stays clean.

 

[gunguy0829]

anyone here who has combat experience knows what i am talking about

 

[Tim the student]

anyone here who has combat experience knows what i am talking about

I think SharkHat summed it up well when he said:

It's probably best to not assume that you're the only one in a forum like this that has "REAL world" experience, or even combat experience. Don't confuse the fact that someone has a different opinion from yours with the fact that they have no experience in the matter at hand.

 

[Mikey Idaho]

Think everyone needs to calm down, get off the internet and go shoot some targets out there in the real world to blow off steam...then clean your gun afterwards haha

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk

 

[gunguy0829]

just did and and when i got home i cleaned them for 2 hrs. 1 hr. per gun I took, Love it, releaves stress just sitting there getting all the liitle crevises and making it shine. Never does another thought cross my mind.