Can storing a dirty gun damage it?

[ColtPythonElite]

I haven't cleaned this Python in at least 3 years and probably 2k rounds. It still works just fine and looks good when wiped down. It has a little lead build up, but that's it.

 

[CraigC]

No, guns don't rust from leaving them dirty. If they did, at least half my collection of nearly 150 guns would be rusted into oblivion. Moisture causes rust, dirty or clean.

The problem with the above statements is that they take on an air of moral imperative which is wholly misplaced.

I agree. I have no problem with folks wanting to clean their guns every time they think about it. What I take issue with is the implication that those of us who do not are scum of the earth who would just as soon leave their baby in the back seat of a hot car.

In the end i was raised to clean them every time you shoot them.

So was I but I got over it. I was also raised to hate tomatoes, Chinese food and suits but I got over that too.

 

[Skylerbone]

Seems obvious there are several divides on the answer after 4 pages from geographical to forced training, to unqualified opinion on both sides. I can't wait to weigh in!

My approach works for me, I don't profess that it is better or worse for anyone else though I believe it superior or I wouldn't do it (just like everyone else here). My firearms are subject to more than a 100 degree change in temperature most years often accompanied by high humidity.

For muzzleloader I swab with #13 after every 3rd shot or so followed by 3 dry patches at the range and a full clean after returning home. The full procedure is pulling the breech plug and bolt, soaking the plug in #13 and clearing the nipple. Then a pat down and small amount of CLP.

Rimfires are thoroughly cleaned after every range trip with Bore Shine, the same at the range if testing ammo (between brands).
That's a wet patch on a loop followed by scrubbing with a nylon brush, then dry, wet, dry, with oil for storage.

Centerfire rifles get cleaned at home after each trip with a dry chamber wipe followed by oil. The bore gets Pro Shot Copper Solvent with a nylon brush, dry patches, then CLP. No cleaning at the range.

Pistols are pre-treated with Frog Lube paste and get a few dry patches at home with more paste when carbon starts to stick a bit after cleaning.

Everything gets CLP on the exterior.

Can not cleaning damage them? I believe so. Whether from increased pressure or fouling that collects moisture and pits the barrel when allowed to sit unabated. How long it will take is in my mind directly related to moisture conditions, but again, the climate I live in demands expedited action.

 

[John Joseph]

I haven't cleaned this Python in at least 3 years and probably 2k rounds. It still works just fine and looks good when wiped down. It has a little lead build up, but that's it.

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If this is a response to the two gummed up Pytons I wrote about, consider that those were service revolvers used daily in all kinds of weather under all kinds of conditions in open top holsters. Your fine looking snake doesn't look to have spent much time inside a doughnut shop nor worked traffic accidents in the rain nor waltzed any drunks into the back of a paddy wagon.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I bet my Pythons have seen more rounds that the average duty weapon.

 

[Skylerbone]

I bet my Pythons have seen more rounds that the average duty weapon.

I bet they've also been slugged as well. I knew so many police officers that didn't rotate ammo or fire a single round they weren't mandated to. Shooting the correct diameter bullet of proper hardness for velocity can leave a squeaky clean barrel that needs little to no seeing after.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

My guns haven't been slugged.

 

[warnerwh]

When I come back from the range I give my guns a quick once over unless it's going to be sitting for months. In Oregon the humidity will cause rust if the metal is dry so I will just run a couple of patches of CLP down the bore to clean and coat it. Even guns that are decades old and having fired thousands of rounds still look very good which is how I like to keep them. Besides I'm somewhat neurotic when it comes to maintenance of mechanical things.

 

[John Joseph]

I also carried a Python when I was with the SO, before the semis took over,
Very beautiful revolvers indeed.
But we're discussing dirt and sooner or later, a dirty gun is going to bind up.
How much dirt it takes is a question simply answered with the word "enough."
I often rode with a SAR posse and trail dust (often with a high content of dg,) caused a big enough concern that cleaning after every call out and training day, was, in my estimation, like paying up a llfe insurance policy.
Getting into a habit of letting cleaning wait until later is a dangerous one
But that's my take on it.
Keeping your weapon clean (and knowing how to clean your handgun properly) has long been considered common sense because it is.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

The question at hand was "can storing a dirty gun damage it? That question has nothing to do with the reliability or lack thereof of a dirty gun.

 

[Flechette]

When on my collegiate rifle team we intentionally did not clean the guns in order to maintain consistency.

However, they were bolt actions and typically had no reliability issues.

 

[Sam1911]

When on my collegiate rifle team we intentionally did not clean the guns in order to maintain consistency.

Same here. Some cleaned at the end of the season. But many thousands had been fired by that point.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Yep, and most of those same old collegiate rifles are probably still in use and very accurate today.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Dirty can result in attracting moisture and moisture promotes rust. Clean them before storing them. Pulease.

 

[Jim NE]

Can storing a dirty gun damage it?

I don't think it's dirt from modern powders or lead that hurts a gun. Corrosion is the big problem, and dirt is a problem only if it absorbs and retains moisture that can start rusting the exposed metal, especially the bore. Humidity levels are sort of average in the long run around here - very humid in the summer, very dry in the winter. I always clean guns, so I've never run into problems. I got an old Stevens 258a 20 Ga. because it looked like a great companion piece to the Stevens Buckhorn rifle I inherited from my dad. A section of the bore about midway down had lots of dirt and powder residue caked on - for years or decades, I'm guessing. Took a bit of effort and wire brushing to get it out, but it all came out and there wasn't any rust left behind. That was a couple of years ago and no rust has developed since. Not a good idea to leave a gun dirty, but dirt and modern powders seem to be pretty forgiving.

Having said that, I've seen a fair number rusty post-black powder era guns in my life, so there is definitely a way to destroy guns through improper storage. Cleaning a gun and a applying film of oil should be adequate for most every firearm outside of the Florida keys, I'd think.

 

[TeaCoffee.Guy]

I was careless once about leaving a shotgun in the trunk of my car overnight and thinking that it wouldn't get wet - even though it had rained all night.
I thought that because it was in a plastic gun case, my shotgun would be kept dry - boy! that was stupid!
When I decided to clean the gun (early the next morning) I discovered that it was saturated with condensation!
I was so glad that I had decided to clean the gun early - after it had been in the trunk over night - because it was already showing surface rust from the condensation.

So, I learned to always wipe guns down with an oiled cloth immediately after use and - don't leave them in the trunk of your car over night.

 

[entropy]

Climate plays a big part- humidity being a prime factor. I have seen guns rust in two hours time after firing-granted, they were fired with ComBloc milsurp ammo, during a snowstorm, but it happened. You could leave a rifle fired with modern ammo in the desert and it'd never rust-but dust would eventually gum up the action. I'll restate the advice I gave in the "Clean a dirty Rifle?" thread; If you want to leave the barrel dirty, no problem. But I advise cleaning the action and chamber regularly to ensure reliability. I guess that comes from a background where a reliable firearm is a matter of life and death. (Dad was a cop, I was military) I have a good friend who's Dad didn't clean his guns until they malfunctioned, and he was the same way, until I taught him how to clean them, and his mindset changed with the realization that his guns may be called upon to save his life one day.

 

[mcb]

I rarely clean my guns with solvents anymore. A quick wipe down the action, maybe a few passes of a bore snake through the bore, and lubrication is all they get most of the time. But I store them in gun safe that is in a temperature control room and very dry through use of large desiccant packages that I regenerate regularly. I also wipe all my guns down with a piece of wool fleece impregnate with RIG grease before they go into the safes. I have never had a rust problem in storage.

Though my XD-40 though will rust if you look at it funny. A humid day and when you get home from a match anywhere you touched the slide will have a light coat of surface rust. Wipes off with an oiled rag but yeah the old XDs would rust real easy. Never seemed to bother the function much though.

 

[Alaskan Ironworker]

The only one i really worry about is my glove box gun. As stated above, change in temp creates condensation, and since its cold alot here, everytime i warm up my jeep, and shut it off, the gun heats and cools and heats and cools 2 or 3 times a day everyday of the year. Just a thought