Checked my pocket carry gun last night

[gym]

Been about a month or two since I cleaned it after a range session. LCP, it sleeps in an uncle mikes #2. I was very suprised how filthy it got sitting in my pants pocket. I found myself at 11pm pulling out the cleaning kits.
I don't carry anything other than and occasional Key for the car under the holster. But it was just so dirty, I had no choice and I hate cleaning guns late at night. Good thing those habbits are built in so strong, I almost squeezed of a round "the mag was out" and I had been debating doing it then or waiting till today, when I finally said screw it I may as well do it know, I almost fired it before poping out the pin. I caught myself and racked the slide and there came a Golden sabre. Would have went through the mirror in the bathroom.This was caused by the 3 or 4 times I was undecided and re holstered it. Those 40+ years of tripple checking and checking again should I walk away, finally paid off.
But getting back to the issue at hand, keep an eye on your pocket pistols man there was dust and lint and sticky crap in there I couldn't believe. Since I don't drink soda or chew gum I have no idea what the heck it was. But those holsters are like cups, everything falls in there. So please check yours as soon as possible. And don't clean guns late at night, when your tired.

 

[1KPerDay]

Good advice... I have to clean my pocket LCP about once a month or so. The mag that goes in my off-hand pocket gets dirtier quicker. I unload/disassemble/clean it every couple weeks or so.

 

[Uteridge]

Once a month is about the bare minimum cleaning requirement for a pocket automatic. Doing a quick cleaning once a week on Sunday afternoon before the work week starts is a good idea; it doesn't take long and might save your life.

 

[JerryM]

I learned some time ago that a gun carried in the pocket collects lint. Accordingly, I clean my KT P3AT fairly often. Because it doesn't have a slide stop, and has a relatively strong spring it is a bear for me to re-assemble.
Wish I had an easy way to do it.

A few months ago due to an illness my hands did not have enough strength to re-assemble it. I cleaned earlier in the week, it is still difficult due to the size, strong recoil spring, and lack of a slide stop.

Anyone have a trick to make it easier for us old guys?

Regards,
Jerry

 

[Uteridge]

If your gun has a slide that locks to the rear you should always start the cleaning session with the slide locked back to the rear and the magazine in a completely different room. I made that mistake when I was younger with a 1911 but thankfully the bullet didn't go through the basket of laundry it was shot into...this is the reason I don't trust a specific brand of ammo with my life.

 

[Sistema1927]

My Kahr PM9 gets stripped, cleaned, and re-lubed every Saturday night. Yes, they get dirty in a pocket, in my case a Desantis Nemesis.

 

[AK103K]

The best holster Ive found for keeping the dust bunnies and other crap out, is a Smart Carry.


I work in a dusty, dirty environment, and so far, any gun carried in one, has been the only one thats needed minimal care and cleaning. Everything else has needed a daily wipe down and blow out with the air can.

 

[NG VI]

I made that mistake when I was younger with a 1911 but thankfully the bullet didn't go through the basket of laundry it was shot into...this is the reason I don't trust a specific brand of ammo with my life.

Uteridge what was the load? Was the laundry wet by any chance?

Guns going off when you don't plan on it are pretty horrific. About the worst feeling ever.

 

[Shadow 7D]

I have a can of Canned Air for the computer, when I remember, I take it to my P32,
I try to take her apart at least once a month and make sure the grease hasn't collected too much lint.

 

[Uteridge]

Uteridge what was the load? Was the laundry wet by any chance?

Guns going off when you don't plan on it are pretty horrific. About the worst feeling ever.

Yes it is the worst feeling ever. Unfortunately, most shooters have had or will eventually have an ND. Fortunately, as long as you always have the gun in a safe direction you don't have to worry about where that bullet went.

This particular circumstance gave me a horrible feeling for two reasons: First was the actual ND (which is the only one I have ever had...knock on wood). Second it was with my carry ammo and I realized that there was no hole in the floor or the bottom of the wall in the direction that the bullet should have gone. I was baffled for quite a while, then I remembered that in order to check the wall I had to move a clean basket of laundry that my wife had left out. I found where the bullet entered but no exit so I pulled the laundry out piece by piece until I found the bullet about halfway through the basket, melted into an Under Armor T-Shirt!

The laundry was dry and the bullet did not go into anything else before entering the laundry basket. It even managed to go through one of the vent holes in the side so it barely even nicked the plastic on the laundry basket. It went through a pair of jeans (twice), two cotton T-Shirts, and came to rest in an Under Armor T-Shirt and was hot enough from coming straight from the gun that it melted the UA shirt around it. I still have the bullet and it was not deformed in any way. The kicker is that it was my carry ammo up until that point...230 Grn Federal Hydroshock .45 ACP fired from a Government Model 1911. Not sure if it was just one round or if they were all that weak but needless to say I chose a new carry round and did some testing to make sure it would perform.

 

[shep854]

Man, I need to get me some of those Under Armor shirts!!
----
I give my M49 Bodyguard a look-over just about every day. An occasional wipe-down does the job.

 

[NG VI]

230 Grn Federal Hydroshock .45 ACP fired from a Government Model 1911.

Yeah Hydra-Shocks tend to clog pretty easily, especially compared to every current bullet design. Any bullet would have clogged in that situation though, that's just the nature of being fired into a barrel of dry fabric. Still that seems like really weak penetration for a service caliber.

 

[Hardtarget]

Seems the really dirty gun thing is common! Mine looks like it has a part time job as lint collector for the clothes dryer! If you're going to carry you got to clean.

Another thing for you to think about...if you pocket carry your extra mag...don't put change in with it. I found a quarter firmly wedged in my mag one day. It did not come out easy. Think about trying to do a stress mag change with that stuck in the top of your magazine!

Mark

 

[shep854]

"Seems the really dirty gun thing is common! Mine looks like it has a part time job as lint collector for the clothes dryer! If you're going to carry you got to clean.Yep, that's a working gun as compared to a safe queen

Another thing for you to think about...if you pocket carry your extra mag...don't put change in with it. I found a quarter firmly wedged in my mag one day. It did not come out easy. Think about trying to do a stress mag change with that stuck in the top of your magazine!I haven't had that happen, but coin purse is worth its weight in gold--it may not be 'cool', but it works!"--Hardtarget

 

[BADUNAME37]

I tried the Uncle Mikes Pocket Holster for my LCP and ended up giving it away, the holster would come out of the pocket when drawing the gun and the gun would be stuck in the flimsy little holster.

Then I ordered two Robert Mika pocket holsters for the LCP (with Crimson Trace) - he made me a round-cut bottom and a square-cut bottom.

It has been about a year of carrying my LCP about half the time (my 642 the other half, also in a Mika Holster). I get very little lint on the gun using the Mika holster.

 

[shep854]

My experience was that new Uncle Mike's pocket holsters tended to stay in the pocket, but the "tacky" band that kept it in the pocket smoothed out over time. I have had every pocket holster come out under some conditions, so practice was required to avoid it. With the leather pocket holster I currently use (the name has worn off), I've learned by practice to push down on the holster when I grasp the gun; this breaks it free of the pistol when I draw. With repetition, the "push" becomes automatic.

 

[Uteridge]

I love my Nemesis holster that I sometimes carry my LCP in as a backup gun. I have never had it come out of the pocket when I didn't want it out and it actually seems to stay even better if you start to sweat which is unavoidable in New Orleans in the Summer.

 

[gym]

The best one I had was for a seacamp, it had the spare mag built right in the front, so the mag kind of made it really stick in there. I have to see if I can find one for the lcp. I tried the seacamp holster and NG. If anyone should run accross one with the mag in front of the gun please let me know.

 

[x_wrench]

it is amazing how fast these pocket pistols pick up everything. it is almost like they have been electrostacticly charged, and everthing is sucked to them like a magnet. i inspect mine every week, and usually end up cleaning it (i can usually get this done with compressed air only) every other. even using "dry film" lubricants, they still collect stuff. who knew that pockets were such dirt traps!

 

[george29]

Good gun habits will save the day, you are proof of that. Thanks for the post.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

You need to clean out the holster, too. Pocket holsters nearly always have closed bottoms. This is great for keeping debris out of your muzzle, but also acts as a trap, which is why belt holsters are usually open muzzle.

 

[Owen Sparks]

Compressed air does a great job blowing out pocket lint and dust, that is if you have access to an air compressor. The canned stuff made for blowing dust off camera lenses just does not have enough power.