Clean Gun = Bad

[Jonah71]

The manual on my new Phantom says clean after every use. I've cleaned my guns after every use for over 49 years. Hard habit to break. Although I do resort to just a snake and a few patches in the bbl. my Glocks lately if I've just fired a few rounds.

 

[mgmorden]

The manual on my new Phantom says clean after every use.

Many car manuals suggest that you do a full walk around, checking all lights, wipers, etc each time prior to getting into the car. That doesn't mean anyone does it. Most gun manuals also explicitly state that you should not fire handloads too. Manuals are written in CYA mode; the lawyers have to have something to do.

As said, cleaning after every use is mostly a left-over habit from when it WAS necessary. It doesn't hurt anything if you feel a compulsion to do so, but it's simply not a big issue unless you're veering off the beaten path into things like surplus corrosive ammo or black powder (in which case "classic" shooting styles require classic maintenance ).

 

[Cop Bob]

With Me, It Depends on the Gun...

I have recently started shooting some BPCR, They get cleaned religiously... 1st HOT Water, then Ballistol, not too heavy on the bore brush, good wipe down...

My small bore rifles that have high MV's like my 17 Rem, 220 Swift, they get mopped and Butches Bore Shine fairly often... like every 20-30 rounds,,, I go after them with a copper fouling agent like Butches about every trip out

My .308 Tight Neck, it gets a mopping with a bore snake fairly often, every 20 rounds or so... I pull the copper out of the bore every range trip too, then a fouling shot, light wipe down with Ballistol and back in the case with several decedent packs...

My Pistols,,, oh, heck, my carry gun, I will break them down, take a bit of Ballistol and dab it here and there, use compressed air to blow the dust bunnies out of them. after a Qualification, or a trip to the country after a box or two, I may run a Bore snake through them.. Heavy bore cleanings, not that often.

When I was shooting PPC and had a 500 Round a week practice routine, I used to pull the grips off of them every six months whether they needed it or not. I would drop it in an ultra sonic cleaner full of good old Hoppies #9 and run them for a few hours, pull them out and blow them out with compressed air. Once a year, at end of season, it would de-lead the bore with a bath of pure mercury to amalgamate all the lead off the forcing cones, cylinder face and bore... some people would FREAK at that today, but hey, it works! the lead would float the to top, and you just skimmed it off.. Looked like a new bore.. Today I'm a little more green, I use butches bore shine, a Lewis Lead Removal tool, and A LOT of elbow grease... Those old wad guns did seem to shoot tighter with a bit of lead in the tube..

I still get some older 30 Ball that is corrosive that I shoot in my old Lee Enfields and Garands, they get a cleaning right then, as I never know how long they may be back in the safe..

It all depends on the gun, and If it is going back into storage for a bit...

I too am not a fan of WD-40, it does an OK job, but it tends to be a dust collector, where good old Hoppes, is not...

Not a fan of Break Free.. it is fine on actions, and bolts, but I have had competition guns that I used Break Free as a bore cleaner, and the group size doubled,, and took 2-300 rounds to wear the stuff out of the bore, to where it would start grouping again... Proves it a great lube.. but a bit too slick and sticky for the bore...

If you are not familiar with Ballistol, I would look it up and give it a try, stinks, but it is a rust killer/controller from hell... Black Powder guys swear by it, and it makes a good storage oil and general lube.. Shines up real Purdy too... (purdy.. E-Tx lingo for Pretty)

 

[HoosierQ]

It is a load of hooey. I suppose a dirty gun does not have to be a bad thing. But a clean gun is always a good thing.

 

[rscalzo]

I do not clean my service rifles except during the end of the season. they function fine and a few hundred rounds is not going to affect that. Removing them from the stock creates more problems than the lack of a cleaning.

What is a definite possibility is the damaging of the muzzle from over cleaning using low quality tools and a lack of care.

That said, no one left my range during semi annual qualifications until the handguns were cleaned.

 

[jmr40]

I'll wipe down the exterior of my guns and clean any crud from the action and may lightly oil them if necessary, but I refuse to clean a barrel until accuracy begins to drop off. If it gets wet, 1 pass through with a bore snake is fine to get out any moisture. When I notice my groups getting larger then it is time for a thorough cleaning of the barrel.

Rifles will almost always shoot more accurately with a fouled barrel and are usually good for several hundred rounds before they need cleaning. Many need 10-20 rounds through a clean barrel before they will shoot to their accuracy potential.

I usually clean my hunting rifles really good once late each summer. I then will make a couple of range trips just to be sure everything is still right before hunting season, but don't clean them again until after the season ends. Spring and early summer are when I shoot the most at the range working on loads and practicing. I clean them as needed.

The military has different needs. A soldier could go through several hundred rounds in just a few minutes if the SHTF. They are also often in the field in situations where their guns are exposed to a lot more dirt and grime than most hunting rifles. Keeping it as clean as possible under those conditions is a good idea.

 

[RaceM]

I think I have my answer now, it was just a matter of using the right search terms.


"Contact between brush tips and the bore can scratch or gall the bore ruining accuracy. Use a muzzle guide or bore guide to prevent this. Our one piece coated cleaning rods prevent scoring of the bore caused by contact between the cleaning rod and the bore. Protect your investment by purchasing quality cleaning products."

J. Dewey Mfg. (Gun cleaning products)



http://home.earthlink.net/~murph864/article/cleaning.html

This one details the “proper” way to clean a gun. There were others, but why bother?


Looks like my initial surmise was correct, smart marketing.

 

[Kerf]

My grandfather taught me a few things about guns:

1. If you want to kill a man, shoot him with a .45; if you want to just wound him, shoot him with a 9mm. He was in WWI, and was familiar with the effects of both.
2. If you clean that rifle, you won’t kill another squirrel with it until you get it good and dirty again.

I think he was right; and the reason I say this is because I cleaned that rifle and couldn’t kill another squirrel or rabbit with it for a good eight months.

Back in the early sixties I bought a Ruger Mk I at the local five and dime; T.G.&Y, or Woolworths, I don’t recall. I think it cost fifty, almost sixty dollars back then, which was a lot of money. I still own that same gun and have only cleaned it three times in about fifty years.

Once it fell in the hog pen and sank, except for the tip of the barrel. I wiped it off and it still shot okay, but it smelled so bad my wife told me to get that gun out of the house until I cleaned it.

The second cleaning was because I lost it in a snow bank and couldn’t find it until the snow melted enough and I was so happy to find it, I gave it a good cleaning.

And, the third time I cleaned it gratuitously, it was just a cleaning for all the good service over the years.

I can understand and sympathize with other people’s point of view on cleaning their guns; it’s a very personal subject that can be filled with a great deal of angst and anxiety and worry. What I don’t understand is the mindset of having to buy a “safe” to keep your guns in, and then having to clean them every time they come out of the safe.

What I would suggest for the angst ridden is to take a gun out of their “safes”, throw it in the mud, pick it up and wipe it off and then shoot it and return it to the “safe”. If you can’t do that…. what can I say. At least I’ve cleaned my gun three times. It’s kind of like “Volvo bashing”, which is very therapeutic.

P.S. In case you were wondering; the Ruger came out of the snow bank after a month and a half with very little rust because it was well oiled.

kerf

 

[gamestalker]

I dirty gun is a degrading gun. If we don't keep them clean we are in effect excellerating the wear and reliable function of the weapon at an excellerated rate. Other than common grit and dust, there is the build up of copper or lead and residue that will rather quickly begin to change the dimensions of the barrel and chamber which can, and most likely will, cause pressures to be higher than normal for any given round. A dirty gun can cause the barrel and chamber to buldge, scratch, and in some firearms can fracture forcing cones and throats with ammunition that would other wise produce SAMMI approved pressures. There is also the wear on lugs and other working parts that need to remian clean like timing hands, extractors, stars, lugs ands lug recessions, and just about any other moving part that needs to be within tollerances established as maximum allowable.
I've also heard the myth that over cleaning your firearms will excelerate wear. I find it almost humurous to think that a bore brush is capable of damaging a barrel capable of withstanding extreme velocity of a copper jacketed projectile being damaged by a core brush. Yes, improper cleaning with a cleaning rod can deffinitly damage a barrel if the threaded joints or other contact points are not protected from scraping the barrel while running it through. I use a shrink to fit insulation used for electrical wire the perfect solution for preventing sharp parts of the rod or cleaning tip from scratching or contacting the barrel or chamber.

 

[Shrinkmd]

Hmm, I know I would definitely bring more guns to the range or shoot some of them more often if I didn't have to worry about cleaning them to NIB condition.

Of course, now that I reload, shooting a couple hundred lead rounds loaded with Bullseye powder tends to really filthy up a revolver. Remember "Harry the Dirty Dog" story? When he turns from a white dog with black spots to a black dog with white spots? That is what my revolvers look like after a good workout at the range, and the trigger starts to get a little gummy sometimes as well.

On the other hand, I imagine that a semi auto could run a long time being kept oiled enough.

The 22lr comment seems true. I cleaned a 22 bolt and the first 20 or 30 rounds weren't really going according to plan, and then it settled in and was ringing the groundhog metal target the rest of the day. Maybe I was just getting warmed up, but come to think of it...

 

[Kerf]

Here's an interesting link and quote:

http://mscg.yuku.com/topic/5658#.TjDRQmE2imc

"We have run a number of guns to over 15,000 rounds without cleaning—or malfunctions—as long as they were kept well lubricated."

In case anyone is interested,

kerf

 

[VT Deer Hunter]

Over cleaning is what is seems like it would be. I every so often oil my gun and i clean it after shooting.

 

[W.E.G.]