Do you clean your handguns after every range session?

I use to deep clean mine after every range trip but not so much anymore. I have a Taurus TX22 that runs like a sewing machine and only gets cleaned every 1k rounds or so. I just hit 3500 rounds through it this weekend and it's due for a deep dive. I always wipe them down before they go back in the safe.

I also very rarely clean a new gun before shooting it. I want to see how they work out of the box and usually clean them for the first time after a few hundred rounds. Unless there's an issue I'm attempting to diagnose.

I take care of all of them and any that sit long term because I don't fire them much are stored clean and prepped for storage. But I shoot at least once a week and the guns I shoot often don't get cleaned every trip. My competition cowboy guns don't get cleaned after every match either but I shoot smokeless. Not an option for black powder.

My carry gun gets preventative maintenance about once a month whether or not it has been to the range, and cleaned after every range trip.
 
Usually I put 2-3 patches down the barrel, wipe as much crud out of the receiver and slide as I can get to, and lube it BEFORE every range session. No issues with either of my two CZ pistols, and I treat them like they owe me money (and between them, they DO, to the tune of about $1700).
 
Blued guns yes. Carry gun yes. Stainless might sit for a few days depending on what’s going on.
 
I clean the cylinders after every outing and run a brush down the barrel followed by wet patches then clean ones until they come out white.

My Black Mamba I do the same and it has well over 100K rounds through it. My 617 has about 80k because I've had it much longer but don't shoot as many rounds per session.
 
I have some I haven't cleaned in years. I have two I have never cleaned, despite each having several thousand rounds through them. I can't recall the last time I deep cleaned a handgun. When I get home, I wipe them down with an oily cloth and put them away.
 
I like guns to be cleaned after they have been fired. Just makes me feel good knowing that the guns have been cleaned, inspected, lubed and are ready again for use.

Others may have different regimens that work for them. To each their own. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
Carry guns get cleaned so they can't be mistaken for being fired, and for reliability.

Non-carry guns might sit dirty for a bit. Centerfires get left dirty if I intend to go shooting again soon. Rimfires for sure get left dirty for several shooting sessions, although the revolver chambers need cleaning long before the bore does.

This is what I do as well.
 
Won't come down on what to do or not
do regarding cleaning after any use.

But I suspect a lot of shooters are their
own worst enemy when it comes to
"dirty guns."

They put so much oily stuff on them
and IN them, they are bound to be
grit/soot magnets with the gunk
really sticking inside and out.
 
Think I commented on this before, but I field strip clean after every session. Usually bring 2-3 handguns and shoot 50-70 rounds through each. Unless I have something else that needs to be done when I get home, I actually enjoy cleaning them. And since it may be awhile between trips I check them beforehand in case they need a little lube.
 
Carry guns - yes. Range guns that will be shot again soon - no, but get inspected and the wipe down and oil brush.
 
Nope, I only clean them when they need it.

This.

A "dirty" gun doesn't just suddenly
develop a stoppage, particularly if
discussing revolvers.

Revolvers from cylinder to cylinder
are easy to detect if the chambers
are getting fouled, the barrel gone too
long, the innards making the action
sluggish.

In fact when it comes to oiling/lubing
a drop or two very occasionally rubbed
into the innards is all that's ever needed.
 
Notwithstanding sometimes being carried on the way home after being used at a range session, I like to clean guns before they're regularly carried again.

Guns that weren't carried but only saw sequential range use were cleaned when they started becoming dry & fouled, or when they started to exhibit sluggishness. I wanted to avoid having my aluminum-framed pistols have the frame rails go dry and experience unnecessary wear. I also wanted to avoid having chambers become fouled to the point they may exhibit 'sticky' extraction or hesitancy going into battery. There are other issues I look to try and avoid in revolvers.

I used to see more functioning issues occur in neglected duty pistols when someone avoided cleaning them for so long that they became dry & fouled, as well as those who wished to maintain their guns 'ultra-clean', meaning 'white glove' clean, including sans any lubrication :scrutiny: ... than I ever saw when someone ran their guns lightly fouled but properly lubricated.

Then, of course, there was the occasional problem shooter who believed the only way to go was to use excessive amounts of solvents and/or CLP, and then wonder why accumulated wet sludge ended up migrating and becoming trapped in places it wasn't supposed to go ... :uhoh:

Back during all the years our range training and quals were conducted on an outdoor, sand-covered range exposed to all weather conditions could usually help point out when someone wasn't sufficiently versed in weapon cleaning and normal user/owner maintenance practices.:rofl: The problem could be that such problems might not be caught and recognized until the next range session, which meant the weapons were being carried around all that time in that condition.:cuss:

Now that I'm no longer responsible for helping maintain, service and repair agency weapons and the privately owned weapons of others, it's much more relaxing. :)
 
I do a quick cleaning no more than 5 minutes per gun. I normally take 5 to 6 guns and a couple of rifles to the range and when done shooting I'll swab all the barrels with solvent and brush, go to first barrel run the brush again hoping that the few minutes it took to get back to it solvent has dissolved powder residue, than run brushes with oil on all firearms as with solvent than run brush again, than swab with oil patches and at next session at the range I run oil patch and than a dry patch before shooting. Once a year during winter and bad weather that I don't like to shoot on those conditions I'll do some deep cleaning and strip down to put parts in a sonic cleaner.
 
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