Do you test fire your self defense fire arm after cleaning it?

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Sheepdog1968

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Just finished cleaning many firearms. For the self defense ones, I like to take them to the range and run a box of shells or a magazine or two through them just to make sure they work. Does anyone else do this? I have never had an instance when they fail to work over many decades of doing so. How about you?
 
No, but I will take some snap caps and dry fire the gun, also will take the snaps out and pull the trigger with my thumb on the hammer, checking to make sure the firing pin protrudes out when the hammer drops. Also, if a DA/SA gun, I'll often "half cock" the hammer and make sure the cylinder rotates well when full of my carry load. This is what Jerry Miculek does.

If it isn't obvious by now, yeah, I'm a revolver guy. :cool:
 
Generally no, especially if it's a revolver. I do cycle the slide on a pistol a few times while watching for anything that might be amiss. After well more then a half-century I've never had any issues.

That said, I very seldom went so far as a total disassembly when only cleaning was involved. Cleaning entailed the bore, chambers (on a revolver), and all exterior surface's that could be accessed.
 
I run a few mags through my carry guns each range session, but I only clean them every few sessions. That means that, after most sessions, they do get fired.
 
I do a function check ( thumb, grip safety and half cock notch on 1911s, disconnecter on everything else) and a pencil check, and cycle a few snap caps, and call it good.
 
No but....

I do not clean and then shoot more rounds in my firearms but I do a quick functions check & sometimes inspect my rounds(spare magazines or strips too) before I go out the door.
A active gun battle is not the time to find or discover a problem. :uhoh:
 
Are you talking about doing a basic field strip down and clean like every gun manual that comes with the gun tells you to do.........or taking the firearm completely apart? Cleaning all of it and then reassembly and shooting it for function?

I don't do that. If it worked before i cleaned it i dont worry about it beyond a basic functions testing. Basically i follow the manuals directions.
 
I shoot all my guns and I clean them all after shooting. Since it's a cyclical thing, yes I [test] fire my SD guns after cleaning, but then in the cyclical nature of things I also clean them before [the next] shooting. Depends on where in the cycle you pick as a starting point to make cleaning "before" or "after" ... or both.
 
I'm not disparaging the practice but as I was reading the thread the movie Groundhog Day popped into my head. I started laughing. My wife looked up and just shook her head.
 
Glocks, armorer course .....

I saw a few online videos about cleaning/checking/fixing minor issues with Glock semi auto pistols where a guy claims the instructors in his Glock factory armorer class advised the students to completely disassemble the Glock & clean it in a alcohol solution once a year, :confused: .
I've never heard or read that before but the reasoning seems sound.
I'm not a Glock armorer or professional gunsmith but if I had the formal training or skills, I disassemble my firearms and clean them with alcohol or a well made solvent/degreaser about once a year.

If I recall, YouTube gun channel host: Hickock45 suggests doing a full take-down and inspection/cleaning of Glocks too. He uses Ballistol on many of his weapons.
 
A glock armorer's is on my list of things to take. Having cleaned many firearms in a row I must say I appreciate the simplicity to clean a Glock. I want to take the armorers class so I can take it down every now and then for a deep clean. Of course, I won't break down the Glock that is solely a range pistol to see if it ever misbehaves because it only gets simple clean ups. From all that I've seen, I suspect the range glock will run just fine.
 
jhb said:
Are you talking about doing a basic field strip down and clean like every gun manual that comes with the gun tells you to do.........or taking the firearm completely apart? Cleaning all of it and then reassembly and shooting it for function?

I don't do that. If it worked before i cleaned it i dont worry about it beyond a basic functions testing. Basically i follow the manuals directions.
Click to expand...
Basic field strip. I don't break things down beyond that. I think doing so is likely to lead to more harm than good. I also tend not to over clean either. I have shot my self defense firearms till very dirty, well lubed, just to see if there is a certain point at which they don't function. My pump shotgun kept working just fine after 2,500 rounds through it between cleanings. Also, my pistols ran just fine with 1,000 rounds between cleanings.

I do have a ruger 10-22 that was acting up mat some point I will let the bolt soak in some sort solvent. If I was really ambitious, which I'm not, I'd get an ultrasonic cleaner and put in that.
 
So shoot it, clean it, then shoot it, and clean it, shoot it, clean it............................................. ..................................................................................................?
 
There used to be a member here named SM, he claimed a lot of experience and some of the mods apparently knew him and in essence verified that he had the experience that he claimed.

He left here to start another forum (which shall remain nameless because I don’t know if the mods or he want that discussed) and that’s where I read his material.

Any way his take on it was that the only possible way you could know for sure that your self defense gun was in running order was to test fire it after assembly.

Obviously that’s not feasible for everyone unless you clean your guns at the range but it was a very valid point.
 
Always, as in always do, always have, and always will.

I once put a recoil spring in backwards in and was glad I checked, as it caused a malfunction. :eek: I'm glad I found out before I needed it!
 
My Glocks every 2-3 years and my 1911 Platforms every 5-700 rounds. After cleaning I do go to the range to insure they will fire, especially the CCW Twin G-19's. My factory and reloaded ammo is very clean so there is not much to clean when I do clean them. BTW cleaning is Simple Green diluted 50% with a hot water rinse and let dry over night. Then re-assemble and lube per factory specs.
 
Fire it, no. Function check, absolutely.
Click to expand...
I'm curious as what exactly this means, you cannot simulate recoil.
So what exactly do you do.

Like I said the one time I have caught a problem the only way I would have ever caught it was to fire it and even then it was on about the third or fourth round when the problem revealed its self.
 
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