Does anybody ever really clean their firearm?

[mugsie]

I shoot lots and lots of handguns. Revolvers expecially. After a range session I clean them, and clean them, and clean them .... No matter how hard I try, I always manage to get something more out of them! I've reached the point where it's "good enough".

Since I reload my own, and cast my own also, the guns tend to get dirty. This is mostly because of the lube (I make my own here too). The bores always have something left in them - they look immaculate, however a patch with Hoppes on it will manage to find more fouling to remove. Putting Rem oil in the patch, it comes out relatively clean. Put Hoppes on it - not so clean.

So the question is - do you clean till no more fouling or for "good enough"?

 

[rugbyer81]

I try to get any moving parts on the firearm as clean as possible, like the bolt or slide etc. With the bore, I generally get it a few times with a brush, then alternate between Hoppes patches and dry patches until it comes out relatively clean. I'm not picky about getting the patches to come out completely clean though. I have a Yugo mauser that has some pitting in the bore and it is quite literally impossible to get a clean patch out of it. With guns like this, "good enough" is about the best you can hope for. As long as the functioning of the gun isn't impaired in any way, meticulously cleaning until there is no fouling left at all probably isn't necessary.

 

[Big_E]

Most of the time I just clean the bore and oil the outside maybe just spray some oil in the action. After about 3-5 sessions I completely strip the gun and thoroughly clean everything.

 

[lojax]

i agree with rugbyer it doesn't have to be perfect but you do want to get it the best you can

 

[chevyforlife21]

i keep my guns so clean they look unfired, however you dont have to keep them super clean like me i just keep everything i own perfectly new looking

 

[raskolnikov_22]

Nope don't fret too much about it. A couple wet patches, fifteen times back and forth with a bronze brush, some more wet patches, then some dry ones. In the meantime I wipe down the the rest of the gun with hoppes then wipe it off, maybe scrub the breech with a nylon brush. 20 mins tops, any longer and the chemicals make me nauseous.

After about 1,000 rounds though I take the gun completely apart and give it a bath in mineral spirits. Afterwards, it looks brand new.

 

[Deckard]

It depends on the mood I'm in. In a usual cleaning after a range session I settle for good enough. If I get home from a rough day at work I'll sit down with a beer and a cleaning rod and make that bore sparkle.

 

[benEzra]

I clean primarily for reliability, and secondarily for corrosion resistance. I'm not going to eat off the gun or enter it in a show, so good enough for flawless function is good enough for me.

For the bore, I usually use foaming bore cleaner, let it sit 10 minutes or so, use a bore snake, repeat 2 or 3 times, followed with an oiled patch if gun will be stored for a while. More bores are ruined by overcleaning than by undercleaning, IMO, unless you are shooting corrosive ammo.

 

[herohog]

You bet! I have been known to fully strip mine every now and then but I do shoot a fair amount.

 

[bad_aim_billy]

I run mine through the dishwasher on the "pots and pans" setting.

I figure if it can clean yesterday's meatloaf, it can clean a fouled barrel no problem.

 

[Eightball]

I do what I can. Translation: clean until good enough, then keep cleaning until my perfectionist self gets irritated.

Seriously thinking about dropping some things off at a local place for some of that hydrosonic cleaning stuff, though; for the life of me, I can't think of an alternate or easier way to get all the grime out from around the forcing cone/in between that and the frame on my revolvers.

 

[Matrix187]

I clean all of my firearms.

For rimfires, mostly barrels.

I clean hunting rifles before every hunting season.

I fully clean semi-automatic rifles every few hundred to 1000 rounds. But, in between the full cleanings I'll do a really quick paper towel wipe down and lubing.

For pistols, every few hundred rounds I'll do a full cleaning.

 

[shiftyer1]

I'm terrible at cleaning. It just never gets done. Although lately i've been tryin harder, I know I don't get em really clean but I get em pretty clean. This also depends on my mood, i'm tryin to make the effort to do it when I get home. I have noticed that my newer guns tend to get rusty faster then my older more well used ones. Which I may start a new thread with that in mind.

 

[coloradokevin]

I don't clean my range guns more than is required to protect the guns and ensure reasonable functionality. With my duty weapons, I clean them until they look like new... When your life is on the line with a weapon, I consider it a whole new ball game. I know that my duty weapons can handle a lot of abuse, but I still like to stack Murphy's deck in my favor whenever possible!

 

[Rockwell1]

I field strip and clean my guns after every range trip. I try to put my guns up "wet" with just a little bit of Hoppe's # 9 which will actually continue to draw the fouling out of the bore. Go back a day or so later and run a patch through the barrel and it comes out green.

 

[musick]

I clean after every trip to my local range, generally within one hour after shooting.

When I shoot in BLM lands, I take a minimal cleaning kit w/ me and do a quick, non-detailed wipe down after shooting as I generally camp O/N and squeeze out a few more rounds in the morning. Then a detail cleaning when I get home. Usually while enjoying a beer or three.

Arms I dont shoot get cleaned once per year and I inspect them all bi-monthly, regardless of when they were last used/cleaned.

To be honest, I find cleaning my firearms quite relaxing....almost Zen-like. Gives me a chance to become one with them. Weird, I know, but its what I do.

 

[DBR]

22's I clean with a Bore Snake after shooting. If they get really messed up (in accurate) I use my Outers electronic lead removal system.

Center fire rifles I clean with Bore Tech Eliminator with nylon brush and patches per instructions. It has worked better than anything else for me. Once in a while I will do about 50 passes with JB Bore Paste changing patches every 10 passes (a pass is once forward and once back).

Handguns I usually clean with Eezox and patches unless they are lead fouled in which case I use a Lewis Lead Remover and Eezox.

Has worked well for me for a long time.

 

[stubbicatt]

The bores of 22 long rifle firearms I will generally wipe out with a wet patch followed by a couple dry ones. Wipe the breech face, wipe outside metal with oiled cloth, and store.

Centerfires get the bronze brush and Mpro7 treatment. Very rarely will I use a metal solvent such as Butch's or the like to get copper fouling. Oddly enough, the Mpro7 must do something to the bores as they don't seem to metal foul very much.

Glock? It has been a year or so since I cleaned it. Very bad of me.

Shotgun? For some reason a very clean shotgun bore is important to me. Important, but apparently unattainable. I always find plastic wad remnants in the bore. It is quite frustrating. I take the action apart if it is easy to do so (Rem 870), but leave it alone if not (1920's Browning A5), clean and oil.

 

[benEzra]

Herohog, what kind of pump-action rifles are those in your photo?

 

[ar10]

I shoot XD's about 3 time a week and gone 3~4 mths without cleaning the guns. I also carry carry a .40 sub all the time and that thing gets "dust bunnies" in just about every part of the gun, I just usually take the air hose and blow it out. When I do clean them, I do all of them at once and it usually takes most of the day because I detail strip them. I guess I'm not every anal about cleaning and they're not that expensive. I've also accumulated a number of spare parts including barrels over the years and check the guns for wear.
I will say the guns are pretty rugged and a lot of parts are interchangeable.

 

[Justin]

If I cleaned my guns after every range session, that's all I'd do is sit around, cleaning guns.

 

[christcorp]

I shoot usually a minimum of every weekend. Sometimes twice a week. After shooting, I take some canned air and blow out any physical debris such as sand or dirt that got collected while shooting. I then spray some lube on the moving parts and put the gun away. I might clean the barrels twice a year. This includes my carry gun.

There are some that think a dirty barrel or some powder residue can somehow have a chance of malfunctioning the weapon when needed. It can't, but some think it's better to not take a chance. Some are just clean freaks. Others simply find it enjoyable. To each their own.

One word of advice; of all the things that cause a malfunction or any problem with a gun's reliability, is stripping down the parts and something not going back together the way it was suppose to. (Obviously not as big a deal with revolvers). I suggest if you feel you just have to clean your guns all the time, that you do a basic field strip. Don't go too deep. I've seen some people who actually become compulsive and are actually risking the gun not working.

1. Go out and shoot their guns. Had lots of fun.
2. Bring gun back, completely strip it down.
3. Clean all the parts and make it look just like new. (They are happy)
4. Realize the only way to make sure it all went back together correctly is to shoot it.
5. Take it back to the range when possible to shoot it and ensure it works.
6. Now it's dirty again, so they take it back home and clean it again.
7. Repeat steps 3-7 in a never ending loop.

Some of these people will not shoot their carry/home protection weapon at the range on weekends because of this exact reason. If you feel you must clean regularly after shooting, simply field strip; blow it out; clean the barrel; lube it; and put it back together again. Work the slide and Dry fire it a few times to ensure it's functioning properly. And no, Dry Firing isn't going to hurt the vast majority of guns.

 

[SHOOT1SAM]

I'll do a quick patch or two through the barrel & a wipe-down, followed by a lube job, more often than not.

When I breakdown my semi-auto pistols, I soak my barrels in Hoppes while I scrub & clean the frames & slides; I usually start this off with Powder Blast, which gets a lot of the loose stuff out, followed by a scrubbing with Hoppes. After everything else is cleaned, the barrels get a brush & patches through them.

When I reassemble them, I lube with Tetra grease.

Sam

 

[moooose102]

Once a year i go balistic on my guns and try to get every spec of everything out of them everywhere. Of course, that is totally impossible, but i try. The rest of the year, i get them to "good enough". For me, good enough means that the action is clean enough to function properly for the next session, no matter how many rounds i go through, and clean enough not to corrode. The barrel gets cleaned until the patches come out just a little dirty, then i run the bore snake through it three passes, oil it, and put it away. The only exception to this is if i find copper or lead fouling. That is just one thing i can not leave in a gun. I do not know why, but i just can't.

 

[BigGuy52]

I only shoot pistols and revolvers for target practice. I was trained to completely clean my gun after it's fired. So, I field strip each gun down to the springs and clean everything everytime I shoot. The patches from the barrel have to come out white, with no residue whatsoever.

When I shoot my shotguns, I'm not as thorough, mainly the barrel, action, and the outside.

I don't get to go shooting as much anymore, probably once per month, at the most. To me, cleaning is part of shooting, of which I enjoy in doing both.