Gun cleaning

[SC Shooter]

I clean my guns after every range session for two reasons. First, as I have several different auto loaders that I shoot, it helps me keep comfortable with their takedown and allows me to give them a good inspection. Second, I consider cleaning a gun like changing oil in a car. I do it for the long haul.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

I think there are a lot of folks who were "trained" to clean their weapons meticulously after each session. An awful lot of the TEACHERS (the persons who taught them) were fathers and grandfathers who were WWII vets. The ammo used in WWII was very corrosive, and if you didn't clean weapons regularly, some actions could almost weld themselves shut from the resulting rust.

Modern ammo (with the exception of a small variety of primers) isn't corrosive, and NECESSARY cleaning isn't a critical as it once was.

There are a lot of folks who JUST HAVE TO CLEAN their guns. I think it's a personal thing, and a process that gives them comfort. I don't really think it's necessary, but they do. Some of those folks probably maintain their cars in the same manner.

I clean mine periodically, but not after every range session. I'll wipe them down with CLP or something similar, from time to time, and use a boresnake more frequently than a cleaning rod, etc. Some of my .22s I hardly EVER clean -- unless I notice some leading in the barrels. (Some of the cheap .22 ammo brands seem to be worse than others, for that.)

I've never encountered a problem with this less stringent approach, and don't expect to...

 

[Warp]

Roughly two decades ago whenever my friend's dad took us trap/skeet shooting, we would clean the shotguns as soon as we got back to their house

Years ago when I started buying my own guns, I would clean them as soon as I got back home

These days, I clean my guns as soon as I get home

20 years from now, I'll clean my guns as soon as I get home, and I will teach my kids the same

There's no reason not to. Not just to keep them clean, but to always check and make sure there is no obvious damage anywhere. Take care of your guns and they will take care of you. It makes me sad when I buy a used gun and I can tell the previous owner didn't take care of it, but at the same time I'm glad that I got to save it

Sometimes as soon as I get home I have other things I have to tend do and I don't have time to disassemble, inspect, and clean every firearm that I shot that day.

Time is valuable and finite. I only have so much of it. If there is no reason I need to clean a firearm before I shoot it again, I may find something more important to do with that time.

 

[JohnKSa]

Not just to keep them clean, but to always check and make sure there is no obvious damage anywhere. Take care of your guns and they will take care of you.

I take excellent care of my guns. I have guns with thousands of rounds through them that could practically pass for new. I just don't clean them after every time I shoot them.

Here's a thought experiment.

Person A goes to the range only once a year. Each year he makes his annual range trip, shoots 1000 rounds through his pistol, takes it home and cleans it immediately. He checks it over carefully during the cleaning process to insure that there is no damage, (obvious or otherwise), lubricates it properly and puts it back in the safe for a year.

Person B goes to the range, shoots 50 rounds through his pistol, takes it home wipes it down and puts it back in the safe. He repeats this process weekly until the round count reaches 500 rounds. At that point he cleans it, checking it over carefully to insure that there is no damage, lubricates it properly and puts it back in the safe until his next range trip in a week.

So who is taking better care of his gun? The guy who cleans only once a year, every 1000 rounds--but after every range trip? Or is it the guy who cleans his gun 5 times a year, every 500 rounds, but only every 10 range trips?

The answer is that they are both taking good care of their guns but just taking different approaches. People too often assume that there's only one right way to do something and then make the jump to assuming that since their way works, it must be the only right way.

After a few trips to the range where I burned 1000 rounds in a day, I realized that it didn't hurt the gun to shoot it a lot between cleanings. I even did close up before and after pictures the first time I tried the experiment to see if I could detect any unusual wear as a result of firing that many rounds between cleanings and there was none--only the typical wear that 1000 rounds would normally generate.

 

[Strahley]

Everybody certainly has the right to clean their guns however they see fit, no argument there. I do value my time, but taking 5 minutes after a range trip isn't something I'm going to stress about. To each their own

 

[On An Island]

I shoot it, I clean it.
Same day, the sooner the better.

The longer you wait, the harder the fouling is to remove it seems to me.

They clean easy right after firing.

Not so easy a few days later.

But I can't prove it.

This. ^^

On occasion I've gone a day due to circumstances, but I'm more comfortable knowing that my guns are clean and well-lubed. Plus, I like the process of cleaning/re-assembly.

 

[Vol46]

Count me in the use it clean it group

 

[clg114]

I always clean when I get home from the range for two reasons. 1. To me, that's half the fun. I like machines and firearms are precise, well built machines. 2. I'm a cheapskate and I shoot a lot of cheap ,dirty ammo.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

It just depends for me.
If I get back from a range trip and have nothing to do, I'll clean them. If I'm busy, I'll wait a few days.
When I clean handguns and shotguns, I clean the entire thing.
When I clean rifles, I only clean the action and lubricate. I clean my rifle barrels about once a year. When I start shooting I want the accuracy right and I don't want to waste a half dozen rounds getting it there. I wouldn't even consider going into the woods with a clean, unfouled barrel. Honestly I don't know if it makes that big a difference or not, but it sounds right and I never have any issues with rust or poor accuracy.

 

[Fiv3r]

I usually field strip, run a brush down the barrel, wipe off obvious grime around the hammer, and re-lube after after range trip. Maybe 10 minutes worth of work on the gun and check for function.

About every 1000 rounds I'll really get after it with brushes and patches and get a q-tip into all the gunky parts. I don't have the mechanical nerve to take the gun past field stripping it, so I like to make sure I keep as much crud out of the inner workings as possible.

But no, I don't polish it up every time. The FNS on my hip today hasn't been detailed in months but its been cleaned and oiled regularly.

 

[GLOOB]

I inspect the bore of my guns, sometimes even while at the range. But my locked breech handguns and bolt-action rifles, I only clean as needed. Rarely, if ever. Maybe a wipe down of the rails and a drop of oil every now and then.

My recoil operated open-breech pistols need cleaning after every outing. These guns I avoid cleaning by shooting rarely, if ever, other than the MkIII, which gets cleaned fairly regularly.

Revolvers are somewhere between these two extremes.

 

[Valor35]

I always clean when I get home from the range for two reasons. 1. To me, that's half the fun. I like machines and firearms are precise, well built machines. 2. I'm a cheapskate and I shoot a lot of cheap ,dirty ammo.

^^^^
This.

To me, cleaning them after using them is satisfying. It just feels right to put 'em to bed clean.

 

[holdencm9]

I am in the crowd of "every so often." I used to be in the crowd of "shoot it clean it"

I do enjoy the practice of cleaning firearms, I can relate to that. But the main reason I used to clean right away was because if I didn't, I probably would forget and it would sit in the safe, dirty, for months or years . Now, I have a spreadsheet where I track how many rounds I fire through each gun and when they last were cleaned, and how thorough, so it is like a reminder that hey, I haven't cleaned this one in a few months despite putting 400 rounds through it, so then I go ahead and clean it.

 

[StrutStopper]

Used to be in the shoot it then clean it camp. Now, not so much. I clean them when I get around to it. Haven't noticed a bit of difference.

 

[TomKat]

usually within a few days, sometimes that night if I'm watching a movie I'll clean while I watch. I don't get to shoot as often as I'd like so they may sit in the cabinet a while, for that reason I clean them within a week of shooting.