Gun cleaning

[moxie]

1. "A clean gun is a happy gun."

2. "Never let the sun set on a dirty gun."

These two aphorisms were taught to me in 1956 by the guy who taught me to shoot. I follow them and have never had a failure attributable to dirt or lube problems. Nor have I ever had any corrosion on a gun. Military or civilian. The exact type of cleaner/lube product is not very important. Spit is a decent cleaning agent when that's all you've got. And a fingertip full of old motor oil off a dipstick will get you through the night too. What really counts is elbow grease applied liberally and often.

 

[45_auto]

I follow them and have never had a failure attributable to dirt or lube problems. Nor have I ever had any corrosion on a gun. Military or civilian.

I don't follow them, and I have also never had a failure attributable to dirt or lube problems, nor any corrosion on a gun, military or civilian.

I was taught to never trust your life to a clean gun. I've seen too many guns accidentally assembled incorrectly that go "click" or turn into single-shots when you need them (M16's assembled with firing pins missing, M60's assembled with the gas piston reversed, 1911's assembled with the slide stop not through the barrel link, etc, etc).

Our standard procedure was to fire a few rounds into a "safety barrel" (55 gallon drum of sand) after cleaning.

mattk said it best:

I won't carry a clean gun. Maybe I didn't put it back together again.
I don't keep them dirty dirty but my carry gun and night stand gun gets test fired after cleaning.

 

[tacxted]

I clean my rifles and pistols infrequently. I could go to the range 2 or 4 times before a clean. I always clean after a rainy range trip or hunting trip.

 

[bannockburn]

The longest I go on cleaning my guns after using them is maybe a week. Typically if I can't get to them right away I spray them down with WD40 and surface clean the powder and lead residue off them. Regular cleaning is with Hoppes No.9 and a light coat of RemOil.

 

[Jesse H]

10k mile oil changes on my truck with synthetic oil; I clean my guns when I get to them. Sometimes it's after the range session/qualifications/3 day class. Other times it's a week later. I will always make sure it's got enough oil/lube to function properly and batteries for lights and optics are up to snuff.

If we get rained on I'll disassemble, dry and re-oil as soon as practical.

 

[mgmorden]

Depends. Most modern cleaning habits are left over from black powder days and aren't necessary anymore.

For handguns - I generally clean them "when they need it". For a frequently fired gun that might be every 4th or 5th range trip. For something infrequently fired once every few years.

For hunting rifles - once every few years has worked fine.

Exception for both of the above: if the gun gets wet (ie, if I'm out hunting/shooting and it starts raining) then I'll clean them when I get home.

For black powder, I clean right after I get home. If I was shooting corrosive ammo I'd do the same for that - but I generally don't shoot any corrosive ammo.

I don't tend to obsess over maintenance though. My car generally gets oil changes every 10-15k miles. Its 8 years old now - just rolled over 150k miles and has never given me a bit of trouble.

 

[Warp]

How often do you clean your guns? I clean mine right after shooting regardless of amount. Nothing but CLP and hoppes. (Chore boys for lead) If it sits around for 6 months to a year I'll touch it up with clp to prevent rust. I think I'm pretty anal about cleanliness, especially my duty guns. I always read about fte, ftf light strikes,etc but I've come to the conclusion that MOST of that is due to poor PMS. (Preventative maintenance) thoughts?

It varies.

For .22lr training/practice guns I might go several times with nothing or maybe just a couple boresnake pulls.

For my carry guns I'll field strip super quick and run a boresnake + use a patch on the feed ramp most of the time if it's say 50+ rounds.

AR's I may not do anything at all if it's <100 rounds or so and I intend to shoot it again within, oh, the next month





Short answer: I'm not too worried about cleaning often. I use enough lube and will add more lube if I'm not cleaning after so many rounds. IMO and IME being lubed is far more important than being 'clean'

 

[moxie]

There are ways to function check guns after re-assembly, of course. Don't need to fire a round to verify that. Re-assembling a BCG and checking for proper function, including firing pin presence and protrusion is part of normal ops. Nothing to it. Ditto for checking a 1911. If the slide stop isn't through the swivel link, nothing works. Period. Simple to check for these things and a wise person does those checks. In a military unit the buddy system or supervisory IPIs really help. Running a few snap caps through is a good idea too.

But, I really don't understand why firing a few rounds thru a cleaned/lubed gun would obviate the need to clean and lube it in the first place. You're talking about verifying proper re-assembly. Different issue. Of course the gun has to be put back together properly. No argument there at all.

 

[JohnBiltz]

Because a gun is a machine. Anytime you take it apart and put it back together is the most likely time for it to break or be assembled improperly. So it needs to be verified that it is working properly. Chances are the gun you are about to clean was working just fine although it was dirty. Because working it was what got it dirty. Odds are that you are more likely to mess it up taking it apart, cleaning it and putting it back together than that last round you put through it broke the gun.

 

[duanebuck.schultz]

I clean most of them after every use, except my EDC.

I also don't clean a hunting rifle after it is sighted in for the season. Unless, it is exposed to rain, melted snow, etc.

My Colt Dragoon replica is a cap and ball revolver, so I clean it after every use.

 

[McAngus]

Cleaning your gun is kind of like cleaning anything, you really need to do it often, or else you slack off more and more. Make it a habit, and be anal about it.

I am a huge CLP fan as well. Yeah there are probably better stuff, but CLP makes it quick and easy. And if it is quick and easy, than I am far more likely to do it.

Speaking of CLP, I think I might look into buying like a gallon of that stuff. I been paying about $8 to have it shipped from Amazon every once in awhile, probably could save money if I just get a gallon. Should last years!

Just found 1gallon of CLP on Amazon for about $100 shipped. Doing quick math, that is much cheaper than buying the small 4oz bottles.

1gal/128oz - $100
4oz - $7.30

Get the gallon and never buy CLP ever again!

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Make a gallon of Ed's Red. It will do everything CLP does for a fraction of the cost.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Make a gallon of Ed's Red. It will do everything CLP does for a fraction of the cost.

That would make for a mighty tasty gun!

http://www.edsred.com/




Serously, I did find a site dedicated to the real-deal:

http://handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=9

 

[Warp]

Cleaning your gun is kind of like cleaning anything, you really need to do it often, or else you slack off more and more. Make it a habit, and be anal about it.

You are welcome to do it that way.

I would rather not.

 

[Robert]

I clean them when they need it. The only one I am super picky about is my 375H&H. Shooting solid copper bullets seems to leave a fair amount of fouling.