Handgun Maintenance

[GunLvrNLearner]

I am fairly new so critic,add or take away on my technique of gun cleaning

After handling my guns i always wipe them down with a gun cloth hoppes 9,is that fine?

After shooting i field strip and run a brush thru the barrel to clean it the i follow with running a patch oiled with Breakfree and then i run dry patches thru the barrel,am i doing right?

I oil the various friction points ect.

When storing my guns i wrap them in the hoppes gun cloth,is that ok?

I do that because i have heard the foam in gun cases will absorb the oil and leave the gun dry and unprotected


Thanks for all suggestions and help

 

[mkonops]

Your method sounds pretty good. I wipe mine down with a touch of Ballistol on a cloth to remove any finger residue and keep the wood fresh. My cleaning procedure is also similar, though I have recently transitioned to the bore snake which I like very much.

I do not store my firearms in their original cases however. I have not heard of the foam absorbing oils, but I prefer mine arranged nicely in racks in my safe. I've seen people use gun socks, wax paper, towels, even old jean legs to store their guns. I don't wrap mine in anything, but I do take them all out and wipe them down at least every few months whether or not I shoot them.

 

[GunLvrNLearner]

Thanks greatly

 

[rcmodel]

There are better products then Hoppies #9 Nitro solvent for rust prevention / storage.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/GunTech/NewsletterArchive.aspx?p=0&t=1&i=503

http://www.accuratereloading.com/rustest.html

http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.html

rcmodel

 

[jaydubya]

After cleaning mine, much the same way you do yours (I use Hoppe's #9 out of decades of habit), I apply drops of oil here and there, and wipe each weapon with a silicone cloth. I then stash them in my sock drawer (except for those I have in undisclosed places). I carried one of them, my T-series High Power, on two flying cruises to Vietnam. Afterward, it spent some thirty-five years in my sock drawer before I became interested in shooting again. I shoot it weekly now. You can still lose yourself in the blueing. Didn't have silicone cloths then, but everyone has a sock drawer.

Cordially, Jack

 

[GunLvrNLearner]

Thanks

 

[thunderstorm]

Any time mine are tuched they are wiped down with a silicone cloth before they are put away.

 

[Dot_mdb]

Gun cleaning for revolvers is a little different from autos. I don't know what you are cleaning. It is ok to run the bronze brush through the barrel before you use the Breakfree. But then after you apply the Breakfree you should probably let the barrel sit for a few minutes before further cleaning. If you are cleaning a revolver you can get the chambers brushed and apply the Breakfree there. Then go back and use the bronze brush in the barrel. If you are shooting jacketed ammo there is not going to be a whole lot to clean. Five passes with the brush should be enough. Then go through with your dry patch. You don't have to keep pushing patches through until they are coming out spotless. The barrel won't corrode from anything in the primer or the powder. Hold your thumb nail a half inch from the end of the barrel (semi-auto) and let a light shine on it and look down the barrel from the breech. If it looks pretty clean than you are done.

If you are cleaning revolver chambers in the cylinder you want to be sure to get the buildup out of chamber especially if you are shooting .38s in a .357. In that situation I always test to make sure the .357 will chamber. You don't have to get all the stain off the front of the cylinder. I brush the front with a bronze "toothbrush" and then wipe it off and that is usually sufficient.

Don't over oil. Most guns do not need a lot of oil and the amount of oil in one drop from a squeeze bottle is almost always too much for any application. I use a special oiler that dispenses a very small amount of oil.

Unless you are carrying a stainless gun under very difficult conditions it is not going to rust from some handling. It doesn't hurt to wipe it down after handling but it really is not necessary. In my experience, guns stored in a house that is air conditioned in summer and heated in winter are not likely to rust especially if air is circulated around them. If your guns are stored in a safe than you may want to look into other methods of protecting from rust.

I've been handling and shooting guns for over thirty years and my advice is don't over oil, don't over clean and don't worry about it too much.

Bill

 

[Jeff F]

After handling my guns i always wipe them down with a gun cloth hoppes 9,is that fine?

You should be wiping them down with a light coat of gun oil or CLP or if you want them dry but shiny a coat of wax to protect them. Hoppes 9 is a solvent they removes oils leaving your guns clean but unprotected, they can rust easier. Even after cleaning the barrel you should run an oiled patch down the bore before storing them.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

Also, DON'T store your guns in cases long term. Everywhere the gun touches the foam or case liner is a potential rust spot. The cloth and eggshell foam linings will absorb moisture out of the air. When you put the gun in long term direct contact with those linings you will get rust.

By long term I'm talking about a year or more undisturbed.

Better to store them where air can circulate, letting moisture eveaporate.

 

[Artiz]

I read that we should not run a brush first, this will damage the firearm.
We should run a swab with a few drops of solvent on the front first, then repeat the action with a clean surface of the swab.
Then, use the brush. Then a tight patch to mop it up.
Do you agree on this? I read this on the guide that came with my Otis bore cleaning solvent.

 

[Dot_mdb]

>>I read that we should not run a brush first, this will damage the firearm<<

Consider this: Suppose you shoot 49 rounds of FMJ ammo down the barrel. The barrel has plenty of shooting debris in it. Now you shoot the 50th round all copper clad and moving at 800 fps. How does that compare with moving your bronze brush slowly down the barrel to loosen up the fouling? My guns are not that delicate and I don't think yours are either.

Bill

 

[rcmodel]

+1

You can't damage a barrel with a bore brush no matter how hard you try.

The bronze brush is WAY softer then the barrel.

I do agree however, that they clean better with a little solvent on them.

rcmodel

 

[BAT1]

Make sure it is unloaded. I break it down. I use ED'S Red cleaner, wipe down oil and reassemble.
ED'S
1 part tranny fluid.
1 part 1-K kerosene.
1 part acetone
1 part paint thinner
Flammable, vaporous.

 

[The Bushmaster]

rcmodel...What about Hoppe's #9 gun oil? Instead of #9 solvent...

 

[possum]

i wipe down the outside of my guns with g-96. that is the only kinda of oil that i use anywhere, i don't use it for lube, or cleaning, strictly rust prevenative. every where on the inside is grease, wilson gun grease to be exact.

 

[rcmodel]

rcmodel...What about Hoppe's #9 gun oil? Instead of #9 solvent...

I don't know. I have never used it.

But HOPPE/CASTROL SYNTHETIC GUN LUBE didn't fair too well in the http://www.accuratereloading.com/rustest.html testing.

I'm a died in the wool R.I.G. grease/RIG-Rag guy for protecting gun collections from rust.

One of the S&W collectors who's gun photo's appeared in the Standard Cataglog of S&W book turned me on to R.I.G. in 1964 when I rented a house from him.
And I have used it ever since with perfect satisfaction.

Now that they stopped making it, I don't know what I will switch too when I run out.

rcmodel