How often do you clean your gun?

If after shooting it's going to be a couple of weeks or more before shooting again I will clean after each session. If I know I am going to be shooting the gun several times in the next week or so then it will get cleaned after that week or so. I wipe them down after each session and keep them wet.
 
Full cleaning maybe once a year, but it depends on the gun. 22's rarely get a full cleaning unless they start to malfunction. Some of my hunting rifles only get the barrel cleaned every few years unless I encounter wet weather when hunting. I keep the outside metal well-oiled and the wood clean and waxed with Ren wax.
 
I keep them all wiped down after a range trip or just handling them, but until they get sort of grungy internally I don't clean them religiously. I'll let the revolvers go longer than the semi's, I generally field strip them after a range session. I have a couple that don't run well unless they are clean.
 
I know I have a very small collection that I shoot just about every day. So for me it’s wiping down afterwards and using a pole through snake a couple of times. And on the weekends when I have more time to devote the bores get scrubbed. There’s always at least 10 or 20 shots worth of fouling in the bore. And for me in regards to rim fires this is actually beneficial.
 
Before carrying them (again) after using them at the range, with the exception being when wearing one of them home from the range.

In my working days, when on-duty I'd clean my duty weapon before leaving the range, since that was policy. Personally-owned weapons would either be cleaned at the range (if time and my duties as an instructor/armorer permitted), or cleaned later at home, before they went back into off-duty use.

Once upon a time I was one of the crowd who meticulously cleaned my firearms. Then, after I'd been a firearms instructor for a while, and had started attending various armorer classes, I became more 'practical' in my cleaning practices. It only had to be clean to ensure optimal operation and functioning, and not 'white glove' clean.

It probably shape my opinion after having had to increasingly observe and resolve my fair share of "functioning problems" caused by our folks with some occasional over-zealous or downright obtuse cleaning and maintenance habits. That was when I learned that improper cleaning practices could be just as problematic, if not more so, than someone's abuse of never or seldom cleaning their weapons.:uhoh::rofl:

Interestingly enough, as I write this I have 3 dirty guns in the safe. One is a 1911 I don't carry much anymore (and planned to shoot again after the last range session), and the other 2 are because they were used for my LEOSA qual yesterday. Neither will be carried as retirement weapons again until I've cleaned them, as I have plenty of other clean alternatives. ;) If I'm not carrying one or another of my 1911's, I often leave them dirty between anticipated range sessions, as mine can go quite a while when fouled, as long as their lube is touched up and refreshed a bit. I've long found my 1911's run fine when they're dirty/wet, when only being used as range guns.
 
I was taught if it gets shot it gets cleaned. Just a basic run down the barrel and basic clean if it's my regular shooters then they get complete takedown and deep clean atleast bi-monthly. Even the few I have that rarely come out of the safe get monthly inspection and wipe down shot or not. Same with any other tools. If you use them clean them and put them up right.
 
I was actually just thinking about this a few days ago. The short answer, "Not Often Enough." To the OP's Question, I have been cleaning once in a while.

I have to make gun cleaning part of my shooting sport enthusiasm agenda, rather than the chore it seems to be. I recently bought a new large cleaning mat for my workbench, with a handy storage tube for when not in use. Lee Hand Press on top to show scale. Hopefully I can make this more of a regular activity and start keeping the collection properly cleaned and oiled.

IMG_3573 (1).jpg
 
1KPerDay said:
Wipe fingerprints off after every use. Keep oiled. Clean when I feel guilty or when obviously dirty or when I get malfunctions.

I used to clean after every use. Then I got a lot more guns and started shooting a lot more. Ain't nobody got time for that :D
Click to expand...
I should add that my blackpowder guns get properly cleaned after each use, and any guns firing corrosive primers.
 
I do clean my new Pietta 1873 Western II 45 Colt revolver thoroughly after every use. That is probably because I have wanted a 45 Colt revolver for so long, now that I finally have one I treat it like a baby. I'm surprised I don't rub it with a diaper.
 
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how often do you clean your glock?

I normally clean my guns rite after any amounts shots fired but I'm starting to shoot more & more often. just a simple question. I am very interested in your answer and it will help me. How often do you clean ur glock???
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How often do you clean your automatic?

Again, as a newbie, I'm trying to gather information and from what I've seen so far this is absolutely the best site to do so. I'd like to know how often you clean your automatic? I know the response for a carry vs. range pistol would be different but I would like to learn more about how...
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How often do you clean your pistols?

I tend to be a neat freak about my guns. I clean them every time they're used. But I have seen guys say that it's not necessary nor advisable to take them apart and clean them so often. What do you do?
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How often to clean?

How often must one clean after a shoot? Every time? Or does it depend on the gun? I shot my G19 for the first time 10 days ago and have not had time to clean it. I plan to shoot again July 18. Should I clean it before I shoot, or shoot and clean it after? I heard that it's not necessary to...
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How often do you clean your pistol?

Today or tomorrow I will pick up my new Walther PPS .40. I am saying goodbye to my Beretta 9000s. Though it has been a good gun for me it is, by most gun writers' accounts, the red headed step child of the Beretta family. My only complaints were the grip is a little wide, the safety still hard...
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:D
 
I clean my pistols after every time I shoot them. I carry them for self defense so I want them in 100% peak condition at all times.

What I am still debating is whether or not I should use a bore cleaner to remove any copper residue. There are some schools of thought that think it is better to leave the copper residue in the bore because it is filling in imperfections in the bore surface.

I also carry with a slide return spring assembly with low round count and use another RSA only at the range.

When my round count becomes high I plan to buy a 3rd pistol. After it is throughly broken-in I'll only carry with it and I'll practice with the pistol with the high round count at the range.
 
gunny2 said:
Do you do it per rounds fired? Per length of time? A combo of both?
Click to expand...
At the upper right corner of your screen, there is a magnifying glass icon and the word "search". Click that and type in phrases such as "clean gun", "clean firearm", clean pistol" etc. There are thousands of threads and replies on this subject. FWIW, this has been a subject of debate on internet gun forums since their inception and the "gun community" is no closer to a consensus now than they were 20-30 years ago.

Almost all of my guns are utility types that are highly corrosion resistant. They get fully cleaned very rarely, perhaps every few thousand rounds or so. They get blown out with an air compressor and lubricated far more often than "cleaned".
 
Range guns, I just wipe down and put up, I don't clean them fully until something starts messing up. Carry guns I clean after every shooting. I have a duplicate of my carry guns for practice, their performance as a range gun gives me extra confidence. I shoot the carry guns with all the carry mags once or twice a year, to verify immunity to the lint and body crud that tends to accumulate when carried everyday. This refreshes the ammo in my pistol and the spare mags. If a handgun don't go 1000 rounds without needing cleaning it quickly becomes a safe queen. Bearcreek has it right, there is no universal answer, but for range guns no harm for a failure so I slack as much as possible, for carry guns I'm a lot more careful.
 
I clean my guns after every range trip except for the compensators. Those I clean close to 500 rounds after use.

I've taken to using a new cleaner on my CZ 457 Varmint. Bore Tech C4 is not my Go-To cleaner for this gun and probably all my guns. I've been an advocate for MPro7 for nearly 30 years. It's great with no smell, no greasy residue on my hands and does a fantastic job on most of the lead and carbon buildup, especially on my S&W 617.

Yesterday I received my bottle of C4 and after cleaning the CZ, using a bore mop with cleaner on it for 5 minutes, then a nylon brush and 5 patches the barrel was clean and the chamber had no carbon ring left. Amazing cleaner.

I then took my 617 out of the safe and went at it with the Bore Teck product.

The hardest part of cleaning a revolver is the front of the cylinder and the chambers. I've always gotten them pretty clean with some aggressive techniques. Today I placed the cylinder in an old medicine pill bottle, poured enough C4 to cover it and let it sit for 5 minutes.

All it took was a wipe from my shop towel and the front of the cylinder was clean as if new. The 617s are known to have pour extraction after a number of rounds and I think it's because of the carbon ring buildup. It's had to get out but after doing the front of my cylinder I took 5 swings at each chamber with a nylon brush, pushed a dry patch through and then took my borescope to it. No carbon ring so I expect the gun will go a long way before I have to scrub the cylinders.

That's important because I shoot Steel Challenge with it and do almost 40 reloads during the match. I hate going to the safety circle to clean between stages and it looks like now I will not have to.

Steven
 
Wipe it off after shooting. And run a bore snake through it . Thorough cleaning when there is actually need. And that can take a long time
 
When they get dirty.

All handguns sit to acclimate to the inside temperature, then get wiped down with a rag soaked with RIG grease. Barrels? Y’all clean handgun barrels? Sure, if they get leading you need to. Plated and jacketed? Nope, unless you have a problem barrel.

Rifles the same way. Barrels get cleaned when they need it, so some a lot more often.
 
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