How often do you clean your guns?

[Wesson Smith]

I'll admit it - I hate cleaning my guns.

That having been said, I do clean my carry weapon (Kimber 1911) after
every session. My other autos every 150 rounds, or so. I clean my revolvers
as needed, which depends on the ammo. I'm real bad with my long guns,
especially the AK. Anyway, I'm working on improving my track record.

 

[Mt Shooter]

i clean after every session, no matter auto,revolver,or long gun. thought I was the only one who did that I have heard some shooters at the local uspsa matches say that they only clean theres once or twice a year and they have the race guns!

 

[RonE]

I once, late in the duck season, had to use a nylon comb to punch out the pins that held the trigger group in my 11-87 Rem Shotgun. I was then able to swish the gunk out of the trigger group with the water in the rice field. The gun functioned well till the end of the season when I cleaned it. I usually just spray some WD 40 on a rag and wipe the gun down untill the end of the hunting season and then clean it. For pistols that I shoot at the range, the same thing, just wipe them down and clean them every 6-10 trips to the range. Most of my guns are shooters, and not modified to make them more high speed low drag. I wouldn't even consider trying to make my govt issue 1911 more accurate and wonder how it could be more reliable. Heck, smokeless powder and nom mecuric priming was developed so that we wouldn't have to do so much cleaning.

 

[mad hungarian]

I do not clean my rifles/pistols after every range session. Sometimes they are cleaned as soon as I get home and at times I have let a week or longer go by.

 

[bikerdoc]

being an old cranky sort of guy i have always cleaned all weapons , right after use, then again the next day


possession does not equal proficientcy

 

[Moccw]

Everytime, only way to go!

 

[Regolith]

Depends on how lazy I'm feeling. Normally, I clean em after a range session, but sometimes I let it slide until after two or three sessions.

 

[Chris Rhines]

Rarely. Maybe every thousand rounds or so, depending on the gun and the type of shooting.

Modern firearms gain no benefit from being constantly disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled. Doing so too much will lead to excessive wear and parts breakage.

- Chris

 

[mustang 22]

After every session, regardless of type. I always do the bores on all types and a general wipe down and lube. The semi autos get field stripped, cleaned and lubed, including the magazines. I am reasonably sure that they will operate in the event I need to use one or more of them.

 

[thebaldguy]

I am always surprised by people who don't clean their firearms after use, especially after using questionable eastern bloc ammo. You don't need to scrub the rifling out, but I think it's a good idea to clean after use.

 

[mudslinging79]

i clean mine thouroughly after every outing, and run a patch bout once a month on the outside.

 

[f4t9r]

every other range trip unless wet out or rain or snow, then I clean soon as I get home.

 

[azhunter12]

I clean most of my guns when I get home. Sometimes I'm too lazy to clean them when I get home late.

 

[BobbyQuickdraw]

I clean the gun after every session. I sort of like cleaning it.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

I do a bore snake and wipe down after every range session. A little deeper clean as I can tell they're getting dirty.

Flat out nuts and bolts detail strip about twice a year.

The only exception to this is if I've been shooting corrosive ammo. Then it's clean it as soon as I get home.

 

[sargenv]

Um.. people clean guns? Ok, I fall into the never clean em rank also. I'd have to clean either 6 or 8 chambers in my cylinders.. and that's just a lot of work.. I probably fire between 2000-2500 rounds in between cleanings.. and usually JUST before a major match. The rounds I shoot aren't too demanding of cleanliness.. 4 gr of solo-1000 and a 158 moly coated lead bullet. My 610 is 4.0 gr of Ramshot Competition and a 140 moly coated RN.. cylinder looks like a Titanium cylinder when it's about ready to be cleaned

 

[Kind of Blued]

I just buy new ones.

Same goes with underwear, cars, socks, and carpet.

 

[mgregg85]

I try to clean my guns as soon as I get home but every now and then I forget. The XD always gets cleaned first as its what I carry day to day, the one I depend on.

 

[scout26]

I used to be real anal about cleaning my firearms, thanks to the Army.
Now days I'm a little more laid back.

Rifles and Handguns - Barrels swabbed and actions squirted with CLP at the range, cleaned with Hoppe's #9 or Semi-Auto (if there's lots of copper fouling) or plain Ed's Red either that day or the next. Lubed with Ed's Red w/Lanolin or CLP.

Shotguns - Those might go a few range trips before getting cleaned (generally around 1200-1500 rounds). Same with the other guns, they get a a dose of CLP prior to leaving the range, then cleaned at home within 24-48 hrs. with plain Ed's Red. Lubed with Ed's Red w/ Lanolin.

When I'm out hunting, those get cleaned (at least a good wipe down) everyday.

 

[XD-40 Shooter]

I do a simple bore and action cleaning after every range trip, just a few patches with Hoppe's #9, wipe down the chamber real good. About every 300 rounds, I strip them down, wipe'em down with Hoppe's #9 and then lube'em up with CLP.

 

[BridgeWalker]

When "every range session" meant every couple of weeks, I cleaned 'em every range session. Now that my schedule is a bit easier, I shoot two or three times a week, sometimes more.

Now, I clean them as needed. Generally, that's every 500-1000 rounds, depending on the weather and the ammo, or about every three or four weeks, whichever comes first.

We do have a bit of a division of labor going on though--the guns that we share, we take turns cleaning. I generally clean the long guns though.

 

[S&W620]

My guns have always and will always been cleaned within a day or two of my range visit.

I've spent far too much money on them to let them sit there dirty.

 

[mejeepnut]

Centerfires get cleaned after every range trip,sometimes during depending on how many rounds I shoot.Rimfires depend on the gun.My Walther P22 can go 500+ rounds between cleanings without any problems but My S&W 22A does not go 50 between cleaning because it will start having all kinds of problems.My rimfire rifles can all go a few hundred rounds at the least before they start having problems.So it depends on how many rounds I fire in the rimfires per trip as to how often I clean them.Except for hunting,if I am shooting then I have full cleaning kit with me and don't mind doing it when its time.

 

[xjchief]

Wow, I clean mine right after I get back from the range. I left one of my .22's dirty for a week and felt terrible about it. Guess I'm neurotic or something.

 

[Hokkmike]

Cleaning my guns (taking them apart, inspecting, cleaning, reassembling, etc.) is ALMOST as much fun as shooting them.