How often do you clean your guns?

[Gravedigger56]

After 150 factory rds. my Kimber Micro was so dirty that it started to malfunction. When I got home and disassembled it I couldn't believe just much fouling/crud was evident throughout the entire gun which required an hour to get clean.

Clean after every trip to the range, hunting day, etc.? Yep. I got into the habit of cleaning my guns after each use and have continued doing it for over 40 years.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I strip and clean my Ruger Mark II once a year. After a range session or plinking session on the mountain, I lock the bolt open and wipe inside the receiver with a q-tip and solvent. Once a year, it gets a takedown and cleaning.

My CZ52 fired with military surplus at the matches (seven times a year) gets thoroughly cleaned the afternoon after the match, stripped and the barrel and breechface Windexed, dried and cleaned with solvent and lightly oiled.

Black powder cartridge (well, Triple Seven) in Mauser Broomhandle, Webley Mk IV, thoroughly cleaned the afternoon after the match, as per corrosive ammo.

Whether thorough cleaning is called for depending on ammo type, all get wiped down good externally to prevent rust from sweaty fingers.

Even if I don't intend to thoroughly clean, I have learned to inspect each gun for debris (like shaved lead, etc.) that might interfere with safe or reliable function.

I also find bamboo skewers, whittled to a point on one end and to a wedge on the other, to be useful against stubborn fouling in odd places.

 

[GRIZ22]

Guns I might use for SD get cleaned after they are fired.

Many of my guns are not fired often. Some guns I haven't fired in years. These get a good cleaning as I don't know when I'm going to shoot them again.

I don't shoot my Garands that much. They get a barrel clean and wipe down and a thorough clean once a year.

 

[clutch]

I have a couple I leave dirty just to see how long they will run.

 

[exbrit49]

Now I know why I have never purchased a used firearm

After reading some of the posts, it confirmed to me why i never purchased a used gun! I don't care what is said, the minor particles of grime are usually abrasive and will cause premature wear and more probably cause accuracy problems. I am stunned that many posters boast "Shoot til it fails" What a mentality! Yep I will never buy a used gun.
I will insert my favorite expression, Different strokes for different folks.
Yes mine get an in depth cleaning everything they are fired!

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Carbon is softer than steel, unless it is a diamond.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I remember from the 1960s on being told more .22 barrels have been damaged by overly zealous cleaning than by benign neglect.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I remember from the 1960s on being told more .22 barrels have been damaged by overly zealous cleaning than by benign neglect.

I shoot .22 benchrest locally. Many of our top shooters don't clean a rifle until the groups open up. I have a Remington 37 that takes about a box of ammo after cleaning before the groups tighten up consistently. Then, I can go upwards of 500 rounds before it needs cleaned again. The gun was made in 1950. Decades of dirty shooting haven't hurt it.

 

[ATLDave]

After reading some of the posts, it confirmed to me why i never purchased a used gun! I don't care what is said, the minor particles of grime are usually abrasive and will cause premature wear and more probably cause accuracy problems. I am stunned that many posters boast "Shoot til it fails" What a mentality! Yep I will never buy a used gun.
I will insert my favorite expression, Different strokes for different folks.
Yes mine get an in depth cleaning everything they are fired!

And I am wary of buying used guns because I don't want ones that have been over-cleaned and damaged in the process!

Actually, I look at the individual used gun and make a decision based on what I can see and feel.

 

[stu1ritter]

Exbrit49, yupper, clean them when they stop functioning is correct. If I had cleaned my target 1911 after every range session in the past 23 years I'd have worn it out from disassembly and assembly considering as a high expert I was shooting almost every night and every weekend. A 1911 can go thousands upon thousands of rounds before it malfunctions. Granted, I would clean it before an important match, but then fire about 30 rounds before the match to refoul it. But gads, every time you shoot..........you really put some wear on those puppies. On the Army teams I participated in (1st Cav and 2nd Army) we never cleaned the guns and they were Clarks, Dinans, Chow's, etc.
Stu