Newbie Needs Pistol Cleaning Help

[MP5]

After lots of range rentals, I bought my first gun recently, a .22lr Ruger 22/45 autoloader with a stainless barrel. Any advice for how and how often to clean it?

Assume total ignorance on my part of terms and techniques and tools, though as someone who's been shooting a while, I of course know about gun safety. (I.e., don't worry I'll try to clean it loaded.) I can also strip and reassemble my pistol easily.

My meagre cleaning gear currently consists of an Outers universal cleaning kit (multi-part rod, patches, gun oil, solvent/bore cleaner, and jags/tips--not sure how to use those) and a .22 brass bore brush. I also have a toothbrush, Q-tips, and other general-purpose cleaning aids like that lying around if I should need them.

I'd happily invest in extra or better cleaning gear if advisable. For any suggestions there, bear in mind that I intend to purchase many more guns in the future including revolvers, autoloaders, and carbines of various calibers. So, the more use I can get out of any item, the better.

Thanks for any tips.

 

[R.H. Lee]

I have a Ruger MKII SS Target. I think the action is identical to the 22/45. It hasn't been necessary to completely break down the pistol very often. The only regular cleaning I do is with Hoppe's soaked Q-Tips, cleaning the breechface, boltface, (under the extractor), chamber and muzzle. I never run anything through the bore. Occasionally, when I feel like it and have time, I'll completely disassemble the pistol and clean everything. It' got well over 15k rds through it and this procedure makes it perfectly functional.

 

[Kruzr]

MP5, you should make yourself familiar with this site:

http://www.wiztechs.com/knightsrealm/guns/22-45/22-45.htm

And another one for the Mark II but useful also for the 22/45:

yzguy's site:

http://www.1bad69.com/ruger/index.htm

Q-tips are also helpful in cleaning the Ruger 22 autoloaders.

 

[MP5]

Thanks for the tips. What about gun oil--where and how often?

 

[MrMurphy]

Scrub the breechface and chamber area a bit, run a boresnake through the barrel occasionally for .22s.

For bigger pistols, clean after every range session. Lube the wear points, boresnake the barrel and dry it, scrub breechface etc.


A range I used to go to had a policy on cleaning their .22 Ruger Mk II, as opposed to the other guns (which were cleaned nightly) of "Clean it when it jams". It went through about 200 rounds a day for 10 years, and only got cleaned maybe once a month, sometimes once every six months aside from wipedowns. So that Ruger must have ate 5,000+ rounds before cleaning easily.