NG-with gun cleaning question

[1942bull]

I served ten years in the Marine Corps. We had a simple rule. The weapon (rifle, pistol, mortar, howitzer, etc) gets cleaned after firing it. You shoot the pistol once or 500 times you clean and lube it as soon as practical. Anyone here who has engaged in CQB in a war will tell you the last thing they want to have to do is clean their weapon when it is time to use it. Vietnam has a particularly gun unfriendly environment in some seasons of the year, especially the rainy season when mud abounds. We meticulously cleaned our weapons if they got dirty even when not from firing but just natural dirt. It was a simple objective; if you want a reliable gun, clean it when it gets dirty from any cause. A few minutes cleaning's the gun beat an eternity lying underground.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I still have the "Clean immediately after shooting" reflex because I was raised on black powder.
After I switched to rimfire and center fire I learned to suppress this reflex... to an extent.
Nonetheless, if the session is extensive, the rounds are of questionable quality, the gun is feeling a bit odd, the weather was wet or windy or I expect to store the gun for a while then I will clean ASAP.

 

[ATLDave]

What kind of "cleaning" are we talking about? A field-strip cleaning that wipes the frame/slide interface rails and feed ramp/chamber and oils the recoil spring? Chances of introducing errors from that reassembly are very, very low, and can be checked with some dry-firing (to include checking trigger reset). No hesitation about relying upon a gun that has been field stripped without test-firing.

Detail stripping (taking out all the fire control components and slide components down to bare frame and slide, or some good way towards that status, is a different matter. It's absolutely possible to do something like get a slight bend in a roll-pin, or have something not seated quite right and have it jar loose during recoil. If you're doing a complete tear-down, a function check after that is sensible.

But even high volume shooters aren't doing tear-downs more than a few times a year, and many shooters leave that to a gunsmith.

I'd also add that for service-type pistols not shooting bare lead bullets, the correct cleaning interval for the bore is once every never, +/- 20k rounds.

 

[theotherwaldo]

-If you're talking about just swabbing the bore and cylinders and checking for build-up, I'll often do that between boxes of ammo.
Cleaning is something else entirely... .

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

You are not married, are you? Or is it don't ask, don't tell in your household?

Definitely married.

Truly, I personally LOATHE the dishwasher and the space it takes up, the time to run and the noise. I hand wash the cast majority of the dishes washed in our house and so the dishwasher goes unused for many.... MANY weeks or more at a time.

Then, because the DW drain necessarily enters the garbage disposal and sometimes food-matter back flows, we have to run the dishwasher if only to clean that out and restore order in the lines. Often times, rather than run it empty or with minimal dishes in it, I will use it as an opportunity to detail clean items like gun parts, fishing reels and the like.

I've also used it to swell the leather washers of GI fighting knives and bayonets.

Todd.

 

[Mark1964]

I'm in agreement with the sentiment that if you do it properly, the exact when is not a huge question or factor.
I do not particularly enjoy cleaning 'em, but I do field strip and clean mine after I shoot ... if not spot-on immediately, then that evening after dinner. Then I do a function check. Then I return 'em to safe or holster, whichever is appropriate.
I'm also a ditto re lube 'em properly and, generally, lightly. And if you're of the inclination to run a damp oil patch down the bore for guns being put up in the safe, a dry patch before a hunt or a range session isn't a bad idea.

 

[theotherwaldo]

-I've got a counter-top mini dishwasher that occasionally sees some non-standard items, as well... .

 

[jmorris]

if it's gonna have a problem, it's somewhat likely because of a recent cleaning

More likely incorrect reassembly but yes I have seen many guns fail on the first shot of the first stage. Makes for a long day when you have lost before firing a shot. Even longer if you die when you need it the most.

There are ways to mitigate problems if you must strip them down though and carry squeaky clean.

 

[ScubaSteve99]

I'm pretty picky about cleaning my guns soon after each range trip, but that is more so due to them all being old, collectible milsurps and I give them extra love. As far as cleaning messing up a gun, the only likely way that would happen would be if you improperly reassembled it. With a Glock though, it should be pretty hard to mess up reassembly from a basic field strip in a way that you couldn't notice without shooting it. As GRIZ22 said, if something is wrong it should be noticeable with a function test.