Revolver vs semi-auto cleaning

Revolvers vs Semi-auto cleaning

  • Revolvers are easier to clean

    Votes: 14 11.7%

  • Semi-autos are easier to clean

    Votes: 72 60.0%

  • About the same

    Votes: 31 25.8%

  • Clean guns? I like em dirty!

    Votes: 3 2.5%
  • Total voters
    120
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OP, you ask which is easier to clean, then mention which is more enjoyable to you. To me they are not the same thing.

I find semi-autos easier to clean, but I enjoy cleaning revolvers more. Cleaning a semi-auto, even a classic like a 1911 or Hi Power, seems more like cleaning an appliance like my stove or refrigerator. It's a chore. Cleaning a revolver is more like washing a motorcycle or a classic car. I take my time admiring every bend and nook as I clean it.
 
bassjam said:
OP, you ask which is easier to clean, then mention which is more enjoyable to you. To me they are not the same thing.

I find semi-autos easier to clean, but I enjoy cleaning revolvers more. Cleaning a semi-auto, even a classic like a 1911 or Hi Power, seems more like cleaning an appliance like my stove or refrigerator. It's a chore. Cleaning a revolver is more like washing a motorcycle or a classic car. I take my time admiring every bend and nook as I clean it.
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Good point. I guess I just like cleaning autos more. Doesn’t mean I don’t like to shoot revolvers as much. I seem to put off cleaning revolvers more.
 
I do not enjoy cleaning any guns, and I hate cleaning revolvers. I can clean a Glock to my satisfaction (maybe not others' :)) in about 15 minutes, and I do a detail strip, inspection and cleaning every 5-10,000 rounds, which takes about 45 minutes. If someone made a self-cleaning gun, I would take a hard look at it.
 
I used to think semi-auto's were easier. The last outing I had with multiple pistols and rifles I realized that they are about the same. They are different, but when done I'm not sure it takes any longer to clean my revolver than it does my 1911 or my other semi-auto.

-Jeff
 
Depends on the level of cleaning.
After shooting I'll field strip semi autos and clean the bore reassemble, lube and wipe down, which is more of a chore than cleaning the bore, chambers, ejector star, lube and wipe down a revolver. More in depth cleaning is another kettle of fish.
 
George P said:
Unbelievable..............Glocks are easy to take down and clean, maybe 3 minutes if you're taking your time; now my K-22 masterpiece with those tight .22 chambers is a PITA.
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You would not believe the amount of people that have trouble with removing the slide on Glocks and other guns with the same type of take down.
What I find amazing is the amount of people that have trouble with disassembling Ruger 22 pistols. The MKII is easier to take down and put back together then a 1911.
 
GunnyUSMC said:
You would not believe the amount of people that have trouble with removing the slide on Glocks and other guns with the same type of take down.
What I find amazing is the amount of people that have trouble with disassembling Ruger 22 pistols. The MKII is easier to take down and put back together then a 1911.
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For me, I have never been able to get the barrel assy off my MKII; but I can take down my Kimber 4" 1911 easily enough....
 
The only semi-autos that I can attest to are my .22 carbines. One being a Ruger and the other a Marlin. All my handguns are revolvers and they are all Ruger. I have three LCR's that I remove the cylinders when I clean then and they come apart relatively easy. My SP101 and my Security Six require several additional steps to remove the cylinders for an extensive cleaning. I find the LCR's the easiest, followed by the semi-autos.

To me cleaning my firearms is a labor of love which I enjoy so I don't consider it a chore.
 
The Semi is easier to clean, but you will expend way more effort than you save picking up brass (assuming you reload, of course). "Total work for ownership" favors the revolver.

Plus 0 lost brass and really no "regular maintenance items" like recoil springs and magazines.
 
GunnyUSMC said:
You would not believe the amount of people that have trouble with removing the slide on Glocks and other guns with the same type of take down.
What I find amazing is the amount of people that have trouble with disassembling Ruger 22 pistols. The MKII is easier to take down and put back together then a 1911.
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Those older Ruger pistols aren’t simple. Makes me scratch my head every time. That said I still enjoy it. I think we can all agree these are 1st world problems here. I am grateful I can own and clean any type of gun. As long as we are sport complaining. I do miss Hoppes in the original formula in the glass bottle.
 
doubleh said:
I don't find cleaning either enjoyable. It's just work that has to be done if you expect them to keep working right just like changing the oil in your vehicle.
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Same here. When I clean my guns, I do it in detail. Now, if I was the type to just "hose them off", I'm sure I'd enjoy it more. But that's against my nature. I'd rather leave a gun dirty than clean it part way. In fact, I will leave my guns dirty between shootings if they aren't dirty enough to be cleaned.

Two days ago, I was shooting my little Ruger Bearcat for the 6th or 7th time since the last cleaning. I think it's time I clean it as the chambers are getting sticky.
 
By the way, I think cleaning a single action revolver (smokeless) is easier than a double action revolver. Just pull the cylinder out and have at it.

While the double action revolver's cylinder opens easily and doesn't have to be removed, I spend more time on the extractor assembly than I do on a single action's ejector. Also, having the cylinder free from a crane/yoke, sure makes things easier if you ask me.
 
chicharrones said:
By the way, I think cleaning a single action revolver (smokeless) is easier than a double action revolver. Just pull the cylinder out and have at it.

While the double action revolver's cylinder opens easily and doesn't have to be removed, I spend more time on the extractor assembly than I do on a single action's ejector. Also, having the cylinder free from a crane/yoke, sure makes things easier if you ask me.
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Me too. That's one more reason I like my Blackhawks so much. :)
 
chicharrones said:
By the way, I think cleaning a single action revolver (smokeless) is easier than a double action revolver. Just pull the cylinder out and have at it.

While the double action revolver's cylinder opens easily and doesn't have to be removed, I spend more time on the extractor assembly than I do on a single action's ejector. Also, having the cylinder free from a crane/yoke, sure makes things easier if you ask me.
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I agree with you but it's still not something I look forward to. It's a necessary part of shooting. I don't detail clean a firearm every time I shoot it. I do wipe the exterior down after every shooting session with wax. I don't get rust on any my guns by doing this.
 
chicharrones said:
Two days ago, I was shooting my little Ruger Bearcat for the 6th or 7th time since the last cleaning. I think it's time I clean it as the chambers are getting sticky.
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For that reason I'm thankful for bore snakes. I've had some ammo that was so filthy that I had to run a bore snake through the cylinders every 3rd cylinder full just to get the debris out.
 
Semi-autos are easier but also need more of it, more often. I rarely do a detail cleaning of any revolver, unless it's been shot with blackpowder. Swab the chambers every few hundred rounds, clean under the extractor of a DA, or the ejector of a single action every thousand rounds or so. Just wipe it down the rest of the time.
 
chicharrones said:
By the way, I think cleaning a single action revolver (smokeless) is easier than a double action revolver. Just pull the cylinder out and have at it.

While the double action revolver's cylinder opens easily and doesn't have to be removed, I spend more time on the extractor assembly than I do on a single action's ejector. Also, having the cylinder free from a crane/yoke, sure makes things easier if you ask me.
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On my S&W's I always remove the cylinder and crane. It's one screw.
 
I clean revolvers using a vise. Of course most of mine are 6". I can lock the barrel (not super tight, and well padded of course) with the gun standing upright and have-at the barrel if there's a leading problem. But I use it regardless as it's nice to have both hands free.

It really speeds things up with the cylinders, but on most of my revolvers the crane just slides off the cylinder when removed, or they are single actions. You can clean out the chambers in short order when you don't have to use one hand holding it. Makes life a lot easier.
 
I find the semi-auto easier to clean on a day-to-day basis, and it's simply because of the chambers. Unless there is leading, I almost never clean handgun barrels. At most (again, absent leading), I just run a soft brush down the bore once or twice and a patch or two with some oil, but that's pretty much it. So cleaning the semi-auto on an ongoing basis is just a matter of cleaning the rail/slide interface and re-applying the lube, and running a q-tip under the extractor to get out any truly horrendous pile up of gunk. All the rest gets cleaned on a much more infrequent basis in a detail strip.

Revolvers, OTOH, require (in my mind) some reasonably diligent cleaning of each chamber. Maybe it's just because there's no recoil spring doing the work for me, but I can feel cartridges getting a little tougher to seat in cylinders with comparatively few rounds through them... and I do not like having to push cartridges home.
 
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