Your Gun Cleaning Routines

Brubz

Brubz

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Joined
Feb 2, 2021
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Location
Centerville
I'm curious about how you guys approach gun cleaning. do you think of it as a chore? is it work? or do you make it something enjoyable?
For me, I try to clean the evening after I've been to the range. I put on some music, have a glass of red wine and take my time.
I find it reminds me of why I like guns and helps me appreciate the nice ones I have.
I went to the range today. Tonight I plan on cleaning with some Stevie Ray Vaughan on the stereo!:)
 
It depends!
If I go to the range by myself, then it is not that bad, but if the family went with me, then it is a chore!
The way I do it is: Start to take apart the DI guns, and spray them with some solvent/CLP to get most crud out, let it soak while I clean the piston/bolt guns.
I too, play some tunes and whistle while I work, but I do avoid adult drinks till the deed is done.
The one gun I dislike to clean the most is a 22/45, just because .22LR ammo is dirty, and from time to time, I forget the sequence to take it apart.
One cleaning solvent on my bench I like to use the most is M-Pro7 gun cleaner. I used to buy the big spray bottles for $25 bucks, and I did stock up on the stuff before it went up to $50 bucks! I do like it, because it does a good job, and it does not stink or irritate my eyes or skin.
Thinking about an ultrasonic gizmo, but I am undecided. I think I will wait till I am a little older, or lazy!
 
if anyone else is around or going to be around I don't like the distractions and it becomes a chore. if I am along and can take my time I like it. if I bring two guns out and shoot them I'll like cleaning them. If I make the mistatake of bringing to many, say 5, it becomes a chore. I'll clean them the same day, or in the next few days if I have several to clean. I might shoot 5 in a day on a trip, but then I just know from experience, if I take my time and clean up 2 a day until they are done, I like it more than rushing through all of them at one time.
 
Sometimes fun, sometimes relaxing, sometimes a chore. Sometimes I clean after the range, sometimes I don't.

If I got rained on a bunch while shooting or hunting, it's more of a chore simply because I have to do so much more of a thorough job getting to everything that got wet.
 
I see gun cleaning as part of the game. Sometimes I just do it and sometimes I get into it. If that makes sense?

Over the years I have developed a comfortable set-up. At home my cleaning rods are hanging on a specially designed holder in my loading room. My other stuff is in a Harbor Freight roll around tool cart with drawers. My basic gun smithing tools are in one drawer and the patches, brushes, ect are in another drawer. It has a solid top big enough for the cleaning cradle.

I watch for sales and buy solvent by the quart, patches by the 500 or 1000 count and brushes by the dozen.

Condor, that picture reminds me of Prairie Dog hunting in Texas. After we would get back to the motel I would set my rifle rest and a rear bag up on the tailgate, open a beer and we would all clean our rifles. Pretty often some of the locals would stop by and drink a beer with us and visit. Good Times...............
 
Last edited:
Brubz said:
I'm curious about how you guys approach gun cleaning. do you think of it as a chore? is it work? or do you make it something enjoyable?
For me, I try to clean the evening after I've been to the range. I put on some music, have a glass of red wine and take my time.
I find it reminds me of why I like guns and helps me appreciate the nice ones I have.
I went to the range today. Tonight I plan on cleaning with some Stevie Ray Vaughan on the stereo!:)
Click to expand...
Sounds like what I do although I admit I don't clean EVERYTIME that and I'd rather have beer and Larry Sparks or Ralph Stanley on the Bluetooth speaker
 
Appalachiannative said:
Ha ha ha that's after you get done using it as a hammer right? Just make sure to use some WD40 to displace the water and be mindful that Hi Points prefer a different detergent
Click to expand...

You posted that like you think I'm kidding.

I mean, I actually don't have a dishwasher but I do in fact wash my glock with Dawn dish soap and hot water.
 
Not a chore, unless it's after our annual Father's Day weekend shoot when I take way too many guns up, come back exhausted and it takes a week or so to clean several long guns and many handguns.

After an average range day here, three to five guns max, put out a portable table in the family room, open some windows (wife not happy, so I do it when she's at work) and stink the house up with Hoppe's #9, Breakfree and all the various lubes...

... while watching Seasons 1 and 2 of Miami Vice or the Dirty Harry collection on Blu-Ray and the big screen TV.
 
I clean with homemade Ed’s Red but not every time. Pistols are pretty forgiving so it’s usually a wipe down and rarely a full disassembly. It is satisfying to look down a clean, shiny bore, though.
 
During the shooting season I only clean the barrel bores maybe every other week. When I do clean them I used Hoppe’s followed by a coating of Birchwood Casey Barricade . After each outing I wipe down the exterior with G96.
 
I try to shoot every week. If I’m going to shoot the same gun(s) next week I’ll probably not clean it. On the other hand if I’m done for it awhile I’ll clean it before it goes back in the safe. If a gun is dirty I store it with the action open, and if it’s clean I close the action. That makes it easy and quick to tell which is which.

So far as cleaning, I definitely like having a clean gun at the end. So far as the cleaning process, it depends. I like cleaning my 1911s - particularly my Nighthawk because everything goes together so nicely. Other guns can be more of a chore.
 
I kind of stopped cleaning my guns. I'll clean my carry gun after I've shot it, but the others don't get so lucky. I'll clean my revolver after I shoot it too.

I never clean the barrels on my long guns anymore, I always notice degradation of accuracy after I cleaned them, especially my long range rifle. The only exception to this is when I shoot corrosive ammo through my Mosin, then I clean that barrel and action.

I used to be Johnny on the spot with cleaning my guns, I guess life gets in the way.
 
I must not mind cleaning them as I do it every time I go shooting. I usually clean them over a day or two after shooting, depending on how many I shot. I like to let them soak a bit as part of the cleaning process. Also, its easier to get the carbon out if you get after it before it hardens in the bore for weeks.
 
I have no routine. I clean rimfire rifles when the one hole groups look like a 50cal hole instead of 38cal hole. Carry gun gets lint and debris blown out of it with air nozzle at work once every few weeks.
Most everything else is wait til it doesn't act right. Stripped entirely and scrubbed/lubed if they get wet.
 
It's a chore for me.
Deer rifles and shotguns get cleaned at the end of hunting season.
Pistols get wiped down after each use and cleaned when it think they need it.
I pocket carry, so that gun gets cleaned more than the rest due to the lint and such that it picks up. It's one of the cheapest guns I own, yet probably the most important.
 
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