How often do you clean and inspect your carry gun?

[nammac]

Let me preface this post by stating I'm anal about the cleanliness of my edc sidearm....

Daily carry gets checked daily, as its put on. Silicone cloth wipe down just about every other day.

Weekly, check for dust/lint in the barrel as well as the hammer mechanism. Air dusted as necessary, like the computer air dusters, works well. Lube checked after dusting and reapplied as necessary. Function check (safeties).

Range trips result in complete field stripping and cleaning. This is also a monthly function, with inspections for hidden lint and dust.

Complete tear downs two or three times a year, checking for wear, damage, rust and the such... Complete lube, reassembly and function checks.

This is for JMB's Model of 1911 design

 

[Certaindeaf]

It's very important to me also so ever dang day!Blow the lint off and see if the rounds still rattle around in the cylinder.. like a boss, baby!

 

[Swedish K]

amazing how quickly an edc piece can get loaded with pocket lint/dust bunnies.
On the flip side, it might be wise to rotate the round at the top of the mag regularly as well to avoid possible catastrophic failures.
I recall reading about a guy who had not noticed that his process of daily checking his edc without shooting it for months resulted in that one round that had been slammed home by the slide 30+ times without being fired having the bullet driven back into the brass causing a compressed round when he finally did fire it - and boom - time for a new carry gun and a trip to the ER to remove parts from flesh.

 

[mkwerx]

Weekly at least, more often if I've gotten really dirty. The other day I turned cork handles for a fly rod project I finally got around to starting - and despite wearing a cover shirt, when I was done and cleaning the cork dust off of myself, I checked the gun and it was covered in cork dust, even down in the holster. Guess that stuff is really tiny. I had to wipe out the holster and totally wipe the exterior clean.

 

[decklin]

Visual inspection everyday, check for full mag, and press check the chamber.
I use a tooth brush every week to get rid of lint and dust.
I clean and lube as necessary.
When I first bought it I ran 1,000 rounds before I cleaned. I've owned it 4 years and have had zero malfunctions, though I do train for them.

 

[PaulB47]

Rarely. I just hope a little pocket fuzz is not going to put my gun out of commission. Maybe I should check that theory...

When I was carrying my stainless KelTec P11 I was amazed one day to find rust on the stainless steel. Just surface rust, but still. My non-stainless guns with decent coating seem much more rust resistant.

I do try to go with plastic holsters having a sweat guard, which helps a lot. No leather for me.

You guys with pocket guns, you do clear the lint out of your pockets before putting the gun in, right?

 

[The Courier]

I check every couple days, when it gets cleaned my treatment is Otis Special Forces dry lube on the guts and barrel then a light coating of Rem oil on the exterior to make that Gen 3 finish shine. Occasionaly I will remove the trigger assembly and give that a good once over.

 

[clearconscience]

I don't. I don't want to mess with glock perfection.
Before I carry it I just rub some dirt on it and shove some mud down the barrel. Spit down the magwell and push a fully loaded mag inside.

I wouldn't carry it, if I didn't fully depend on it to fire everytime. Clean, dirty, or covered in blood.

 

[Joe13]

Took my everyday carry .22 that I had not shot for about 6 weeks when it was last shot and cleaned fully.

Both mags with my carry ammo in it all went bang and cycled the gun no problem.

Honestly, unless your carrying it where it will collect dust or grim, I'd say if it hasn't been shot in a year then it might need to be re oiled but really, my carry guns get shot at least 6 times a year each and I have 4.

 

[jrprich]

After every time I shoot it I do a 3/4 strip, clean, re-Seal1.

 

[revjen45]

When there's so much debris in the pocket that there's no room for the gun.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

I inspect every morning!
I don't like to blow out lint and dust, too much blows deeper in. Several years ago I made a plug to go into a two inch vacuum hose with a soda straw through the center for my wife. Put the 1/2 power switch in the open position and she could vacuum her sewing machine perfectly. I started using it on my guns and works great for that too! I usually leave a little lint in the barrel as proof it hasn't been fired! Paranoid I guess! I generally wipe it with a silicon cloth every day or two, keep it by my easy chair!

 

[NxNw]

I will admit that check the chamber and feed everyday I wear it. I clean it every payday(once a month). Unless I'm at the range. Just being honest I do run Glocks though

 

[Doc In UPlace]

Honestly about every two, three or four months. Not on a regular basis, either.
One's an alloy frame S&W 638 revolver and the other's a Glock G21. Might blow some fuzz out of the J-frame every once in awhile.

The both of them are "Doc Proof" and that's why they are where they are.

BUT! When I do clean them, I clean them meticulously, down to the smallest parts, and use Mill-Comm TW25-B grease or -2500 oil on critical areas.

 

[Joe13]

I will admit that check the chamber and feed everyday I wear it. I clean it every payday(once a month). Unless I'm at the range. Just being honest I do run Glocks though

Out of curiosity, why do you check the chamber and feed "ramp"? Daily? Or is it checking for loaded?

 

[etrain16]

A couple of years ago, I wanted to see how far I could push it with my carry gun. I went about 6 months and about 500 rounds without cleaning it - perhaps not the best idea with a carry gun, but I really wanted to know if I could rely on it when I needed it. After 6 months dirty and 500 rounds, the gun still functioned as well as when it was clean - never a single malfunction, and that's with 95% cheap FMJ plinking ammo, mixed with some HP defensive loads. I will admit to occasionally blowing the lint out of the rails, but that's all. Overall, I was really impressed with the performance and came to find that I could rely on my gun and not worry if I miss a cleaning here or there. I do clean it much more regularly now, including after each range trip, but I don't get too worked up if a little time passes between cleanings when all I've done is carry it.

 

[NxNw]

Out of curiosity, why do you check the chamber and feed "ramp"? Daily? Or is it checking for loaded?

I don't carry my pistol everyday, due to my profession. I keep my "carry" pistol unloaded at home as a extra precaution. I preform a function check along with checking the chamber, feed ramp.

 

[OutlawHoss]

As much as I realize that the minor muck accumulated from daily carry seems unlikely to cause some type of failure, and some people may scoff at the seemingly unneeded frequent checks, there is this: being prepared and confident is a mind-set/attitude as much as, or even more so, than the physical condition of your sidearm. With folks such as us who would agree that it's 'better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it,' so then regular function checks, field strips, rub down/clean/lube, even when not direly or obviously needed, would also be in this category. We all know ol' murphy and his laws, and that WTbubblegum moments happen all the time, so why carry a dirty gun around, or even have to wonder if your gun is dirty, when you can (if you're proficient) do some checks that take less than a minute?
Anyway, not to harangue anyone, just a point that maintaining your head and maintaining your gun go together.

 

[OutlawHoss]

Man you guys are a bunch of dirty folks


How much lint and dirt do y'all carry in your pockets??? It's not part of my EDC


I gotta agree though, it's all about preventing what you can so its not a problem later.

I do carry lint in fact, as edc; it quite easy to do so as it automatically collects in my belly button, and I always know I have some fire tender readily available!

 

[Joe13]

First thing I do when I go shooting is dump both of my EDC mags and have never had a hiccup with either gun I carry.

I can't imagine going a year much less 6 months without some shooting but really 3 months is a long time to go without shooting for me so my carry guns get rotated and shot often.




I also keep my EDC on me at all times, minus the shower but even then it's in the bedroom with my phone and keys.

My defense guns (EDC's, bump in the night gun and a shotgun) always stay loaded with a shell in the chamber, except the shoty which stays loaded but not chambered.

I never use any of the manual safety's on any of my guns so a loaded shotgun in a locked closet doesn't seem safe. The pistols are all in quick access safes except the one on me.




My kid is technically an adult now and there were lots of years (an eternity at the time but it feels like 18 years flew by now) where I did things far differently then I do now as a compromise with my wife (she's a Vancouver native and a city girl to the core - I'm the small town nitty gritty play in the dirt boy, opposites certainly attracted in our relationship haha). No loaded guns in the house or even loaded mags in safes - all guns and ammo were stored in different safes. Baseball bats were plentiful though.

Had a full time plus overtime job that I would loose becasue of company policy. Wasn't a big deal at the time, 9/11 and Katrina hadn't happened yet so gang violence in Portland was minimal and I was young, large and full of myself.

My long winded point is just that everyone's life is unique so you have to adjust and just do the best you can with what you have at the time.