How often do you clean your guns?

[ma96782]

After using crossive ammo (like: com block 7.62x54r or 7.62x39mm, or unknown surplus ammo) I'll clean my firearms as soon as I get home from the range. That's usually within hours of the last round leaving the barrel. IMHO....do not wait. There is plenty of temptation to just use water down the barrel. But, I like to do better than that.

That being said......
After using non-corrosive ammo, I'll usually clean the firearm "when I get around to feeling guilty" about having a dirty firearm. LOL.

So then the 22 LR firearms will be cleaned more often. That stuff is gummy and dirty.

But what about, the other firearms used with non-corrosive ammo? OK, refer back to that part about "feeling guilty".

Aloha, Mark

 

[Jade Terfin]

After using crossive ammo (like: com block 7.62x54r or 7.62x39mm, or unknown surplus ammo) I'll clean my firearms as soon as I get home from the range. That's usually within hours of the last round leaving the barrel. IMHO....do not wait. There is plenty of temptation to just use water down the barrel. But, I like to do better than that.

That being said......
After using non-corrosive ammo, I'll usually clean the firearm "when I get around to feeling guilty" about having a dirty firearm. LOL.

So then the 22 LR firearms will be cleaned more often. That stuff is gummy and dirty.

But what about, the other firearms used with non-corrosive ammo? OK, refer back to that part about "feeling guilty".

Aloha, Mark

That is interesting to note! I have been taking advantage of Bi-Mart's discount ammo which is Federal. I have 115 and 124 grain. At the gun store I also got a couple boxes of 115 grain PMC and one box of 115 grain Sierra. Simply because of the price, I'm going to assume that the Federal might be dirtier? But really not sure. But I suppose I'll give her maybe just a light cleaning before I take her to the range on Sunday. And then clean her after that, too. Then out for some Labor Day pew pewing !

 

[ma96782]

There is NO HARM in cleaning after a range session. But, some do not and I wouldn't like/want to make people like them......feel all guilty about NOT doing it. LOL.

Then.....if the firearm is NEW (or close to it).......there is NO HARM in taking it apart to clean it often. Well, at least until you have become FAMILIAR ENOUGH with it. It's helpful to know, what it's supposed to look like. All while checking for wear (common or unusual) and learning about disassembly/reassembly procedures. Along with learning the "lube and/or grease" points.

I suspect that there will be plenty of time to be LAZY. Later On.

Aloha, Mark

PS....Oh YES. When it's NEW (or if purchasing a USED firearm)......the cleaning and disassembly/reassembly/lube (field strip) is important too.

Dirty bores have been known to come......straight from the factory. But....that may be because they took the time and effort to "test-fire" it. As for the USED dirty bore......well, that's probably NOT A GOOD SIGN. Cough, cough....

 

[Flopsweat]

That is interesting to note! I have been taking advantage of Bi-Mart's discount ammo which is Federal. I have 115 and 124 grain. At the gun store I also got a couple boxes of 115 grain PMC and one box of 115 grain Sierra. Simply because of the price, I'm going to assume that the Federal might be dirtier? But really not sure. But I suppose I'll give her maybe just a light cleaning before I take her to the range on Sunday. And then clean her after that, too. Then out for some Labor Day pew pewing !

Federal should be pretty clean. PMC is a little dirty, but not bad at all. Neither are corrosive.

Corrosive refers to the primers. Your ammo uses Boxer style primers which are fine. Berdan primers are the problem and are usually only found in old military surplus ammo. Berdan primers can produce salts (potassium chloride and sodium chloride) when fired. The salt gets deposited in the chamber and barrel mostly but can find its way into the receiver too. When exposed to humidity, the salt can form a very strong acid. It's super important to clean the gun right away, because it can begin to corrode in a few hours.

 

[Mikej]

Federal should be pretty clean. PMC is a little dirty, but not bad at all. Neither are corrosive.

Corrosive refers to the primers. Your ammo uses Boxer style primers which are fine. Berdan primers are the problem and are usually only found in old military surplus ammo. Berdan primers can produce salts (potassium chloride and sodium chloride) when fired. The salt gets deposited in the chamber and barrel mostly but can find its way into the receiver too. When exposed to humidity, the salt can form a very strong acid. It's super important to clean the gun right away, because it can begin to corrode in a few hours.

I believe that there may still be some .30-06 Military Ball ammo that was made, prior to 1953-55?. That has corrosive primers.

 

[Allshouse]

I'm so excited to pick up my Smith & Wesson M&P Shield Plus on Saturday! So how often do you clean your guns? After every time you shoot? Once a week or once a month? And do you clean it even if you go a while without shooting it? I understand everybody probably has a different opinion. But I would love to hear what you guys do with yours. Thank you so much!

Well If I shoot it I clean it. If I have been carrying it and I notice a little Dust Bunnies ect. I use my shop vac and suck every thing out. It works really well and then I put Gun Oil on moving parts

 

[wired]

Once a year unless they start malfunctioning. I have AK's Ive never cleaned. HK pattern guns wont make it long.

 

[Olderguy]

I clean them after I shoot them (ALWAYS!) but if they're in the safe or sitting in a closet, then not often-once in a while wipe the outside down with oil.

 

[yukster]

I'm so excited to pick up my Smith & Wesson M&P Shield Plus on Saturday! So how often do you clean your guns? After every time you shoot? Once a week or once a month? And do you clean it even if you go a while without shooting it? I understand everybody probably has a different opinion. But I would love to hear what you guys do with yours. Thank you so much!

I have been collecting guns and range shooting for about 30 years, starting out very casual but in the last few years it's become my obsession/passion. I generally shoot every weekend (though it looks like I won't this weekend). Since buying my very first gun in the mid-90s I have always cleaned any gun I shoot as soon as possible. It's part of the ritual for me. My GF pokes fun cuz I generally spend more time cleaning guns than I do shooting them.

I don't think this is absolutely necessary but I decide early on that it was easier to just clean any gun that gets fire immediately instead of having to keep track of how long it's been since it was cleaned or how many rounds I've put through it. And as my collection has grown, that has paid off. There's no way I could keep track of what's been cleaned or not. I've been meaning to get a bore camera to check out some of my older guns' barrels to see if this has paid off or if I've deluded myself self by thinking "one pass with a bore snake is enough cuz I clean 'em every time".

I think I also thought, way back at the beginning, that disciplined cleaning would preserve the guns resale values, but let's face it. I'm never gonna sell any of my babies.

 

[OneArgus]

WAIT, WHAT.............. I THOUGHT THE ROUNDS WERE SELF CLEANING.



Well that explains the pitting, rust and slam fires.

 

[Jade Terfin]

Hey! Self cleaning bullets are right next to the blinker fluid! That stuff is awesome! Well, now that I have put 400 rounds through my gun, I guess I have to take the chance and take it apart to clean it. It may never work or be put back together again…lol.

 

[fredball]

I bought NRA's gun of the year in 2017 and cleaned for the first time this year

 

[CamoDeafie]

I bought NRA's gun of the year in 2017 and cleaned for the first time this year
I hope my post isn't offensive to anyone so it' doesn't get deleted

A Daniel Defense V7?

 

[ma96782]

Hey! Self cleaning bullets are right next to the blinker fluid! That stuff is awesome! Well, now that I have put 400 rounds through my gun, I guess I have to take the chance and take it apart to clean it. It may never work or be put back together again…lol.

Speaking of which......it's available at Auto Zone. LOL.



Aloha, Mark

 

[fredball]

A Daniel Defense V7?

Canik TP9SFX TUNGSTEN back when you could get adult capacity magazines

 

[Jade Terfin]

Welp, I did the basic "field disassembly" or whatever you call it. And it did go back together! The "sear deactivation lever" was what made me super nervous to even try this. But I made it work. You insert a magazine to get the sear lever back in place. And it is. And it is cleaner than it was! Super lightly oiled. We'll see if it explodes next time I fire it.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Welp, I did the basic "field disassembly" or whatever you call it. And it did go back together! The "sear deactivation lever" was what made me super nervous to even try this. But I made it work. You insert a magazine to get the sear lever back in place. And it is. And it is cleaner than it was! Super lightly oiled. We'll see if it explodes next time I fire it.

Nice...the important question here is....
Did you get it back together...without having any 'extra" leftover parts...?
Andy

 

[Jade Terfin]

Nice...the important question here is....
Did you get it back together...without having any 'extra" leftover parts...?
Andy

Ha! Amazingly enough, yes! Unlike so many shelves or TV stands that I've put together that are super wobbly for some reason.

 

[Capn Jack]

Had to take the PF9 apart and clean all of the lint out of it yesterday. Mikej would have gotten a laugh out of me struggling to get the locking pin back in, until I remembered, "THE TRICK".

 

[JDubDub]

I believe that there may still be some .30-06 Military Ball ammo that was made, prior to 1953-55?. That has corrosive primers.

Load of it still floating around. Any of the Korean M1 ammo with a KA head stamp in enbloc clips will be corrosive.

For the original post…people clean guns? I clean my edc every time it gets fired and every month or so. Every thing else gets cleaned when it gets dirty enough to start having issues functioning. I don't use anything with corrosive primers and I don't shoot black powder, so leaving things a bit grimy doesn't cause any real problems.