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When I first started shooting, I took great pride in cleaning my guns after every session at the range. I'd break the entire thing down, get every spec of junk out of the barrel, oil it up and reassemble - ready for the next time shooting. It was actually a very relaxing experience.

Now, I just dread it for some reason. For example, tonight I cleaned my 11-87 and it seemed like it took forever. Darn trigger assembly never comes out easily. Parts are rolling all over the work bench. There's still some crud in the barrel because I just got sick of swabbing it out. I'm just glad it's put back together and nothing appears to be missing.

I suspect part of the problem is that when I first started shooting, I had maybe two guns to clean. And, they were simple - a Marlin Model 60 and a NEF 12 gauge. Now... well, I have more and they're more complicated.

So, who here actually enjoys cleaning their guns? If so, why?
 
It really kind of depends on what it is. A revolver is not much work to clean compared to an AR. Also, if I take all my weapons out for a day of fun, it is a real chore to clean them all afterwards. On the other hand, if I just take my 10/22 out, I can still have fun burning through a thousand rounds, and not worry too much about getting it spotless. That being said, I kind of enjoy cleaning guns. There is a sort of therapeutic value to it.
 
I love it. I do not only see it as a way of maintaining the outward appearance of my gun, but as a way to perform preventative maintenance on the inner workings. How better to notice a worn or damaged piece than by taking it out, cleaning it, and reassembling it?

I will sit down with four or five guns and give them a good cleaning as I watch TV at night.
 
Like? Sometimes.

Do regularly? Not as much as I used too. And probably for the same reasons as you.

Then again... it depends on how many rounds I've run through them too.
 
I shoot milsurp and corrosive ammo. This means that i have to clean the guns after taking them out. A couple bolt actions is no big deal. But 2 or 3 bolt actions and a couple semi-autos and i'm down for the next 5-6 hours. Kind of looses its fun.

In other words, i like to clean, but not too much at once.
 
It's a love/hate thing. Sitting down with one rifle and doing a full detail strip on it... very zen.

Spending the entire afternoon scrubbing a dozen rifles, shotguns and handguns gets old quick though...
 
I like to clean 'em during a game or a movie and I wear gloves so I can break at any time to grab a beverage or get on the phone to complain about ref's or something. As for parts rolling all over the place and dropping, yeah i hate that to; consider using those little dixie cups to put the parts in while you clean.
 
Love cleaning them, but hate doing it after being out for a few hours so I wait until the wife is at work, she hates the smell of gun oil.
Putting them away all nice and clean makes me more eager to go get them dirty again.
 
When I first started shoot with my dad I was about 6 or 7. And to teach me he would make me clean all of the weapons that we used when we went out. But at that age what little guy doesnt like cleaning guns. So now some 30 years later In teaching my kids I still enjoy it just dred the mess.
 
What, cleaning? Do you have to clean your guns? :p

Same here. When I only had a couple, no big deal. Then the collection grew and I tended to take out as many as I could cram in the trunk of my Accord. A cornucopia of old mil surplus shooting corrosive ammo and non-surplus or of calibers.

The cleaning definitely curbed my enthusiasm. Now I take no more than 3-4 (handguns + rifles) guns at once. Like chasing ammo deals around, handloading, paying the bills, etc., it is something you gotta do for the sake of shooting.

But I too like the smell of CLP and burnt powder, with the exception of fired 7N6 which smells horribly. :)
 
I clean every gun I shoot each week, full takedown, detailed clean. I shoot almost every week. That being said I try to only shoot 2-3 guns a week. The more you do it, the faster/easier it is. I just got a 22/45 that was a pain the first times I disassembled/reassembled. w/in a month it will be second nature. It always shocks me when friends of mine who've had their guns for years have no clue how to disassemble/reassemble their firearms. Yes cleaning improves performance, but equally important (imho), it teaches the owner how the firearm functions, and gives the opportunity to notice any potential issues before they become major problems.

Ok, truth be told I'm just addicted to the smell of powder solvent.
 
It's a love/hate thing. Sitting down with one rifle and doing a full detail strip on it... very zen.
Spending the entire afternoon scrubbing a dozen rifles, shotguns and handguns gets old quick though...

+1.

If I've just brought one or two pistols to the range that day, I really enjoy the cleaning part. I set myself up in the garage or on the living room floor, poor a glass of borboun, put on some music and get really into making sure each gun is spotless before it goes to bed.
As Dutchy said, very Zen.

If however I've shot 3 or 4 pistols, plus a rifle and a shotgun day then thats a whole different story. Then it becomes a chore which takes (it feels like) as much time as the shooting did. Or if I'm at the in-laws and I'm cleaning every gun we own, whether I shot it or not, but just enough to prep them for the next days shooting. Then it just becomes a PITA.
 
well I'm sitting here reading all of this . while cleaning the xd40 that i took out shooting yesterday... a clean weapon is nice to have... you know you can depend on it when its time to use it...for whatever reason that might be...:s0155::s0155::s0155:


yea its a chore when you take out more then 2 or 3 to shoot cause it takes longer to clean... if thats the problem then don't shoot as long or don't take out as any to play with...:s0131::s0131::s0131:
 
I have found that if you have a designated spot where you can leave your stuff out and a nice area with a good gun vice or mount, it makes the task much easier and enjoyable. If everything is set up its easy start the task at hand, and doesn't seem to be much of a chore. I have a section of my reloading bench set up with a mat at all times, I can easily set up to clean all my guns. Sure it takes an hour or so but its worth it.

Just my $.02.
 

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