Gun cleaning frequency

[Bob Sanders]

How often do you guys clean your guns and to what detail? I've seen advice given about cleaning after thousands of rounds. I clean mine after I shoot them, 20 rounds or 200. And I clean pretty thoroughly. And everything that moves gets at least a drop of light oil, while anything metal gets oiled and wiped off. I'm probably most obsessive with my AR, as it gets cleaned in full military fashion, because that's how I learned. The JM Pro gets uber cleaned because I think that's my best bet at avoiding malfunction, plus I oil it up pretty good as well. Am I on the wrong track?

 

[silver star]

Knew of a lady once upon a time that bought a new Mercedes Benz.
She thought since it cost so much she would not have to change the oil.
At 35k miles it locked up.
What was your question?

 

[poopgiggle]

cleaning guns is for nerds

 

[rmuller]

as long as you are cleaning CORRECTLY (bore guide and such) and not have any malfunctions then I would say you are fine.

the question you asked is going to get a lot of responses from a lot of different types of shooters..bench guys are different than weekend plinkers are different than competitive guys...Just keep doing what you're doing if it is working for you.

Personally i clean the shotty before every competition, and test fire before the match! My 3-gun pistol and rifle are close to stock and extremely reliable so they get less attention and always run pretty wet.

 

[technetium-99m]

Nothing wrong with cleaning the junk out of the carrier on an AR. But cleaning the bore that often isn't needed. I'll run a boresnake down it every 2-300 rounds and call it good.

Pistol barrels that shoot jacketed bullets never get cleaned. Clean the fouling out of the slide/barrel lugs etc. every 4-500 rounds with a complete breakdown of the lower half every 4,000 rounds.

My Benelli has the carrier broken down and cleaned every couple sessions. I like slide glide light and Mobil 1 for lube.

 

[mroyce]

I notice you shoot an XDm.
I have the 9mm 5.25 Comp.
About every 1500 rounds it starts to misfeed.
I clean the ramp and barrel. Meticulously.
I have about 8000 rounds down the barrel so far.
No other problems with the gun.

Just one more data point for your decision making.

 

[Dustin Cantrell]

Different regimens for different firearms. I treat with Froglube and then clean occasionally. Most of the time when I clean a firearm it's because I'm bored.

If cleaning the wrong way and too often, you can harm the bore. I use a PatchWorm on the bore of most of my firearms.

 

[cajunautoxer]

2xs a yr

 

[45recoil]

Completely stripped my Edge and cleaned for the first time since getting it...about 5 mo.

Other than that ill field striip it and clean the rails only and run a boresnake if it looks dirty every couple months

 

[Bob Sanders]

Wow. Looks like I clean more than most. But I do think I'll get a bore guide for my Dewey rod.

 

[jtischauser]

I clean every 200-500 rounds. I oil before every range trip though.

 

[Beau]

i usually try and clean mine after every use but sometimes ill shoot a gun twice before i clean it. when i do clean i try and get them as clean as i possiably can, i get in every nook and cranny. then blow dry with shop air, then lube slide rails with aeroshell 22 then drops of aeroshell 100 50wt oil on smaller metal-metal contact points.

 

[Jefpainthorse]

Glocks and other modern striker fired guns.... I really don't keep track. I went over 1500 in a G19 at least once without doing anything to it.

When I was shooting skeet on a semi competive, regular basis... my bores and choke tubes got a lot of attention just to keep the plastic residue cleaned out (and at the time we were talking 20 rounds a week)

AR BCG gets cleaned every outing... and it's the only gun I use CLP on to speak off... The way and AR works that stuff tends to work junk out of the metal for days...

Most rifles tend to group better with a little fouling in the barrel. My "hunting" guns and 22's get "cleaned" when wet or they start acting up....

However... when I carried blued guns I did find that they required some regular attention to keep rust at bay. From what I understand talking to freinds my rust problems were minor. I know a couple of guys who could "rust" stainless guns in a day or two...

 

[dpd0710]

...you're supposed to clean 'em?

 

[MG23]

I clean after each outing with the guns. Depends on how many rounds I put through them, depends on how meticulous I get with the cleaning and tear down. I have gotten into the habit after hunting season during the winter of completely disassembling the guns and giving them a good cleaning, while checking for wear and what may need to be replaced.

 

[No.343]

I'm assuming that your gun is already broken in (ie fired at least 2k rounds). Take a thousand rounds to the range and try to shoot them all. Notice the round count when trouble begins. That is the number that I would keep in mind to schedule cleaning. I clean any gun that is going to be stored for more than a couple of months after each outing. For out of town match prep I clean a couple of weeks before to see if there is anything wrong. Finally, I clean after my second-to-last practice before the match. I also clean after the big matches and do a careful inspection.

 

[jtischauser]

I'm assuming that your gun is already broken in (ie fired at least 2k rounds). Take a thousand rounds to the range and try to shoot them all. Notice the round count when trouble begins. That is the number that I would keep in mind to schedule cleaning. I clean any gun that is going to be stored for more than a couple of months after each outing. For out of town match prep I clean a couple of weeks before to see if there is anything wrong. Finally, I clean after my second-to-last practice before the match. I also clean after the big matches and do a careful inspection.

That's solid advice. Cleaning for the sake of cleaning like we did in the army is pointless. You're better off using that time dry firing. If you shot 50 rounds today and know you're going to shoot 50 more tomorrow why clean if the guns reliability is only effected after 1000 rounds?

 

[cajunautoxer]

I do use a little pro 7 lube on the pistol, shotgun, and AR bolt the night before a match. Then usually twice a yr I'll clean em good. But I don't shoot that many rounds maybe 100-200 a month

 

[Jonathan Waits]

I clean most likely, after everytime I shoot, unless I just put a mag or two through, of course if I think I am going to go shooting again soon in the next week or two, then I dont clean. I am an aircraft technician so corrosion and metal cleaning are important to me. I know a lot of gun parts are coated to make sure things like that wont happen, but it is metal and moves and is subjected to heat. A lot of guys say over lubrication can gum it up, and I agree to a point. But you can use the highest grade oil you can find in your car, if you are still putting ethanol in it, it will gum the intakes up eventually. So quality of ammo may play a part in how often you should clean as well.

 

[Wayne McCanne]

I shoot a lot of lead bullets so I tent to clean after 2 to 300 rounds. As long as I am not shooting corrosive ammo I don't see the need to clean after every session. I do clean the pistol after every outdoor match because of the dirt. Also strip and clean the mags fairly often.