Any reasons NOT to clean a 1911?

Might I suggest ammo as well?

Probably not as applicable to the 1911, but rimfire is incredibly "dirty" due to the glass used in the primer. When I bought my first .22 (used), I thought it hadn't been cleaned in years - but it was only a few months old since manufacture. I cleaned it, took it to the range - probably 150-200rds - and it was as bad as before.
 
With a 1911 and shooting cast lead bullets with some lubes (NRA 50-50 Alox is one of the worse), they can become very dirty very fast. The areas of most concern are the extractor and its tunnel and the firing pin and its tunnel. They can quickly become fouled with Black, gummy debris and can inhibit function.
Click to expand...

Yes!!! I shoot nothing but cast out of my pistols, and old school lubed cast boolits dirtied up a handgun quickly. Now I powder coat, and I can tell no difference between them and jacketed in cleanup. And I’ve started making decent boolits. At 50 yds a 8” target stands little chance.

As to my cleaning regiment... I used to clean my guns every time I used them, religiously. I’m much less anal now. Every few range sessions or once every couple three months or so. They all still run just fine with that regimen. I could probably go much longer honestly.
 
Carry gun, definitely clean after every range session and so too for my competition guns. I was taught to clean after every use. From my experience my guns run better cleaned with a little oil. If I remiss, I get jams so I do not take a chance.
 
Cleaning is therapeutic for me, I do a pretty thorough cleaning every time I shoot. My carry gun gets stripped and wiped down about once a week depending on weather.

1911 specific: I have a Springfield Operator and a S&W 1911 Sc that don't get a lot of use any more because I don't currently reload and the price of .45 is just too much. When I was doing about 500 rounds a week through the Springfield it would get a thorough cleaning (firing pin and extractor channels specifically) each range trip.
 
Carry guns get cleaned after my own “initiation” period before they become “carry guns”. Then they get cleaned after every shooting session.

Match guns, get cleaned on a “after X number of rounds” basis. Rimfires get cleaned more often than a centerfire hardball gun.
 
the M1911 is so easy to field strip , I enjoy keeping it clean and well lubed before it goes back in the safe


I think shooting a dirty or bone dry gun causes more wear, it's better to keep it cleaned and lubed.
 
Any reasons NOT to clean a 1911?
Click to expand...
Laziness would be the only reason I can think of.

I clean every gun after I shoot it. I do not like a dirty gun. That, and I actually enjoy cleaning afterwords…. Sort of a zen thing.

Jim
 
My time is used for everything I do. I never need a reason to NOT do anything. Things need a reason to do them. What is beneficial to me is what drives me to do things. In my decades of shooting not over cleaning has never caused a problem.
 
Any reasons NOT to clean a 1911?
Click to expand...
Ah yeah, .... 'cause it's guaranteed to be a jammomatic if ya don't, or become one in short order. :rolleyes:

A lucky dude might get 400-rds thru one before the hiccups and malfs start in. :(

Then hoo-boy!, ... all the guys on either side of the firing line shooting Sigs, M&Ps, XDs, and Glocks start giggling and gawffing, snickering and pointing.

Don't be "that dude" they're laughing at. :eek: Nope, if you're going to run a 1911, expect to clean that roscoe after every range session, maybe 50-rds max just to be safe.

After all, it ain't a Glock. ;)
 
Last edited:
JustJake said:
Ah yeah, .... 'cause it's guaranteed to be a jammomatic if ya don't, or become one in short order.

A lucky dude might get 400-rds thru one before the hiccups and malfs start in.

Then hoo-boy!, ... all the guys on either side of the firing line shooting Sig, M&P, XD, and Glock start giggling and gawffing, snickering and pointing.

Don't be "that dude" they're laughing at. Nope, if you're going to run a 1911, expect to clean that roscoe after every range session, maybe 50-rds max just to be safe.

After all, it ain't a Glock.
Click to expand...

I agree to that.....if you're talking about an improperly manufactured 1911 variant.

Throughout my years of taking courses which we fired over 1000rds within 2-3 days of each one, the number of malfunctions are largely the same frequency no matter the firearm. That includes, 1911 variants, Glocks, Springers, CZ variants, etc.

Les Baer 1911s are well known to arguably have the tightest tolerances out there. My Monolith Commanche has several thousand rounds through it. It was never field stripped and cleaned until after the first 500 rounds. That was one of the few occasions I had not cleaned my firearm after a range session until I reached that count. Subsequent range sessions were in the several hundred as well. Not one, single malfunction.

I'll have to check my records. But I believe I have 2 malfunctions on my Springer Loaded. Round count is in the 5 figure range.

My former Kimber Ultra Carry II had malfunction after malfunction. I begrudgingly followed Kimber's advice on their so-called "break-in" procedures. It still had issues afterwards. Back and forth warranty claims and I gave up on that boat anchor. Before I sold it, I had a competent gunsmith inspect it. Chamber dimensions were too tight, slide/frame/barrel fitment was off-kilter, feed ramp was machined at a poor angle, etc.

For disclosure: My Springer EMP9 and Range Officer Elite Operator 10mm both suffered malfunctions out of the box. Again, I have to check my records. I dropped off my EMP in the morning and was fixed by the time I finished lunch that day. Something about the feed ramp on it. I've personally had zero malfunctions since. That was about 10 years ago. When my wife shoots it with my reloads, it malfunctions on her probably every 100 rounds. She doesn't limp wrist and knows how to shoot properly. Every other firearm we have doesn't malfunction on her. To this day, we don't know why my reloads and her shooting it causes problems. It gobbles up my reloads and good quality factory ammo when I shoot it. Is it the 1911? Is it my reloads? Is it her? Is it the magazine? Dunno.
I sent in the 10mm and it came back fixed, so far. I can't vouch for its reliability, yet. I only shot about 100 rounds through it since it came back. No malfunctions at this time.

My Ruger SR1911: Approx 3000 rounds or so. No malfunctions

My Cylinder & Slide 100th Anniversary 1911A1, Army Designation, one of 100 made. Approx 400-500 rounds. No malfunctions.

Again, my prior post discloses I clean my firearms after every use. However, my typical range sessions aren't just a box of ammo and then go home. Depending on who goes with, I usually have several hundred rounds spent through each firearm in one session. So, my school of thought is it isn't the design of 1911 variants that warrant them to be a "jammomatic". It's the proper build that determines reliability.
 
I guess I just don’t know enough about 1911s to know whether or not they needed to be treated any differently than any other handgun but at least when it comes to my own handguns, I don’t like dirty guns so I clean mine after every time I take them out to the range. I even clean my carry pistol about every six months even if I don’t shoot it, just to clean the lint out of it and just give it a fresh wipe down with a little oil since it rides in my pocket every day.

I’ve seen a couple comments now about how cleaning too much constitutes as over-cleaning… how does one over-clean??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Just my take on “over cleaning”.

It isn’t so much the cleaning, (though if one uses abrasive brushes, it could be argued somewhat), as it is the risk to fitted parts during repeated disassembly and assembly.

This would not apply to service grade, duty grade, pistols. But this idea likely comes from 1911s being used in marksmanship competition, and having had most parts, painstakingly fitted by hand filing and stoning oversized parts, to get match grade precision and accuracy. A hand fitted, frame, slide, barrel, and bushing, may represent hours or even days of fitting parts by hand, until they are just right. Get a little rough on disassembly or assembly and ding a part and have to polish it out, and you have lost some of that tightness that was worked for.

With my Service Match 1911, it would get lubed frequently, but cleaned on a 500-1,000 round schedule, involving stripping at field strip level and then detail strip level only maybe every 2,000-3,000 rounds.

Maybe just superstition or overly cautious like some competitors get in other sports. Reliability, never became an issue as long as light cleanings of the bore, breech, hammer were done with an oily rag and toothbrush. Lube got applied to, the rails and barrel hood, and things got wiped down, after every practice or match.

But my other 1911s. Field stripped after every range session. Detail stripped a few times per year.

So, for most 1911s just clean them every time unless you are chasing 1/32 inch increments on bullseyes.
 
I don't think you are asking, do you personally x, y, z. You asked, are there mechanical reason for not cleaning your 1911. The reason to clean is for function due to carbon build up and gunk from prior oiling.

I would argue with high end models that DO NOT recommend cleaning, how does carbon build up in key components of a firearm calculate in your equation of function over precision?

I don't think you have gotten your answer yet...I don't think high end model makers have given a good reason not to. I would wager it has to do with the hand "fitting" process being POTENTIALLY ruined by the end user.
 
. . . I can't stand knowing I have a dirty firearm whether it being stored in my vault or on my person.
Click to expand...

I could have written that ^^

I remember coming home with the first gun I ever bought (1983; a Colt Python) and I was cleaning it after shooting it for the first time. And I asked my father: "how often should I clean my gun?" My father, who never owned a gun, but was an Army (Korea) veteran, replied with a completely straight voice: "You shoot a gun, you clean a gun." No doubt, something he pulled from his Army days.

I can still hear him telling me that.
 
4V50 Gary said:
Want reliability? Clean it. 90% of firearms malfunctions are because of improper care by the user.
Click to expand...


….and don’t put oil where it’s not supposed to go. I’ve had to learn that there’s a lot of places where you would think you need to put oil, but you don’t put oil there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The problem, such as it is, is not cleaning, it is improper/incorrect disassembly/reassembly, and over frequent application of the same.

90%+ of what you need to do to keep your gun running properly can be done without even field stripping it. 99% of the rest can be done with JUST field stripping.

This is, perhaps a slight over generalization, but only slightly...

Specific to the 1911, it was designed knowing that the Army would require soldiers to abuse it. The Govt Model and the 1911A1 share that same design.

Consider this, by army regulations, field stripping and cleaning is a USER function. ALL further disassembly is PROHIBITED to the USER. The user (individual soldier) is not even authorized to remove the grips. Detailed stripping is not authorized at the user level.

But, Browning knew GIs were going to do it, and do it alot, despite the regulations against it, and so he included features in the design to allow for that without damage, or to minimize the potential for damage.
Grip screw bushings are one of those features. The so called "loose" fit is another.

Its your gun, clean it as often or as seldom as you see fit. Its your gun, take it apart as much or as little as you think necessary. Just remember the difference between "need" and "want".
 
JustJake said:
Ah yeah, .... 'cause it's guaranteed to be a jammomatic if ya don't, or become one in short order. :rolleyes:

A lucky dude might get 400-rds thru one before the hiccups and malfs start in. :(
Click to expand...
Now that's funny right there. I don't care who ya are.
 
Every 500 rounds when I was shooting them. Sometimes I would clean/snake the barrel and clean the barrel throat and drop a little grease on the barrel (slide locked back) and smear it on then carry on.

I used a thick oil/grease so it would not evaporate or run out of the pistol. Your mileage may vary with lube use and your climate.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top