Clean handgun after each session, even 50 rds.?

If a gun won't go at least 500 rounds and still be 100% reliable, it's defective. So, that's my criteria. An exception would be a gun that doesn't get fired very much; those I would clean (or maybe just oil) once a year.

Keeping a range log takes one minute per outing and is more important than cleaning.
 
Cleaning

I go to shoot once a week and depending on which pistol I use I usually clean it that night after supper. The Glocks don't need to be cleaned as much as maybe a 1911 but I usually run a Bore Snake through the barrel at least. What concerns me is the lubrication for the slide and the grooves on the frame. I have used both gun oil and grease in the grooves and usually apply silicone cloth on the slide. Plastic/steel guns don't require as much silicone cloth rubbing but I want to prevent any fowling during the practice. The ramp on the barrel is really what I want clean as can be. After shooting most ramps have black soot on them and I want them to be shinning before use again.
I also get as much pleasure cleaning after shooting. But, I have to keep my mind off of the TV while cleaning because I have left loaded magazines in my pistols. Many times I have read where people have shot themselves while supposely cleaning their guns!!!!!
 
I was taught by my dad, now 90, to clean after every shooting session. The reasons given here to consider that unnecessary make a lot of sense, but I am not sure how well I will sleep if I skip cleaning. Is there a support group available? :p
 
I'll wipe my guns down after every range trip and break them down and clean every 400 - 500 rounds. I used to clean every range trip but I realized that wasn't necassary.
 
After nearly every range trip, yep. It's part of the ritual of inspection, and given the frequency I shoot any particular gun, each one might spend weeks to many months between firings. The exception would be if I know I'm going to be shooting a gun again tomorrow or next week, in which case I won't clean it until I know it's going to be sitting for a while.
 
I enjoy cleaning my guns, it's part of the whole package, so I do it every time out.

Since I am not dealing with lead fouling or corrosion, a gentle cleaning is all that's required. Just because a modern pistol or revolver can go hundreds or thousands of rounds without a proper cleaning doesn't mean it should carry on in that state for the sake of laziness.
 
I have a colleague who cleans his pistol after every range session. But he wouldn't carry that weapon until he'd put at least one magazine through it. His logic was that your typical end user was more likely to screw up the functioning when breaking down and reassembling.

While I don't follow that path, I find his rationale unassailable.
 
There are folks who ENJOY cleaning their weapons. Nothing wrong with that, but as another posted noted, probably more damage has come from over-zealous cleaning than from a lack of it. (Not everyone who cleans frequently overdoes it... Maybe only a few?)

A lot of folks do as their fathers or grandfathers were trained to do -- but their fathers and grandfathers often underwent their training during a time when corrosive ammo was common and NOT cleaning regularly lead to guns locking up.

Some guys were trained to be ready for combat in harsh environments like Vietnam or Iraq or Iran, where not cleaning might have negative consequences.

I clean my guns from time to time -- and my carry weapon, which is shot periodically -- get wiped out and inspected after each usage -- but not always field stripped; I'm a big fan of bore-snakes and quick wipe downs and visual inspections.
 
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I generally shoot from 150-250 rds in a shooting session, but that's often spread across 2 guns (rarely more than that). If I've shot 'new' handloads or am just curious, I may check the bore for leading (I shoot cast mostly), and may run a brush and swab. If oil has been blown out all over the exterior (I generally over lube), I'll wipe that down.

In the case where the gun is a game gun or range toy, I may not clean it for months and well over 1,000 rds...maybe a hose-down with a spray cleaner or stick some grease on the slide.

In the case of my 3 carry weapons, I chip off the sludge from the bolt face and extractor once a month or so, check for fuzz build-up and clean the soot off the front sight. If I feel I've really shot the thing (say 200 rds or more) that day, I'll field strip, swab the bore, and take a tooth brush and bore cleaner to everything I can reach, flush and dry.

If I fired 50 rds a session and it wasn't a critical defense weapon, I'd probably wipe it down to avoid getting dirt all over everything, and clean it once a month or so unless I truly enjoyed it, which I totally understand as well.

As for corrosion--this seems to depend a lot of where you live. I've never seen corrosion of any kind on any firearm I own no matter how I treat it or where I store it, but I live in the high plains desert. If you live in a place like Michigan, where I grew up, things are different. We shot only military surplus corrosive ammo in those days, and we cleaned thoroughly after each weekend shoot--20 rounds or 100. We also took the rifles down off the racks every now and then and cleaned them even when they hadn't been fired. When Dad said "the patches need to come out clean", he friggin' meant it.
 
I enjoy cleaning them, it's relaxing and yes I suppose a bit ritualistic. I don't have a "range gun", my two primary pistols are both for concealed carry, so I really like them to be clean and ready.

Some of my best memories are of squirrel hunting long ago with my dad and my grampa with single-shot 22s, and then sitting around the kitchen table in the evening cleaning them and chatting. Maybe it's that warm memory that I associate with cleaning a weapon!

Do they need it though? As many have said, probably not until several hundred rounds have been put through.
 
OP you could indicate what type ammo you use and what condition your firearm
is after you are done shooting it.Maybe then the folks here can help you with your evaluation.
 
If it's a blued gun, a light cleaning at least is a good idea after each time shooting it.

If you have a very small "micro" .380 or 9mm carry gun then I'd religiously clean it after shooting it.

If it's a full-size stainless gun - ehhh, don't worry too much about it - clean it when it stops working or looks dirty.

If it's a Glock, don't clean it until it malfunctions.
 
I frog lube my guns. clean them after every 1,000 rounds or so. no issues with any of them. my .22's I clean after a long day at the range. over cleaning the barrels can lead to more harm then good. plus most people over lubricate their weapons
 
t4terrific said:
A clean, lubed gun will wear less than a dry dirty one.
Click to expand...

A dry dirty one that has been stored isn't going to wear a bit more than the gun you were firing at your last range session -- before you later cleaned it. And if you shoot it again a week later, I doubt that the gun knows the difference -- unless you're in a uniquely harsh environment. (In that case, the environment and not the fact that the gun's been used, may be the biggest issue.) Too darned many guns go hundreds or thousands of rounds between cleanings without noticeable/measurable wear or damage to suggest otherwise.

If cleaning them is your thing, clean them. I'm not against wiping them down or out after a range session, or running a boresnake through the barrel, before I put it away...
 
Nothing wrong with that, but as another posted noted, probably more damage has come from over-zealous cleaning than from a lack of it.
Click to expand...

What would you describe as over-zealous? (Honest question)

I ask as I've never had any of this "white glove" business and my cleaning routine is self taught from a bit of this and a bit of that.

For me that is a Hoppe's Elite dampened patch down the barrel and any cylinder chambers and a wipe down of any areas with burn residue such as the front of the cylinder. I wipe down frames, bolts, BCGs etc, then after that is done I put the copper bore-brush down any bores 4-5 times. Then I run dry patches down there till they come out cleanish (a hint of grey is fine for me, just not soiled).

Relube and reassemble.

The most involved is my AR where I wipe and relube everything in the BCG too.

It doesn't feel extreme to me, but if it sounds it to others, best I know now.
 
"What would you describe as over-zealous? (Honest question)"

I know you were asking someone else, but imo over-zealous involves a brush.

I doubt if patches and/or soaking for hours in Ed's Red will cause much damage.
 
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