Clean handgun after each session, even 50 rds.?

What is this "overzealous cleaning can damage a gun" nonsense? I patch soaked with solvent on a plastic coated rod is zealous? I guess if you disassemble the gun to its smallest components everytime, you could damage it, but a fieldstrip? Not gonna happen.

I clean after every range session. 1 round or 500. And I don't wait to do it. I value my weapons and want them looking clean. My carry gun gets a quick fieldstrip, a pass through the bore with Hoppes, and a quick lube once a month if I hadn't shot it. Last year, I shot a pesky groundhog. Two shots with my 10/22. First one hit lower than I wanted since the rifle was zeroed at 100 yards and this thing was 30 yards away. I was holding low to compensate and first one hit neck. Second one hit head and he was done. I cleaned the rifle. Quick pass with a brush, then a soaked patch, but I cleaned it.

And nothing wrong with Bore Snakes, if you wash them every now and then. Although they are no substitute for a rod and a brush. I use them as a follow up after the real cleaning is done.
 
I try to go to the range every three or four weeks.

My regularly fired pistols get cleaned/lubed maybe every three months and have about 300-400 rounds fired by then. I do wipe exterior metal of my handguns however with light coat of CLP before putting away. If I fire a pistol that I know I am not going to shoot again any time soon I clean/lube it within a week of shooting it.

What I find is that even after 400 or so rounds fired my regular pistols are barely dirty and clean easily.
 
I open the garage door and shoot 1-4 mags of ammo almost every day and 12-18 rounds through one of my revolvers every week. The 1 mag is my S&W SD9VE with 16 rounds and the 4 are my HP-22 with 10 rounds each. I most frequently shoot 2 mags through my TCP since the little bitty thing is the hardest to shoot accurately. I clean the TCP and S&W every couple of weeks but the 22 revolver and HP-22 gets it less frequently. They all look and shoot like new so I'm probably wasting my time but it only takes a very few minutes to run a cloth through the barrel with a little oil and wipe them off. I don't think they need more since they live in a very clean, dry and air conditioned place.
 
Clean handgun after each session, even 50 rds. per gun?
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Let's just say I have a Glock 26 practice gun as well as a carry Glock 26.

I shoot the dickens out of the practice gun every week or so. I don't clean it. I even swap the slide and use my AACK .22 unit.

Dirty? Oh yea it gets real dirty. Maybe once every six months I clean it.

Works fine. Works everytime.

And then maybe once a year I shoot my carry Glock 26 just to check it out, shoot up old ammo, and clean out the dust bunnies.

Works for me!

Deaf
 
I generally shoot 50 rds. per range visit, too.
I use a toothbrush w/ cleaner to scrub the bolt face and the chamber face, then soak the dirty cleaner up. Then I run a bore snake through the barrel twice.

Every 4 or 5 range visits I field strip, and clean.
 
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I'm old school and was taught as a kid to keep guns clean after shooting. I was taught this in the 1970's when clean ammo didn't much exist, if at all.

That said, I have two 21st century semi-auto pistols now, and a 74 year old lever rifle. Often I take all three to the range. When I get home, I clean what I shot, which is usually all three.

Maybe the modern pistols don't need frequent cleaning due to their external coatings and modern barrel linings, but I do it anyway. I just like looking at and handling them. I don't think I'm doing them harm by cleaning them after only 100 rounds down the pipe. A couple swipes with the brush, and then patches until they come out clean can't hurt them.

As for the rifle, I oil it up really well. It has sentimental value, and I want to keep it maintained.

Plus, I live in arid New Mexico. I've cleaned and lubed my guns and put them away for 2 weeks. When I get them out for the next range trip, I find that most, if not all, of the oil on the slide guides and barrel has evaporated.

I think that if you have a modern weapon and are using new ammo, you don't have to clean after every firing, unless you are like me and like to handle them every chance you get.

I've read about people who boast that they haven't cleaned their Glocks in 15,000 rounds and they function just fine.
 
My self-defense handguns get cleaned and thoroughly inspected after every range trip.

My range use only handguns get cleaned based on round count and other aspects of their use. If they weren't dropped in the dirt or otherwise used in unusually harsh conditions such as rain or very dusty conditions, they'll get cleaned every few hundred rounds or so. So if I only shoot a box through a gun the odds are it won't get cleaned until after the next range trip or two.

Of course, if corrosive ammo is used then the gun is very thoroughly cleaned after every single use.
What is this "overzealous cleaning can damage a gun" nonsense?
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It's all a matter of degree. A fieldstrip, wipedown, patched out bore and relube isn't going to cause any problems even if it's done every few rounds. On the other hand, using steel brushes (bore or otherwise) for normal cleaning, doing detail strips on a frequent basis, using abrasives to clean off burn marks and other fouling, routine use of metal bore brushes in rimfires, are all practices that likely do more harm than good.
 
If you clean a firearm after every firing as a habit when circumstances arise where you really don't have time to clean it after shooting, it's not a big deal. I can't say enough good about bore snakes and a good spray lubricant that is safe for plastics. I strip my duck hunting shotguns down to the trigger group after ever sporting clays shoot that way when duck season is here and I am up at 3:00 AM and too tired to clean it after a hunt, it's no big deal.
 
I clean guns whenever they need it, the guns I shoot a lot more often get cleaned more often than the ones I shoot less often. My EDC guns get detail stripped & inspected cleaned & oiled by my gunsmith at least once a year. If I'm shooting a particularly dirty ammo I'll clean the gun more often.
 
"Overzealous cleaning can damage a gun".
I guess it all depends on how you define "Overzealous".
Can you damage a gun by cleaning it with the proper products and using correct techniques? Hmmmmm
 
LostLensCap said:
Can you damage a gun by cleaning it with the proper products and using correct techniques? Hmmmmm
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Probably not, but not everyone uses proper products and correct techniques. People often LEARN by doing, and if they learn wrong, they perfect it.

As I noted earlier, some folks may use metal brushes (brass is generally OK, but stainless steel?!) Other use sprays that clean out everything -- including residual lubrication and corrosion protection. They spray that stuff into places that aren't easily reached for re-lubrication except with a detail strip.

(I've never gone that route, but the "Dunk-it" buckets full of CLP-like solutions, in which guns are immersed after a range session always made sense to me. Pull'em out, let them drain, wipe them down and you're good to go!! That idea still appeals to me.)

That said, I'd argue that if it's bad for a weapon that fired modern, non-corrosive ammo/primers to be left uncleaned when relatively few rounds have been fired, that the same idea would seem to suggest that the same stuff is also damaging to the gun WHILE ITS BEING FIRED -- when the gun is coping with explosive forces, dealing with a lot of heat, going through mechanical actions, etc.. One might argue that a lengthy range session (hundreds of rounds fired ) might be more harmed than a gun stored without cleaning after a short range session.
 
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Other use sprays that clean out everything -- including residual lubrication and corrosion protection - and spray that stuff into places that aren't easily reached for re-lubrication unless you do a detail strip.
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This is why I use aerosol Rem Oil for cleaning hard to reach places. Since it's a multi purpose cleaner/lubricant it cleans and still leaves small parts lubricated.

As a dedicated lubricant I do not advocate Rem Oil, though it does have its uses.
 
Machines function better when clean, is a general rule of thumb.

I'm always curious at the "cleaning hurts the gun" scenario. Firstly I'm careful and technically competent and have made my living off of being clever with my hands and precise with machines. I know how to identify the right materials for a job. Secondly none of the tools or techniques I use harm metal plastic or wood. I've seen "professional" people use a portable drill to hammer in a spring pin or shrug off the need to etch or even clean a threaded hole before applying loctite. That type of thing disgusts me. I'm not in a foxhole in the Ardennes, I'm in a comfortable workplace at 75*F and it's dry. I have the right tools and products with me. I take my time and I do it right. It will be hard to convince me I have caused harm.
 
If it is one of my carry guns, I clean no matter the number of rounds fired.

Otherwise, I agree with Sevens (both times)

Mike
 
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