Clean handgun after each session, even 50 rds.?

JJ45 that is because military weapons cleaning regimes have more to do with PFC. Pyle (or PFC. Pyleski) learning discipline and following procedures than it has to do with fighting. I think you get it and that is part of the point you are trying to make, but I'm having a few separate discussions where folks are convinced that what they learned in boot cannot be improved upon, nor contradicted.
 
I used to

Used to clean after *every* trip. Then I got busy. Wife, kids, putting kids to bed, not as much free time. I think I still would if I could because it's part of the fun although not necessary.

If I have a chance I'll wipe common wear areas that *might* prolong tighter tolerances like barrel bushing/muzzle, barrel lugs/hood just to get the carbon out. I don't feel the need to swab the barrel or wipe off a thin layer of soot in the mag well.

As far as overdoing the cleaning, well I can only think of 1 near example and still my fault. I have a pair of 38 special J-frames. 1 has black anodizing over the aluminum that seems more fragile. It's supposedly a "diamond like coating" but it scratches if you're careless or in a hurry. My bench was crowded and things like brush handles and spent casings can rub against it and cause the errant mark. I think shooting/carrying/cleaning a carry gun is necessary so wear and tear is just part of its life, but I suppose I could have avoided just a couple small scratches.
 
Dyl, If that finish is Ionbond DLC, it wouldn't scratch unless you got pretty intense with it. It would also more likely show the transferred material from whatever rubbed agains the gun, rather than a scratch in the gun's finish itself.

That being said, I don't think its ionbond DLC unless you had it applied aftermarket, or was a special run of j-frames that I am unaware of. Ionbond DLC is a very good surface treatment / finish, and also costs a bundle.


I see a lot of worn j-frames and it is usually the fast-wearing annodizing on the airweights.
 
DanTSX, it was on a stock M&P340 (scandium snubby). I remember reading one of the perks was that it was covered in DLC. But looking again just now, some advertisements stated the whole pistol was covered in DLC, some just the stainless cylinder. So I'll go with just the cylinder then. That would explain things. The front corners of the revolver have rubbed down to shiny Aluminum from my pocket holster, and a little mistreatment from me has blunted a few corners in front and behind the cylinder. Cylinder looks great though :)

Note to self or any others. Remove the cylinder before tapping out a squib. Wait til you get to your bench at home with the proper tools. Do NOT leave the cylinder open and hanging. It flops around and impacts in front and behind. I regret it every time I see it.
 
Whenever this topic comes up I’m reminded of my youth when I shot smallbore (sooooo much cooler saying ‘smallbore’ than saying .22) at a couple of different clubs that provided the rifles. The shooting ‘season’ was September through May and we’d shoot a 100 to 200 rounds a week. One club had us clean the guns at the end of the season (May) and the other club had us clean them at Christmas break and then again at the end of the season in May. The guns seemed to shoot fine from year to year.
 
Dale, Smallbore club guns shoot better "dirty" than they do freshly cleaned, don't they?:D. I remember one summer having to help "season" the barrels back to shooting well again after the scout troop cleaned them.

But to be fair, that is a completely different animal. My S&W K-17 .22LR Revolver is at least as accurate as any S&W Model 41, but needs to have the star extractor cleaned with a brass wire brush at least every 60 rounds or it will not fire in Double Action. Another 40 rounds, and it will balk at being cocked Single Action. However, I don't dare clean the barrel except for a quick snake.
 
I clean my guns after every trip to the range. If that's not something you like to do then don't. I don't really understand why the differing opinions are so feverishly argued about. I've shot around 1500 rounds with no malfunction. I have a friend who has shot around the same without any problems and never cleans his. You just do things like they work best for yourself and enjoy life.
 
Every gun after every range trip, as I never know how long the gun is going to sit in the safe. Carry guns are cleaned immediately after returning home, whether it's one magazine or 1 box through. They are also cleaned after a few weeks of carry if NOT fired, though far easier, and more of an inspection rather than a cleaning.
 
DanTSX said:
Dale, Smallbore club guns shoot better "dirty" than they do freshly cleaned, don't they?. I remember one summer having to help "season" the barrels back to shooting well again after the scout troop cleaned them.
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I would note, for the benefit of those who advocate cleaning their weapons after every use, that the ammo (powder, primers,) and the metal and/or polymers used don't differ greatly between small bore and large bore weapons. Many small-bore shooters say, in effect, don't clean it if you don't have to.

While there is ammo that is very dirty (my experience some years back with Wolf ammo when it first hit the U.S. shores showed that.) But even then, I think the biggest difference is not what's being shot, but how and where most of these shooters got their weapons upkeep training.

Those of us taught by WWII vets would have learned a very rigorous routine, somewhat different than those taught by vets of the Korean conflict or the Vietnam War. That experience would also be different from what is now taught by individuals who learned on their own or who don't had the experience of military basic training. (Compared to when I started work, It's amazing how many of the people we work with or go to school with, TODAY, have not served in the military.)

When powder and primers stopped being widely and uniformly corrosive, things changed -- but many weapon cleaning practices didn't. Good habits are often passed down, as are some arguably unnecessary ones.

.
 
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I did a range trip yesterday with three of my favorites - a SIG P226, an HK VP9, and a HK P30LS. I cleaned all of them as it has been about three months and about 300 rounds fired each.

I found them barely dirty and only needed to wipe off everything other than firing pin area where the back of the round where the primer sits against and that just needed a light rubbing with a patch moist with Hoppes NO 9 and that was clean. The bores I cleaned with Hoppes NO 9 using patches and bronze brush and in short order bores were mirror clean. Lightly coated bore and exterior metal parts with Breakfree CLP for protection.

Probably wait another three months to clean again after three or so more range trips. I do however wipe down the exterior metal with a very light coat of CLP after any handling.
 
First, a couple of caveats - I shoot primarily semi-auto firearms using modern ammunition without corrosive primers. The most I have fired through a firearm in a single day is ~1,200 rounds through a Browning Hi-Power 9mm and ~850 rounds through an AR15. I have hundreds of thousands of rounds of 9mm down range on various pistols and probably close to a 100k on various ARs now.

As a general rule, I've found that guns that I use regularly rarely need to be cleaned. Where I have had a problem with cleaning, it is usually a gun that gets 50-200 rounds shot through it and then sits in storage for a year or two. So anything that is going to sit in the safe for an indeterminate amount of time, I clean and lube after cleaning.

Both the Browning and AR15 are extremely reliable and as long as you continue to add lube periodically, they will continue to run. I don't really care whether they get cleaned after 200 rounds or 5,000 rounds from a purely functional standpoint. On the ones I regularly use, the only reason they get cleaned at all is so I can remove all the carbon and gunk and examine the parts for signs of imminent failure such as cracks in stress areas, peening, etc. I don't really need to clean them for them to function; but it is difficult to do good preventive maintenance with 5,000 rounds of carbon/oil/dirt sludge in there covering everything.

I'll also add that while these rules have served me well with the firearms I own, once you add suppressors into the mix, it is a whole different story. Suppressors make everything filthier at a much higher rate. They increase backpressure and usually wear on parts. Guns that are suppressed, especially .22LR, need a much higher level of maintenance to maintain good function.
 
To clarify, the CZ-82, pair of Polish P-83s, the Bulgy, EG and Russian IZH-70 (.380 auto) Makarovs are mostly for fun, due to their solid designs and reliability. These were true collector guns, owned by the late-brother of a club member here.

The Russian Mak might be an alternate carry gun later this summer If I ever decide which type of holster to order (OWB or IWB?) and try out for my stainless Sig 232.

The ammo is modern, has No corrosive primers, and each is cleaned either the same or sometimes the next day after any use.
 
My cleaning regimen is usually whenever I get around to it, but most of my guns are rarely fired and I don't sweat 100-200 rounds. They could all probably never be cleaned and I'd be okay, but what gets them out and on the table more than anything is rust management. I don't worry so much about stainless stuff, but all blued guns get periodically looked at to make sure they're okay. I'll do that about every 3-6 months. If I have the time and the inclination, I'll give it a good cleaning with Hoppe's and then white lithium on bearing surfaces and CLP on the rest. I figure if I do it right when their on the table, I don't really have to worry too much about it regardless of how many firings it's seen.

I am not military or LEO, but if I was, I would likely clean and inspect them weekly. I know this is the handgun forum, but the only guns I really worry about are direct impingement ARs. The guns you've mentioned you own are all well known for their reliability so really your only enemy could be rust. In my experience, if it's a blued gun it will rust without attention.
 
Wife and I each run about 250 rounds through our 9mm 1911s twice a week, 2K rounds per gun per month. I clean after each range session. I'm sure I could go a week, but cleaning more frequently reduces the temptation to overlube our stainless handguns. If a hot day range session goes much beyond 300 rounds I may have to apply a bit more lube.

I've decided to detail strip every three months or so. The guns will still be running fine, but I don't want too much internal build-up to have to clean up. Detail strip on a 1911 once you've field stripped takes maybe 2 minutes (now that I've gotten rid of the cursed ambi safeties).
 
Thanks for the wide variety of responses.

Walt Sherrill: At OTS (Lackland Medina Annex) in '78, we only used a gun once, with wadcutters in a .38, and did nothing else with them. The majority of OTS slots (billets) then in my class seemed to be for admin. or technical jobs etc.

Same thing in the ANG in the calm days of '81, we flightcrew members used only wadcutters, one time. No cleaning.

shaunpain: is white lithium considered to be as good or better than B. Casey Gun Grease?
Some of you guys hit the nail on the head-rust is my primary concern, followed by excess wear on the SKS (Yugo M59) and the three handguns used quite often.
 
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When M16s were first handed out in the army in Vietnam, didn't they tell the soldiers that they didn't need cleaning?

Be that as it may be, you might clean your magazines once in a while. And your clips, too!
 
I clean every firearm after every trip to the range period. Sometimes I'll wait a day or two to do it if I'm particularly busy, but it gets done. I made myself laugh the other day when I broke down the Marlin 30-30 and cleaned it after putting just 5 rounds through it at the range.
 
I don't over bore clean any 22 but 22 is dirty stuff and I keep the rest of it clean period. I clean revolvers because I'm spastic, the forcing cone, cylinder faces etc. I don't detail strip any revolver but maybe once every two years. Treat w/ EEZOX, let her go, Never use a brush unless it becomes quickly obvious, but 0000 wool is quicker fewer passes thru a barrel, but fragments, try to use stainless if you can get it.
 
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