Cleaning How Often

S

ShootingNut

New member
My routine, is to clean my revolver or pistol every time back from the range.
Depending on handgun, shooting maybe 100 to 200 rounds of hard cast lead reloads. I like my guns clean when done.;)
What's the rest of you do, rounds fired between field stripping the pistols, or cleaning your revolvers?
Regards,
SN
 
I like to clean all my guns after every firing. I especially hate the rings on the face of my ss GP-100's cylinder. I usually don't fire less than 50 rounds through anything, but I would clean no matter how many I shot. Same with rifles including my .22's and AK's. I don't think it's really necessary if you only fire a few, it's just my personality I guess.
 
Cleaning the same day after shooting is a good habit and promotes good firearm hygiene. However, depending upon how often you shoot, and what you shoot, it may be unnecessary.

If you shoot twice a week, then cleaning after the 2nd outing is probably sufficient. Remember that excessive field stripping of a firearm adds wear to some parts, so avoid disassembly every time if you're a frequent shooter.

If you can't stand the idea of a dirty gun, simply swabbing out the barrel and cylinders and using a brush when appropriate will help.

If you shoot a lot of lead bullets, it's a good idea to run a brush through the bore to keep down excessive leading. If lead bullets are the mainstay of your gun's diet, I highly recommend buying a Lewis Lead Remover tool that removes lead build-up in the forcing cone. Especially if you fire any magnum loads through the gun, with or without lead bullets.

The clean-after-shooting method is a historical tradition and was started because almost all primer/percussion guns used corrosive priming mixes. Failing to clean after shooting back then was a good way to end up with a rusty bore that was inaccurate. With modern ammunition, it's not as seroius a concern. However if you live in a humid climate, it prevents the very dry powder residue from absorbing humidity from the air and causing corrosion.
 
I shoot once a week. My revolvers always get cleaned after my range vist. I actually enjoy cleaning them. Ahhh the smell of hoppe's #9.:)
 
dawg

Ya, those black rings on the cylinder front is really a pain. I really have to work to get them off my 686 stainless. Once nice a clean, I hate to shoot it because of the work to really get it lookin' good again.
SN
 
I really, truly believe that the cleaning schedule of most guns is a personal thing that should be dictated by the owner of the gun rather than other folks who have their own way. Or, to put it another way, I don't think it's WRONG for folks who don't want to clean the gun 100% every single time.

And for sure, for darn sure, over-zealous and improper cleaning is responsible for many damaged and dinked up firearms, likely as much as firearms ruined by neglect. At least with regards to modern firearms of the last 30-40 years.

For me, I clean them according to my NEXT shooting session. If I take a particular one out shooting, and I get it home and I have no set plans to shoot it within the next two weeks, it's gets a full and thorough cleaning. If I know it's headed back to the range tomorrow or next weekend, it may get a bore scrub if I've been feeding it lead, but otherwise, it gets an exterior wipe (all of them do) and nothing more. But there's a mental note on anything in the safe that's not 100% clean... if a week or two goes by and plans to take it out again have fallen through, I'll clean it up properly.

Back when I had only a couple guns, it was absolutely an event to clean them up right that evening after shooting. These days, if I only take one or two out on a range day, same thing-- clean that night.

Problem I have now is that my range trips aren't 60 or 90 minute deals... they are scheduled days, usually 4 to 6 hours. And a lot of different guns make the trip. When you come home with 7 dirty handguns and a slew of brass that needs sorted and tumbled, I just can't clean them all that evening. I typically do like 2 a night for the next couple evenings.

My rimfire rifles don't get cleaned all that often. I got this from my smallbore coach back in high school. We used Remington target rifles and shot very well with them, and we cleaned them twice a year... and so it goes with my rimfire rifles. My centerfire rifles (I have only one currently) get the bore scrubbed each session for sure, as copper fouling kills accuracy and I really don't want any of that sitting in the bore, either.

A tip on cleaning the face of revolver cylinders -- Flitz creme, in the toothpaste-like tube. A little goes a long way... don't need to scrub like you are taking the finish off because it is a mild abrasive, but it will work on cylinder faces. Beware of Flitz if your revolver has a blued finish however, as it will most likely remove any bluing that you scrub with it. My 686 had the dirty rings since day one and Flitz was the first stuff I found that made it look nearly new again, and this was after like 18 years of cylinder filth.
 
And for sure, for darn sure, over-zealous and improper cleaning is responsible for many damaged and dinked up firearms, likely as much as firearms ruined by neglect. At least with regards to modern firearms of the last 30-40 years.
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What are the signs of over-cleaning?? I assume there is a difference between cleaning improperly (like too much ammonia for too long) versus cleaning properly, but too often. What should I watch out for?
 
mine

I try to detail-strip and clean them once every year or two or so; I normally run a clean patch down the bore before shooting.

I really don't clean them often.
Plus, once I've cleaned one (or changed ANYTHING, ANYTHING AT ALL) I test-fire them immediately to confirm function; know what I mean?

It helps having a range no steps from my door.
 
If you scrub the wrong part too much, or with improper tools, or with the wrong chemicals, you can take the finish right off. (don't ask how I know this!)

If you get the idea to take the firearms apart to clean further, you might take apart things you can't get back together. And without the proper tools, you WILL booger up screws. If you are ham fisted, you may scratch the finish near the screws you booger up. And if you remove lubricant in places that you clean and don't re-lube, you can ruin parts simply by metal on metal contact. And then there's the folks who pull trigger or manipulate come controls when the gun is taken apart and this will often do destructive things. Take any pistol with an exposed, traditional hammer... remove the slide and then "accidentally" pull the trigger with no slide installed and you now have a hammer flying forward with full force to contact -- nothing? The frame? Ding the hammer, ding the frame? None of it is good.

If you aren't careful when cleaning a bore and you scratch up the muzzle end, you can make rifles or pistols look like hell and shoot poorly also. Sure, most folks know to clean from the breech end, but it's not always possible to do that. Also, some cheap cleaning rods cause more problems than they solve, dragging dirt through the bore.

As mentioned in a post before mine, taking some things apart more often then necessary also introduces more wear on parts. A little is enough for some things.

Over lubing is also a problem in a number of ways. Some cheap lubes turn to a nasty paste and gum up internals. Most all lubes attract lint, dust and dirt that also gum things up. And with rifles, over lubing the guts ends up running in to the wooden stock, and then your wood soaks up those oils and you simply cannot undo that. It's a bad deal.

There's a lot of problems that folks can cause by poor cleaning methods.
 
Some people have big dreams of elaborate presses and huge safes full of every conceivable gun, and racks full of ammo.
It helps having a range no steps from my door.
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This, however, is my big dream with regards to my shooting.
 
There's no need to clean a weapon often. Everyone knows that cleaning only wears out a perfectly good bore. You are supposed to wait til the bore starts to rust, then grab a couple of those Remington Clean-Bore cartridge, fire em', and your good to go!!!!

Now! For those of you whose blood pressure just spiked 75 points, or you are emitting a string of 4 letter epithets - - - - I'm just kidding.:D

Actually I agree with most of Sevens cleaning procedures.

Good Shooting!
 
Cleaning?

:) I was at local shooting range today and ask them about rental pistols,they took a few of them out and broke them down--I was really surprised how DIRTY they were. I clean mine after each use a Beretta 90-Two and S&W M&P 9c, quite a few people rent guns there and I haven't seen them with any problems--yet. GO figure HUH????;):rolleyes: Woody
 
All guns are at least wiped down after every outing with Birchwood Casey gun wipes.

Pistols get the bores cleaned every couple hundred rounds or so. Bolt rifles get it every 20 rounds. Rimfires get a boresnake when and if accuracy diminishes. I have a Savage 93FV in .17HMR that has had 1000+ rounds thru it using only a dry boresnake. Rifle shoots 1" five shot groups consistently, .5'' to .75'' if I'm shooting well.

I do not own a semi auto rifle... YET!!!!!
 
our range is outdoors and has lots of dirt that tends to blow up on the tables.... even if the guns are covered.
so i break em down after every trip
1911 and xd come aprt to easy to not clean em out, and for some reason i get lots of little grit looking things in my 1911 housing
 
I do it whether they have been fired or not about every 3 mos., the salt air here will teach you these things over time. Always clean when going back on the rack.
 
I guess I'll go against the rank and file here and state that the most my guns get after a shooting session is a wipe down and possibly a bore snake down the barrel. About once a year, I'll take them apart for a detailed cleaning, but I got over the compulsion to meticulously clean after every shooting session when I discovered I was spending more time cleaning than I was shooting. I can state that I've never seen any noticeable degradation in accuracy or reliability as a result.
 
However if you live in a humid climate, it prevents the very dry powder residue from absorbing humidity from the air and causing corrosion.
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Wrong! Modern smokeless powder is NOT hygroscopic,(absorbs humidity from the air). Neither is copper fouling. If you clean down to bare metal, THEN you can get a rusty bore from humidity in the air. So you should put some quality oil on the entire bore when finished cleaning.

I leave rifles and handguns dirty for extended periods of time. Shotguns too. If I see crud developing inside my 1911 .45, or my glock M-22, then they get cleaned. If I were so lucky to be allowed to carry concealed, that would be an exception, then I'd be cleaning after shooting.

The one thing that gets cleaned IMMEDIATELY after shooting is my blackpowder guns. Even IF they say the powder I used is not corrosive. Why? Because most percussion caps ARE corrosive, unless otherwise stated on the box.

Use of one piece rods, with bore guides, is the ONLY way I clean any rifle. Removable barrels on semi auto pistols also get cleaned from the breech end. Lever guns, and some auto rifles, need to be cleaned from the muzzle. You can still use a bore guide on the muzzle end, (crown), to keep the rod centered. Damage of ANY kind to the crown of the barrel will result in loss of accuracy. I go along with the adage, more rifles have been ruined by wrong cleaning methods, than by leaving them fouled.
 
I clean after the weapon has been fired, every time, even if I fire only one. If I only fire a few I don't give it a heavy cleaning, just a light one.

Once a year if the weapon has been in storage or something and has not been fired.

After the weapon has been handled a bunch. If I take one out to mess with it, or someone else looks at it a bunch, I like to get the oil from the fingerprints and such off.
 
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