Cleaning Your Guns - Hobby or Chore

L

LockedBreech

New member
A friend of mine is so bad about cleaning his pistol that I usually steal it from him for a day after range trips to get it squeaky clean and well lubed. Got me thinking.

When you clean your guns, do you do it grudgingly or as part of the hobby?

After a 500-round session with my 10/22 last week, I spent two full hours watching a movie and cleaning it at a very close level. I scrubbed and wiped and lubed until every bit of grit was out of the action. Took apart the trigger group. I had a small mountain of dirty cloths and Q-tips. By the time I was fine, my 10/22 action was the smoothest it has ever been.

And that's not even a gun I rely on to save my life. Those guns get a level of care that borders on obsessive. I doubt you could find a smudge of filth on my Beretta or Ruger when I'm done.

Yes, I clean my guns to make sure they work when I need, and because the close cleaning lets me do a close inspection of critical parts to ensure that wear & tear is progressing normally. But I also clean because I see beauty in a well-maintained machine. I treat my car and tools the same.

How about you? Chore or enjoyable? TV or radio? Solitary or with the family?
 
I enjoy everything about guns so cleaning i treat the same. Have always included the children in it too and that way they know everything about firearms. From a quick wipe down to how to take actions apart and so on. My 7 year old girl can strip and put back together almost every handgun and rifle i own. Really makes it interesting when we go to gun shows and she helps me stirp a used gun for inspection when the seller lets us.
 
It's a horrible chore.

I wouldn't mind it so much if malodorous solvents and cleaners didn't cause so much conflict with loved ones.
 
It's a part of shooting and gun ownership that at first I learned to accept and later learned to really enjoy! Especially after rescuing and reviving a few older and neglected firearms! I now think of it as a protection on my investment!
 
I likw shooting them much more than cleaning them, but I do clean them when necessary. I let my .22's go for a while because they seem to shoot better dirty!
 
Like cleaning and maintaining fishing gear and tackle, cleaning guns is just part of the hobby. Sometimes I enjoy it, other times it is a chore but I always do it.
 
I say hobby. I like taking them apart an putting them back together.


The exceptions are when I take friends shooting and end up needing to clean half a dozen guns or when I shoot corrosive stuff where cleaning is time sensitive and I absolutely have to clean it then and there. I rarely shoot corrosive because of that.
 
To me, cleaning guns after a range session (or even if just for the heckuvit) is no more a chore than washing your car before you go out cruising the strip, or any other type of required maintenance...
 
Its just a part of maintenance to me, I shoot it so I clean it because it works better clean than filthy.
TANSTAAFL applies.:)
 
It's a horrible chore.

I wouldn't mind it so much if malodorous solvents and cleaners didn't cause so much conflict with loved ones.
Click to expand...

They make a bunch of solvents for gun cleaning now that are completely odorless. My wife used to make me go in the garage when using old #9 but now I clean them inside.

And it's a chore but an enjoyable chore.
 
When I first started, or when I get something new, it's fun. I like taking them apart, figuring out how they work and understanding why they were designed that way (advantages and disadvantages). Cleaning is often part of that.

After a while, it's just work. My wife hates the smell. And I have to clean up the mess.
 
On most shotguns I never need to do more than a patch down the bore(s) and a good wipe down. SD/HD weapons are a different story. I do a complete cleaning after each and every range trip. . The guns that are not fired often I clean at least monthly. Do they need to be cleaned at least monthly? No, but I enjoy cleaning my collection.
 
If I were a rich man, I'd hire gun cleaning out.
The need to do it keeps me from taking more than two or three guns out at any one time.
What are these odorless cleaning solvents?
Anything like odorless paint thinner, (which ain't)?
 
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