Is Cleaning Every 500 rounds too Seldom?

L

LoneStarWings

New member
Hi,

I bought a .40 caliber smith and wesson handgun about a month ago and have put about 1000 rounds through it since then. I cleaned it once after taking at home by wiping it down (per the manual) and again after 500 rounds by dissassembling it, wiping down the internals with a silicon coated rag, and cleaning the barrel with a soft cyndrilical bore cleaner plus some bore wipes. At 1000 rounds I did that again plus used about a dozen drops of Break Free CLP lubricant on various areas of the slide/chamber, then used an old toothbrush to scrub.

Am I cleaning the gun often enough? Is every 1000 rounds about the right time to lubricate or is that too much?

Also, I have 4 magazines and I alternate between all 4 of them at the range. Do they need to be dissasembled and clean regularly too, or is this something that can be done at longer intervals?

I am new to handguns and appreciate the feedback.

Thanks,
LSW
 
Opinions vary. I clean a gun after each range session in which it is used, which is usually 50-100 rounds.
 
Depends on what you are using it for

If it is just a range gun just clean the barrel occationally and you can fire it till it gums up. If you want it to be 100% reliable and longer lasting, I would clean and lube it every few hundred rounds. I strip and clean all my guns every 100 rounds or so
 
Every time

I was always taught to clean after every range session. I also happen to love the cleaning process, the smell of Hoppe's and the whole ritual of it.

If you can, get into the habit of cleaning every time. You'll keep your gun from rusting, avoid a lot of jams and prevent your barrel from getting caked with baked on powder residue.
 
I usually clean it more than that. typically after every session, but if I just pop off a magazine when I'm camping or something I may not. I really pay attention when I'm in a wet or dirty environment as I spend a lot of time hunting & riding.
 
Most of the time I clean after each use, for my hand guns. In most cases ill shoot about 100 though 2 or 3 in a day of shooting, If im at range shoots the gun of choice will see 200 rounds during the day, then cleaned that night. My hunting guns get cleaned after every use, If i shoot it one time say out hunting, it gets cleaned when i get home, unless im out hunting the next day. Then ill just look it over for moisture ext. I like to keep the hunting guns clean as they are out in the bad weather during winter and such.
 
Cleaning a centerfire after every shooting session is pretty standard. It's not NECESSARY, but there are benfits.

Some of the gunshot residue can be a bit abrasive, so removing it is a good thing.

Lubricant can tend to run off or be used up. Replenishing it for each shooting session (during the clean/lube) helps reduce wear and insure proper function.

A careful clean/lube will allow you to examine the various parts of the gun so you can evaluate wear and check for proper function.
 
I don't know, it's your gun and all, but 500 rounds seems to be about 300 rounds too many before cleaning/lubing. Unless you have found some darn clean ammo, that gun must be filthy each of the two times you have cleaned it.

I don't clean after each range session necessarily, but I certainly do much sooner than you are.

That cleaning practice would be a bad habit to get into if you ever plan to start carrying a pistol and practice with it often as you should.
 
Fair enough, I will start cleaning it more often. Thanks for the replies. The gun was pretty dirty (parts around the chamber made the toothbrush black) this last time I cleaned it, although it was still functioning fine. Since it's all black it's hard to tell by looking, but I did notice residue on my finger if I touched the area of the slide near the barrel. The inside of the barrel wasn't very dirty though.

The reason I've been waiting this long is on the advice of someone I know who has what I consider to be a lot of experience. If conventional wisdom says to clean and lube more often though, I will go with that. I don't have a CHL or anything so it's just a range gun for now, although I might use it for other purposes someday. Thanks again.
 
I clean both gun and mags after every range session. Even the light ones where I don't expend as many rounds as I normally do. This includes my .22s as well.

Being an ex-Jarhead, I'm somewhat anal retentive when it comes to keeping my guns clean, but that's me. :rolleyes:
 
As a kid in the late 50's, I cleaned my guns every time after a shooting session, but mostly because back then, it was fun! Now, it can be a bit of a chore so my cleaning habits haven't so much been relaxed, but have become more practical.
What's happened since then is that I don't think that any "corrosive" powders even exist anymore, first of all.
And secondly, I only shoot jacketed bullets in my guns to solve the lead fowling problem (except in the .22's, of course).

So I find that I continue to clean all my .22's thoroughly every time I shoot them because of the sheer volume of powder that goes through them in a session plus the lead build up you can get from a 500 round brick of bullets.

But with the OP's .40 S&W semi-auto in mind, for my semi-autos, I just wipe them down most of the time, add a couple of drops of oil to the rails for re-lubrication, and then don't worry about it.
Maybe about every ten range sessions, I'll go ahead and drop the slide to remove the barrel and run a patch through the barrel and brush out the inside of the slide with an oily brush and then oil up the slide areas really well.
I almost never go into the lockwork unless I see some visible build up of power. If the lockwork looks "dry", I'll just give it a quick shot of spray oil.

A friend of mine has an XD9 that he bought new about 5 years ago. He has lots and lots of guns, and he really likes that XD9 (so much that he's bought more XD's since then).
But he's decided to do his own little "torture test" with the XD9 so he's decided to NEVER clean it. He wants to see how long before it has any problems of feeding or operation. He does throw some oil at the slide rails once in a while, but cleaning?... never.
Still hasn't missed a beat after being his primary range gun for over 5 years.

While that may be a good testiment to the XD line, I would imagine that any polymer of similar design would hold up just as well.
 
I clean after every session, regardless of what I've put through them. I enjoy cleaning them though and to me, its part of the routine.
 
My guns also get cleaned after every trip to the range. I do not put a dirty gun in my safe. I give them a basic cleaning after each use and every third or forth trip they get a more thorough stripping and cleaning. I shot my S&W m66 today and cleaned it tonight even though I will be shooting it again tomorrow. :)
 
Another +1 for after every session.

I have most of my cleaning supplies in a tackle box that gets taken to the range. I sometimes clean them there which goes over well with the wife. I also have found if you run some hoppes through the gun and let it "soak" on the ride home it really loosens up the crud.

A clean gun is a happy gun. :)
 
Rigorous cleaning after each use and other than a durability test (i.e. CDH's buddy’s XD9 test) I can’t imagine not cleaning a tool that your life depends upon after each use; I guess it’s a military thing.:confused:
 
I'm of the "clean after shooting" school of thought; however, I'll frequently run a few thousand rounds through my G17 before cleaning. I use Mobil 1 for lube, so I don't have to worry about my lube's running off or evaporating. :)
 
+1 for clean after use. Although, I did buy an ultrasonic cleaner which makes my life a lot easier. :)

I shocked and disgusted my bff when I didn't clean my Sig each night at Blackwater----But, I was beat and 500 rounds of factory ammo isn't that dirty.

It got an extra long swim when we got home. :D
 
Another +1 for cleaning after each trip to the range. Something my dad 'ingrained' in me as a kid - clean 'em after each use.
 
Clean 'em after you shoot 'em...

I was taught to clean after every use, besides that, I enjoy cleaning my guns and handling them frequently. I am one of those guys who pets his guns while watching TV. By the way its not a new habit...i'm 72 and nave been shooting for 65 years.:D
 
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