Needing first time advice

E

Ene47

Inactive
I finally bought my FRIST gun today from Academy Sports. A Heritage 22 LR/Mag. Just cleaned it and looking at it on my desk. Haven't fired it yet, have to wait for the weekend to join the firing range, if it doesn't rain. What I need to know right now is, How often do you have to/ or should you clean your gun after many fired rounds? I know you clean it after every shooting, but what asking is if you shoot 500 to 1000 rounds or more per sesson. Does the same apply to rifles also. I plan on getting a rifle also (soon I hope.) This and anyother thing that I may need to know or what I may need to get.
 
well Im pretty sure that its not too easy to OVERCLEAN your weapon... I clean mine after every shooting... no matter how many rounds i shoot thru em.... i believe its not good to leave powder residue in them for extended periods of time. I could be wrong tho.... :eek:
 
A .22 that you are just using to plink/target shoot at the range does not require cleaning after every shoot. Personally, I clean my .22's (Ruger MKIII and Ruger 10/22 rifle) when I notice their accuracy degrading or jams begin to occur. I will also clean them before a speed shooting competition.

A self defense gun should remain clean/lubed whenever you are depending on that gun for self defense.

Since I see yours is a revolver - when extraction becomes more difficult or when accuracy goes down is the time to clean. Your mileage will very with the brand/type of ammo you use.
 
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I own a Heritage as well. Actually, it is one of the few guns that I don't clean after every section, other than a wipe down with a silicone rag. But I have found that the ejector rod becomes difficult to actuate on mine after about 500 rounds, so that is usually when I clean it.
 
Speaking of cleaning, one of the first things I would invest in is a good cleaning kit with a single piece rod, brass jag vice plastic, and good stiff Nylon or Bronze brushes and a rod guide.
 
Clean it when it gets dirty. That may be after 100 rounds. (That would be about 17 reloads. I get bored after about 10 reloade in my Ruger and go home.) Only you can tell.

Remember when they (the big wigs) thought that M16s were self cleaning and didn't need cleaned? Well, I went into the Army just about the time they realized that their mistake had probably killed loads of our guys. By then, they were having us break down and clean our weapons just about as often as we stopped for a pee break. I learned to be very vigilant about cleaning my rifle, pistol, etc. And, those lessons stuck with me I guess. My m16a1 never malfunctioned once nor do I remember anyone in our company experiencing a malfunction during Basic or AIT.
 
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I suggest cleaning the firearm after every use, as ritual. It's how I was taught to maintain a firearm. You will not develop bad habits if you make it a point to clean after every outing. You will never have poor cleaning to blame for a weapon malfunction either.
 
for me, and my .22s they tend to become finky when they get dirty, and i see stovepipes and failures to feed. when i clean them up they run smooth again

for the longest time, my 9mm semi autos were dirty as hell, and they all ran reliably, but ive cleaned them since then
 
You would be surprised how often some people will clean their weapons. For instance when I was researching info on AR-15's I've read that some of the more serious contenders that competively shoot AR-15's will fire as little as 5 rounds then clean them. Then fire maybe 15-20 rounds. Stepping the number of rounds up with each stage while cleaning the barrel between each various stages. There's supposedly some advantage to preparing the barrel in that sort of way. I personally have no idea about that sort of thing. I simply clean after each firing session.



Roach
 
Hi,

First, let me start by congradulating you on your first gun purchase. You made a smart choice by starting with a .22.

As far as cleaning goes, normally manufacturers will tell you in the manual how often they think their firearm should be cleaned.

A general rule of thumb for a carry gun is that it should be cleaned once a month, in addition to after each time it is fired or after it is in wet conditions (rain, snow, very humid, dropped in a puddle/lake, etc.).

Also, while it is not as much of an issue with non-carry guns, letting a self-defense gun build up residue means that in a real-world situation, if the gun is dropped or gets dirty it has both the added grime from being dropped, and the grime that was not cleaned off before. Personally, I don't want to bet my life on a gun that is not cleaned very well.

Besides the maintenance reasons, I personally find cleaning firearms to be relaxing. Best of luck with your new .22.
 
I'll clean after 50 rounds. For me, the cleaning process is also an inspection process. I'll examine the gun closely - looking for excessive wear, broken parts, or potential problems.

I'll verify the proper operation by slowly walking it through several cycles, then rapidly doing the same thing. I'll take time to feel how it reacts and how the parts move. Does the slide move smoothly, is the trigger still sharp, does the magazine eject properly, etc.?
 
With your revolver, I would remove the cylinder and clean it as well as the frame after every range trip. I would not clean the bore as often; .22LRs will not dirty the bore very quickly (other than superficially), and they have a lube coating on the bullets that will deposit itself in the bore. This coating is actually beneficial (up to a point anyway). I clean the bore of my .22LRs approximately every 300-500 rounds.

.22WMR rounds are a little different; they don't generally use a lubed bullet. Because of that fact, and the higher velocity you will likely get some fouling that will slowly build up if you shoot those a lot, and you will probably want to clean the bore more often.

For a revolver I highly recommend using a muzzle guide for the bore. It looks like a brass or plastic cone with a hole in the middle for the rod to pass through. Some kits will come with it (kleenbore pistol kits come to mind) but if your kit doesn't, get one. It will protect the muzzle crown from being scraped by the cleaning rod and damaging it.

Have fun with your revolver, and welcome to TFL!
 
If I shoot my guns, I clean them. Do you need to clean your .22 after every range trip? No, but, it's a good habit to get into and when you do clean it, it will clean quicker than if you do it ever other range trip.
 
I would suggest you clean the gun after a firing session.

In answer to your question about how often should you clean during a firing session, I would say that you don't need to clean it unless you start to notice a performance issue.
 
Was going to keep my two cents to myself until I noticed your location. Dunno how close you are to the ocean but if salt air is a factor I'd clean and give it a thorough wipedown after each trip. Depending on how you store it a wipedown every 30 days sounds like a good idea as well.
Congrats on your purchase! Shoot safely & shoot often!
 
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