What does "clean your gun" mean?

[Andrmgic]

I typically field strip my Desert Eagle, then remove the firing pin and spring, remove the bolt and stabilizer pin.

I take the recoil spring assembly out of the slide and the gas piston off of the end.

Pour a bit of hoppes #9 or shooter's choice copper solvent into a coffee cup I don't use and drop the gas piston in it to soak along with the stabilizer pin and spring, bolt lock pin, and firing pin spring.

Then I pull out a hard bristle toothbrush and dip it in Hoppes #9 and scrub the internals of the frame until there are no powder residue marks or copper deposits left anywhere visible on the gun and then I scrub the internals (recoil spring assembly, etc.) There is one spot I don't knock myself out to clean and that is on the end of the slide assembly where the gas piston slides in.. sometimes when I clean it I'll stand the slide upright in a cup of solvent to loosen up the stuff on the end and scrub it off, but not every time.

I scrub the barrel with a copper brush and spray it down with rem oil, then run patches with Hoppes #9 through it until it comes back with little or no black markings.

I then sight check the barrel.. if it looks like a smooth mirror finish, I run one more clean patch through with Hoppes #9 and set the barrel aside.

After I get it all clean, I put it back together and apply a generous amount of Hoppes gun oil to the bolt and stabilizer pin and also to the recoil spring assembly and I lightly oil the slide area on the inside of the slide and on the frame.

Then I check the smoothness of the stabilizer pin motion and the slide.. and apply a bit more oil if needed. Once I'm happy with that, I lower the hammer, put the safety on and dip another toothbrush in rubbing alcohol and brush the chrome exterior to get the oil off.. then wipe it down with a paper towel.

At this point it looks like it did when I first opened the box.. and I put it back in the case.

It usually takes about an hour to clean it to my satisfaction.

 

[publius]

Cleaning to me is breaking the gun down to it's major components. Take an old toothbrush and soak everything liberally with ED's Red, reuna patch through the barrel with ED's and set aside. Go back to the first piece and scrub real good with the toothbrush and more Ed's. Use bronze toothbrushes, steel wool, toothpicks where needed. Flood with Ed's again and set aside. Do this with all your pieces then go to your barrel and use patches, brushes to get clean. Start back with the first piece and blow out all the Ed's and dirt with carb cleaner, continue down the line including the barrel. You now have a perfectly clean and de-greased gun. Oil and reassemble. Revolver is the same except you don't have to disassemble but every once in a while.

 

[Lost Sheep]

Use anything that works.

I've discovered a set of dental picks come in really handy for all the built up crud on the bolt face. Chemicals generally can't get that junk off.

I picked up a set of 4 differently shaped dental picks at a hardware store. They had several sets from different manufacturers from $6 to almost $20.

Handy to do the same sort of loosening gunpowder crud that your dental tech does to plaque on your teeth.

I like to use sharp round wood toothpicks to scrape the crud out of the corners of the breech face. I figure there's no way to damage the surface, but they are strong and sharp enough to dig out plenty of stuff.

Plastic toothpicks seem to stand up to gun solvents better than wood, but wood does a better job of scrubbing gently, especially when the wood fibers get loose and fuzzy, almost like a Q-Tip, but leaving fewer fibers behind.

Use anything that works.

Lost Sheep

 

[doctruptwn]

It means several things to me. First it is a light field strip, that I do after every shooting session. And about 3 times a year a complete tear down of the weapon to it's basic parts and a clean and lube and reassembly.

 

[chanroc]

Most of the time, it involves Hoppe's on a brush down the barrel and let it ferment for a bit while I work on the rest of the gun - using tooth picks, brushes and q-tips for the nooks and crannies. Then I go back to the barrel, alternating between dry and wet patches and then run a bore snake with Break Free CLP down it for good measure.

For my pistols - Normal breakdown and described in the manual. I tend to loose the small stuff so I leave the pins and what not in place.

Revolvers - not much to breakdown, but I remove the grips and wipe down about once a year.

I usually put a light coat of Rig gun grease on the outside if I don't plan to shoot it for a while; use Rem Oil (or Hoppe's oil) for in between range session.

Riffles - same as above, but I usually put a patch a Rig down the barrels in the end since I don't shoot them much. (Just need to remember to run a patch through them before I do.)

.22s. - I tend to shoot these the most since it's cheap, so a lot of times I just use a bore snake and Hoppe's between sessions. Usually do a thorough cleaning after 500 rounds or so.

I'll probably switch to using old t-shirts for patches soon, at least for the everyday stuff. I tried using Remington's 40-X Bore cleaner, but found it too abrasive. Sticking with Hoppe's for now. For me, it's the best bang for the buck. Mostly use the regular #9 stuff but will use the copper solvent version after 200-300 rounds or so on the autos. (Too much or not enough?)

Do most of you use a kit that has been pieced together over the years or do you keep a nice bundled set? Mine has been pieced mealed.