Cleaning handguns

[Guest SureShot308]

Thanks for all the help. My take away is: follow the manufacturers directions, don't go crazy.

Oh, and only the top rack in the dishwasher.

The bottom rack works better on the tupperware guns.

lock the slide back and stick it down on one of the up rights.(and everyone thinks those were to stand plates up on)

You could clean 15 of them at a time.

I'm sure it would work on an AR too. just split the halves and lay them in the top rack. drop your bolt carrier in the silverware rack.

Maybe we could get break free to make us some dishwasher packs for gun cleaning?

[leroy]

When I joined this forum I promised i'd ask some stupid questions and since I don't like to let people down....

How do you clean a pistol? I'm going shooting next week and thus I'll have to do some cleaning. However if I look on the internet I see everything from "Spit on a tshirt and wipe it down" to instructions so complicated it would make stephen hawking constipated.

I know the reality is somewhere int he middle, but where?

And thanks for reading my stupid question in advance!

Mosinon:________

Check this thread out when you have some time. Good stuff on cleaning pistols.

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/gunsmithing-troubleshooting/24062-removing-every-last-bit-fouling.html

Kind regards,

LEROY

ps -- No questions are stupid.

[Guest TurboniumOxide]

Here's what I covet: Sonic System Sales

Great, now I covet it as well. at $575 you would have to charge to clean guns for a while. Maybe someone here could get it and offer the service? That's a lot of ammo or even a new gun.

[Guest .45]

When I joined this forum I promised i'd ask some stupid questions and since I don't like to let people down....

How do you clean a pistol? I'm going shooting next week and thus I'll have to do some cleaning. However if I look on the internet I see everything from "Spit on a tshirt and wipe it down" to instructions so complicated it would make stephen hawking constipated.

I know the reality is somewhere int he middle, but where?

And thanks for reading my stupid question in advance!

if it's a self-defense gun, you need to keep it clean enough to eat off of...(and also get some instruction)

if it's a plinker/hunter, don't worry so much...some folks even think dirtier=accurate

truth be told, you can do what needs to be done with 4 items:

-CLP (I like Breakfree)

-Hoppe's Boresnake (in the appropriate caliber)

-a toothbrush

-an old T-shirt

all this will probably set you back about $30...

best thing to do if you're new to shooting/guns, is ask questions around people who are not... this kind of thing is why God made grandfathers; if yours is not around, ask someone else's...he'd probably be happy to show you how to safely clean your pistol.

[Oh Shoot]

if it's a self-defense gun, you need to keep it clean enough to eat off of...

Disagree.

I actually prefer to shoot at least a round or two through it AFTER cleaning.

For what should be obvious reasons.

Since I can't do that from home, I'll clean it every couple of range sessions, BEFORE I go to range, but NOT after.

Unless you have some kind of cranky pistola (in which case you shouldn't be trusting your life to it) or shooting corrosive ammo, any modern quality handgun isn't gonna be affected by carrying it around for a month or so after shooting a few mags' worth through it.

Of course there's no reason in the world why a gun should fail after merely field stripping and cleaning, but nonetheless, it's a psychological confidence booster to me to hear my XD go boom a couple of times after putting it back together, before I strap it back on for every day carry.

- OS

[Capbyrd]

Disagree.

- OS

Likewise. Plus, I have had some guns that just liked being a little bit dirty. I think its all down to the gun though.

[crashgordan]

good comments all....

+1 on "a little bit dirty" as CapByrd states... meaning carbon, not actually soil/dirt/lint/blood/sweet etc...

have found the "gun scrubbers" to be generally overkill unless i'm presenting it as a gift.

pulling every bit of oil out of the gunmetel is neither necessary nor recommended.

personally, i'm very particular about functionality/reliability over clean...

have AR's that are running 4k+ w/ only general wipedown, run wet and lubed w/ miltec (CLP is fine too). no function issues/no loss of accuracy as of yet. expect to be doing a clean shortly. that being said, i do not run steel case ammo (wolf/bear ect) and suspect that has something to do with this.

that being said, if i was going to war with this rifle, it would be well cleaned (not stripped of oil) and out the door i'd go w/ a fair level of confidence regarding how long i can be out and how much love i can send downrange in relation to how spotless my rifle needs to be...

my civilian sidearm is kept a bit more clean, typically cleaned after a range day, but this is for legal/liability/defensibility reasons. a filthy gun collected by the authorities after a self defense event is not something i'm interested in. no personal experience here, rather advise given by legal Counsel and folks like Ayoob.

CLP is great for cleaning.

miltec is amazing for lubing.

as always, just my humble opinion.