How often...

[Oh Shoot]

....And that goes for every single gun except the pistol I carry. I clean it pretty regularly and keep it lubed...

Same here. I keep Kahr PM clean and lubed; micro movements are just not as forgiving as larger ones. Did same with XD SubCompact when was carrying that too, even though it would probably go 10K rounds with no maintenance at all.

Others, meh, whenever. Depends on whether same gun is gonna get shot again within next month. 10/22's probably average 1500 rounds tween cleaning, and that's not full breakdown, just spray, lube, and BoreSnake. I've decided to put X number of rounds through S&W AR to see about that type of reliability.

Main reason I never got a Mosin or any other old warhorse where I'd be pretty much compelled to shoot corrosive surplus is that I don't want to be chained to immediate cleaning after shooting.

- OS

Edited July 7, 2012 by OhShoot

[RWF]

i agree that cleaning sucks! but to me (first i need to say for the most part this is in the mine of the owner) running till failure is wrong and causes extra wear. those who have served in the armed forces, know you are always cleaning your weapon during down time, lot of times it is over kill to me.

but why run a gun dirty and dry? we do not do your car motors, mowers, whatever that way. both have heat, friction and metal parts rubing against each other.

i find it odd but that someone says wait til failure before cleaning (which i would guess includes lube) then say, but not my carry gun. i do understand why it was said, but they are all tools of some kind, playing, work whatever. it just seems like saying if there important then clean, if for fun, hunting etc, then do not worry about it.

like i said there is no truely correct answer i do believe, just in the eye of the user.

also i do not believe that careful basic cleaning and maintance cannot cause harm to a firearm, NOW being careless and/or stripping a gun beyond your skill level is asking for trouble.

just me

do whatever makes you happy.

[Moped]

I try to keep my pistols clean (except for my MKII), since they are my main defense weapons. My AK gets cleaned maybe every two or three range trips. I clean my .22s only when they REALLY need it and a lot of times that's just a swab down the barrel, but once a year I like to break them down and really clean them good.

[DaveTN]

we do not do your car motors, mowers, whatever that way. both have heat, friction and metal parts rubing against each other.

I would guess the people that don’t maintain a firearm, do the same with their cars and mowers. Run em' to failure.

[jtmaze]

I wipe down and run a patch down the barrel every time I shoot. Full clean trigger groups and everything about every six months. Moving next week where I will have a shop and garage to set up reloading station where I can shoot more. I have a friend that had 2 pallets of reloading and casting equipment given to him when a relative died. He has agreed to give me some reloading equipment for some floor space in my shop. In a few months I will prob be on here asking all kinds of questions.

JTM

Sent from my iPhone

[Dolomite_supafly]

I would guess the people that don’t maintain a firearm, do the same with their cars and mowers. Run em' to failure.

Not me.

All the maintanence is done on vehicles on schedule. And all of our vehicles last into the 100's of thousands of miles. I will say we do keep them until I think they are at failure but even then they have more use in them to most people. We sold a Taurus that had 240K miles on it and it still ran fine and stopped fine. It did have a quirk or two but still ran great. We gave away a Thunderbird that had $230K on it and still ran fine. Our son just took our Crown Victoria that had 130K on it and still ran like and looked brand new.

People are saying we run guns to failure. It is not failure, it is until the become they become unreliable because of use. No other way to tell what it takes to get your gun to that point than to do it. And that is with range guns not defense guns. My AR has NEVER failed to chamber, fire and extract in its life, never. Even after a long period of time and a fair amount of rounds it still ran great. My wife's 9mm AR has never had an issue with factory FMJ ammo. It went 3K before its first cleaning and that wasn't because of an issue. And since then it hasn't been cleaned but a couple of time, one when I stripped the camo off of it and the otehr when I had it apart to reprofile the barrel to loose weight.

The guns that get cleaned are the ones that matter, my 1911 that I carry every day and my Saiga that is my primary house gun. My saiga, other than a few experiments on my parts, has been 100% reliable in 1,000 rounds. By experiments I mean a different top cover I didn't clearance enough. And my home made slug loads that I didn't put enough crimp on.

With modern technology guns are more reliable than they have been in the past. Cleaning was a very important ritual a century ago or even 50 years ago but not so much today. There are powders that after thousands of rounds foul less than a single shot of blackpowder.

Dolomite

[Glenn]

Dolomite, I like your attitude. I don't like cleaning guns. I love shooting my Mosin but find myself not taking it to the range unless I have plenty of time to shoot, to make it worth the time to clean. I have a .45 cal Kentucky rifle I built from a kit about 35 years ago that I haven't shot in 25 years because it is so much trouble to clean.

Glenn

[Garufa]

You people are a horrible influence. I just went and cleaned a gun that did not need it as I only put about 60 rounds through it 2 months ago.

[Oh Shoot]

...Run em' to failure.

...

People are saying we run guns to failure. It is not failure, it is until the become they become unreliable because of use. ....

Well, even it it were to failure, hey, it's not like anyone is shooting back. Soon as EOTWAWKI happens, I promise to clean them more often.

- OS

[Garufa]

...

Well, even it it were to failure, hey, it's not like anyone is shooting back. Soon as EOTWAWKI happens, I promise to clean them more often.

- OS

Don't forget to overload your bug-out bag with cleaning stuff.

Edited July 7, 2012 by Garufa

[Guest Broomhead]

Do you clean your rifles (specifically AR's and 10/22's) after you shoot them?

My .22s, on the other hand, pretty much just get cleaned when they start having trouble with bulk ammo. Who knows when that is.

Cleaning sucks so I do it as little as I can.

For my 10/22 I haven't cleaned it in quite a few years. As a matter of fact I only clean when reliability or accuracy drops off.

If the gun functions and is as acceptably accurate I do not clean it.

10/22's probably average 1500 rounds tween cleaning, and that's not full breakdown, just spray, lube, and BoreSnake.

I clean my .22s only when they REALLY need it and a lot of times that's just a swab down the barrel, but once a year I like to break them down and really clean them good.

There is sage advice here when it comes to the 10/22. The majority of the members on RFC will advise to only clean a 10/22 when accuracy or reliability wanes. The barrel is much more accurate when seasoned and the action runs better when its not dripping with lube. I can't remember the last cleaning my 10/22's had and they both run as good, or better, than NIB ones.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Also, think about this. If you look at all the older 22's that look like hell on the outside, most have a bore that looks pristine. The reason is the bore gets coated with the bullet lube and that provides a lot of protection from corrosion. And almost all those rusty guns were wiped down with oil before being put away long, long ago only to become rusty guns as the oil evaporates.

So for those of you that clean then put a coat of oil down the bore of your rimfires you are doing more harm than good compared to just leaving it dirty.

Also, the crud in or on a gun holds oil better than most clean surfaces. And powder in and of itself does not attract corrosion.

And for those of you who think stainless will not rust, it does. It is a little less susceptible to corrosion and rust than blued steel but it can still rust.

Dolomite

[Clod Stomper]

The vehicle analogy just doesn't work. How often do you disassemble and clean your car's engine? After every trip to the range? I doubt it. There is combustion (same as in a firearm) happening in every cylinder of that engine tens of thousands of times (ok, milliions probably if you drive more than a mile) every time you drive it.

Modern powders and primers do not corrode a barrel.

If it gets dirty (I mean actual grit) , clean it. If the bore fouls heavily with copper or lead to the point that accuracy drops or pressure rises, clean it. If you carry it through a rainstorm or drop it in a mudhole, clean it. If you shoot old, corrosive ammo, definitely clean it. If it's your carry or defense gun, keep it squeaky. And that's not for reliability purposes. I just want it to be obvious whether my gun has been fired or not.

Otherwise, you're probably cleaning too much. Every point that Dolomite made above is valid and has been my standard practice for years.

Notice that I did not say not to lube properly or wipe down any spot that you've touched, especially on a blued gun. Keep it lubed, but spare the (cleaning) rod.

Will

[gregintenn]

More so than the sheer vlolence of a round going off?

No, I wouldn't say that. They both wear parts eventually. Racking the slide, installing and removing magazines, and just general screwing around with them probably results in more wear than either firing or cleaning. I do still say that tearing down, cleaning, and putting back together DOES contribute to wear and tear.

I would guess the people that don’t maintain a firearm, do the same with their cars and mowers. Run em' to failure.

No, but I dang sure don't dissassemble and clean them each time I mow, or drive into town.

[Guest FIST]

I accuse some shooters of turning gun cleaning into some kind of quasi religious event. One guy I know I am pretty sure strips naked, puts on a head band, wears face paint, turns up the heat till sweat is rolling, sits on a purple velvet rug and then lights candles while kneeling before the "Blessed Virgin," and chants "Hoppes #9, Hoppes #9,........"

You been watching me?

I have been desperately trying not to clean just 1 of my AR's as a test to see how much it can take. I just can't help myself when I get home though. The Army has me cleaning so much it's a habit. I understand that they can be "over cleaned" but with the right tools and the loving look in my eyes as I scrape carbon from the most ridiculous places I don't think it hurts em.

I tend to let my 10/22 go though, just hit with a bore snake every couple months.

[RWF]

this is from a 12 gauge Versa Max, it was clean before the Rockcastle Shotgun championship, somewhere around 400 rounds 99% federal 7.5 and 8's. i did not break down it each night but did run a snake thru it each night and put a little lube on the bolt. it was a 3 day event.

event.

Edited July 8, 2012 by RWF

[Guest sL1k]

I do not always clean my guns right after a range visit but I do always clean them within a week. When i used to deer Hunt though I didn't clean my rifle till after the season was over after ensuring zero. My pocket pistol though gets stripped and picked of lint every 2 weeks lol.

When I do clean my carry pistols I put on a bandanna, apply camo face paint, and after doing many karate stances while watching apocalypse now I proceed to detail clean everything its just habit. It has to be a habit because after losing so many brain cells to hoppes I cannot learn any other non cleaning methods some of you employ.