Cleaning your pistols?

[Malinois]

Hi all, back with you for more information, please? I have watched some other enthusiasts during the cleaning process of their pistols and/or rifles, and I have questions.....things like 1)in what 'order' do you use your brushes, cleaning pads, soft brushes, etc, 2)does anyone have experience/comments on the "snake" type cleaning methods, 3)should one field strip their pistol and how often? and 4) what types of chemicals do you prefer to use? I am a casual shooter...putting about 150 rounds (at my home range) through any particular pistol per month. If there is a topic and/or thread on here that I should refer to instead, also, you can please direct me. thanks. But, your feedback will be appreciated.

[MostlyHarmless]

Hi all, back with you for more information, please? I have watched some other enthusiasts during the cleaning process of their pistols and/or rifles, and I have questions.....things like 1)in what 'order' do you use your brushes, cleaning pads, soft brushes, etc, 2)does anyone have experience/comments on the "snake" type cleaning methods, 3)should one field strip their pistol and how often? and 4) what types of chemicals do you prefer to use? I am a casual shooter...putting about 150 rounds (at my home range) through any particular pistol per month. If there is a topic and/or thread on here that I should refer to instead, also, you can please direct me. thanks. But, your feedback will be appreciated.

A modern handgun doesn't need much cleaning. You can carry it and put several thousand rounds through it without having to fear any malfunction. With a proper holster you don't even have to worry about dirty clothes. These things are designed to operate after being dragged through a swamp. They don't cost $400+ for no reason.

On the contrary. Doing too much "good" will more likely get oil into places, where it wasn't supposed to be. Collecting dust and powder residue, forming some sticky crap that you don't want to have in there. I had to replace the firing pin spring assembly on a Walther PPS, and I blame myself and excessive use of oil for that. Lesson learned. I don't clean my carry gun every time I shot it any more. Works just fine every time I shoot it.


Jan

[jeepin]

I have heard that frequent cleaning can do more harm than good. I do know this to be factual when it comes to .22 barrels. There are many gun owners who have worn their barrels out with a rod long before shooting would have done it.

That being said I always keep my guns clean, probably more than needed. Everytime I shoot it gets a mild field breakdown, wipedown, and boresnake. Depending on how often a given gun has been shot it will get a full blown detail cleaning once or twice a year.

Read your guns manual for specifics to your model. YouTube is a good place for a tutorial but just remember any Jack ass with a camera can make a video but it Doesent make them right.

As far as chemicals go I like m pro 7 but truthfully there are a ton of threads with a ton of opinions. Try a Google search and you will be amazed

[Kabloosh]

A modern handgun doesn't need much cleaning. You can carry it and put several thousand rounds through it without having to fear any malfunction. With a proper holster you don't even have to worry about dirty clothes. These things are designed to operate after being dragged through a swamp. They don't cost $400+ for no reason.

On the contrary. Doing too much "good" will more likely get oil into places, where it wasn't supposed to be. Collecting dust and powder residue, forming some sticky crap that you don't want to have in there. I had to replace the firing pin spring assembly on a Walther PPS, and I blame myself and excessive use of oil for that. Lesson learned. I don't clean my carry gun every time I shot it any more. Works just fine every time I shoot it.


Jan

I generally put oil on the brush only and scrub the parts down and then wipe it off with a rag that has been generally used to clean prior so there is a little oil residue on it already. I try to keep my pistol dry with any lubrication left by whatever the rag would leave behind.
It's good to wipe off your gun every so often with a clean rag.

[Waldershrek]

I clean mine after shooting and that's it. Field strip, CLP barrel, guide rod and spring and inside of slide, hit everything with a brush, wipe dry and a light coat of Rem oil on the barrel and I'm done.

[Remington788]

I always clean my guns after shooting.
Long guns or pistols, I use a bore snake.
I use bronze or nylon bore brushes on the cylinders of my wheel guns.
For cleaning I use CLP. For most lube I use Remoil.

Sometimes I get crazy cleaning.
Last night I put over a hundred plain lead .22 rounds through my 1959 H&R 922 revolver. The cylinders were so fouled by the end that I had trouble reloading it. So tonight I disassembled it and put the cylinder in my sonic cleaner for 5 minutes. It got all the crud out.
Lubed it all up with some Brownells Xtreme oil (I got a sample tube of it).

[brsims]

I was taught to clean after every range session or use. Its just good discipline. And every good warrior has always performed maintainence upon their weapons down through the ages.

We depend upon our weapons to save our lives, we should always be sure of their functionality and dependability.

[DE50MAC1045]

I clean mine after shooting and that's it. Field strip, CLP barrel, guide rod and spring and inside of slide, hit everything with a brush, wipe dry and a light coat of Rem oil on the barrel and I'm done.

This is the same process I use except I lube it back up with 5w-20 motor oil when I am done.

[MagRelease]

I clean my pistol after every use typically... Whether or not I "should," i'm not entirely certain... I just like to keep it clean inside and out, but if it is not dirty at all I make it a very brief cleaning.. A little oil on the barrel, keeping everything relatively dry, and presto... Never had a failure of any kind yet.

[RXM]

Rifles: Do not clean the barrel until your accuracy starts to suffer. There is actually something called good fouling. Once your grouping starts to open up, you should start cleaning your barrel using which ever method you like. Everything else in the rifle can be cleaned (e.g., bolt carrier group, lower receiver, upper receiver, etc).

Handguns: Same thing as with rifles - only clean inside the bore when accuracy starts to open up. The slide and stuff can be cleaned after every trip - esp true if you carry and you want to make sure the gun is free of lint and other debris.