How often do you clean your firearms?

[sharkey]

I would post more in this thread, but the voices in my head say I should go clean guns.

Sometimes........ you should listen to them.

 

[PhilB]

I normally field strip and clean my guns after every shooting session. The only exception is my Ruger .22/45 cause it is a PAIN in the A** to put back together after field stripping. I clean it but don't strip it down. Took me 90 minutes to put it back together the first time.

 

[Toole]

Daily..... damn sand
No but when I had my glock, I would pretty much only clean it after taking it to the range, otherwise all it would get would be a quick dust off if it got dirty under my seat somehow.

 

[Toole]

double post.

 

[superjoe76]

After every shoot. I just can't help it! Someday I might need that thing to save a life and it better perform perfectly. As long as I clean it, I know I did my part, the rest is up to the gun!

 

[Bapak2ja]

My pistols get cleaned after every trip to the range. I remove slide, barrel, and clean/oil appropriately. Nothing more. If I go further, I will never get it back together. Long guns get a bore snake and I clean the action that I can reach without further disassembly. So far, everything is working.

 

[mmorph55]

For me it depends on the weapon and when I am going to shoot it next. If I am not going to be shooting it for a while then it gets a cleaning. If its going back to the range in a day or two then it will wait until 3 or 4 trips to the range.

 

[Taylorz71]

Always after shooting or when something on TV p*sses me off and I need a good stress reliever. If they don't quit putting Barack Hussein on to annoy me, I'm going to have the cleanest guns on Earth......

I have to agree with all of this. Well said ......

 

[justjoe]

Talking to a buddy at work and I asked if he had any problems taking his new rifle apart to clean. He told me "I have only shot 50-75 rounds thru it so no need yet" That freaks me out! You have grim and dirty sitting in side the gun.

Everybody missed one thing in the op's original post. Always clean a new rifle/pistol/shotty before shooting it. Factory's always overgrease new firearms, and some of the mil-surplus stuff has enough grease in the barrel to cause a catastrophic failure. Clean any firearm that is new to you to ensure the bore is clean and familiarize yourself with the gun. As to what I shoot on a regular basis, I usually clean them after a range day, like clean guns and like to clean my guns

 

[nailknocker]

I have a Remington Nylon 66 that I bought in 1963, (mowed yards all summer), that has never, I repeat, never been cleaned or had a drop of oil in it's inner workings. As I recall the manual stated that because of it's nylon construction that it wasn't necessary up to about 100,000 rounds, I'm not quite there yet. I have never had a gun related failure.

 

[Bunnykid68]

I throw the Glock in the washer once a year whether it needs it or not.

 

[squirrelhntr]

firearms have always been pretty costly even for the cheaper brands. i think its a good idea to clean them every time they are shot. keep em in good shape at the ready. kinda like takin care of your ride if u need it everyday.

 

[03A3]

With the exceptions of corrosive ammo and precision bolt action rifles I don't do alot of actual cleaning unless I've been into a bunch of mud, dirt, dust, sawdust ect.
I do use a chamber brush on some semi-auto rifles from time to time.
Most of my efforts go into corrosion protection (Birchwood Casey "Sheath").

 

[thecollector]

Cleaning

I never let my pistols sit around without cleaning after shooting, but, but, but, I had recently read a article about rifles getting tighter groups after putting about 50 rds. through them. Tried it, and it is true. Hate leaving a dirty gun sit, but if you are going to go out and shoot at something at a distance, your groups will be tighter if you leave the gun dirty and sighted in. I know I will get a lot of ugly messages about this, but it is true, up to a certain point in your round count anyways. You have to find out what that count is on your gun, they will all be different. But of course when done shooting for a extended amount of down time, gun is clean.

 

[Indy574]

It is just good practice to clean after you shoot. It can also be a teaching lesson when you envolve family members...aka your kids, in the taking care of the things you enjoy to use, whether it is a firearm or your lawnmower. It will also give them basic knowledge on how a firearm operates. Kids are like sponges and it is amazing what they remember from the time before.

 

[stroyed]

I would definately clean and lightly oil the barrel/chamber after each trip to the range. Complete teardowns would be dependent on how many rounds and quality of the ammo.

 

[jrm400]

Each and every shoot.

The army taught me how to shoot, and how to maintain my weapon. No weapon was returned uncleaned from the field.

I'm an older guy now (56) and have been cleaning my personal firearms after shooting them. Some of them are getting old but still look and function like new because of this practice, and I have had few issues over the years.

 

[Deet]

I clean after every target trip and at the end of the hunting season my shotgun gets a coating of wd40 for storage. It has worked for 40 years, so it must be ok.

 

[Destro]

your supposed to clean them?

 

[Suprtek]

For me it depends on a lot of different things. What kind of gun, what kind of ammo, what conditions I was shooting in, among other things. Most modern firearms don't need as much attention as many people think. However, it doesn't hurt to be familiar with how your firearms break down so you can deal with any issues that may come up. As some have mentioned, excessive dis-assembly an reassembly can lead to extra wear and even damaged if done improperly. In short, to me this isn't just a yes or no question. I just use my best judgement at the time.