How often do you clean your firearms?

[red_zr24x4]

Since this thread- https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/ammunition-reloading/335137-ammo-recommendation-m1a.html got de-railed about how often you clean you firearms, I thought we might as well do a poll.
For me, pistols get cleaned every time I go shooting, rifles depend an how much I shoot but no more than every other time.

 

[copo]

normally every time I shoot, but my duty and EDC is bimonthly unless its really nasty out side then monthly.

 

[level0]

Typically after any significant use, which is pretty much any trip to the range. I say typically because I will occasionally not clean them intentionally just to check sustained performance, FTE, FTF, that kind of thing. Also depends on the gun. My Ruger can operate pretty dirty, my ISSC M22 pretty much needs an acid bath and lube shower after each magazine. Ok that's hyperbole to make a point, but it does not like to be dirty.

 

[Springer]

I like to clean both my handguns and my long guns after each use.

 

[BiscuitNaBasket]

normally every time I shoot, but my duty and EDC is bimonthly unless its really nasty out side then monthly.

Same. EDC & work gun cleaned bi monthly unless needed sooner. Also, after every range session.
I clean my Mosin when I pee down the barrel.

 

[possum_128]

On top of "after every use" I clean all of them (oil & wipe down) every three months or so.

 

[Trigger Time]

I used to do it after every use for both, but I have to honestly say it's been about every other time recently. I'm just so physically wore out after going to the range I just want to crash when I walk in the front door. I get to them the next day or two

 

[gregkl]

Depends on how many rounds I shoot at a session and what my frequency of going to the range is.

If I go to the range everyday on my lunch time and shoot for 20 minutes each time, I won't clean it daily. If I go one day and put a couple hundred rounds through it, I will clean it that night.

For shooting Trap, I will usually clean it after 3-4 sessions.

Right now I am seeing how many rounds I can get through my M&P 9 before I have a malfunction or I just can't take it anymore being dirty. I am just over 400 so far.

I do a detail clean once or twice a year depending on how much use it sees.

I will clean it if I am going to do some kind of event like a Steel Challenge or a class for instance.

 

[rvb]

from another thread:

if your high-dollar "investment" is worth what you paid for it, it'll work with some rounds between cleanings. lube it and shoot it. You aren't "protecting" it by cleaning after every box of ammo.

If you're using some junk ammo that forces you to clean more often (corrosive, leads the bore, doesn't seal the chamber, etc) then adjust and clean more often as necessary. Even in my reloads I use good jacketed bullets so I don't have to worry about leading (plated would work, too).

People love to brag how awesome and reliable their stuff is, but heaven forbid it get more than a couple hundred rounds through it... all confidence in their wundergun goes out the window. I'm confident in my stuff working after a couple k rounds downrange. Why? because I almost never clean a gun that has less than that through it. And they work.

I shoot a lot less than I used to, but I'm a competitive shooter. My expensive STI open gun w/ ~60k rounds down the pipe has seen about a dozen passes with a bore brush in its life. It was my most frequently cleaned pistol (about every 2k). I've got an AR I built recently for 3-gun w/ ~1k through it and it hasn't been cleaned yet. My "go-to" AR has several thousand rounds since its last cleaning. Currently competing w/ a G34... I cleaned it this winter, and it was the first cleaning all yr (around 5k rounds).

If cleaning is something you enjoy, go for it. Otherwise, add a drop of lube to critical surfaces (bolt/barrel lugs, slide rails, etc) and go shoot.

How does cleaning add wear to a gun? I'll leave this from one of the premier pistol barrel makers...
http://www.schuemann.com/Portals/0/Documentation/Webfile_Barrel_Cleaning.pdf
Also, I can point to countless examples of springs getting bent (the slide release spring on a glock or the firing-pin 'cotter' pin on an AR are classic/easy examples), roll pins loosening, people scratching their guns (eg "idiot" marks on a 1911), barrel crowns getting dinged by the steel center portion of their brass brush, etc etc.

I'm probably the extreme person to talk to about this. I've actually become superstitious on the topic to the point I won't carry or compete with a perfectly clean gun. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a-typical malfunctions in a clean gun. I remember going to an Area USPSA match one year... my gun (Beretta 92G EliteII) had many thousands of rounds through it (malfunction free), so I decided to clean it for this big match. First stage I had like 5 malfunctions, and none after that. Why?? Who knows. Maybe I bent a spring or something. Maybe I had dislodged a chunk of carbon and it moved someplace I didn't see but that hindered proper function. Whatever. At least it was just a match score that was wrecked and not a self defense use.....

-rvb

beretta 92 w/ 15-20k on it.... kinda messy....

 

[leftsock]

I will typically clean any firearm after use. For those firearms that don't get shot regularly, they'll receive at least one cleaning every year and will be inspected biannually. Most don't make it that far and will usually see some range time each year.

 

[leftsock]

Also, I do my post-usage cleaning because... I like to take my firearms apart. I like to see how they work. I enjoy learning about their operation. Cleaning is just a good time to get that all in at once.

 

[IndyGunworks]

I very seldom clean anything before i start loosing accuracy.... when accuracy falls off THEN its gets a very detailed cleaning

 

[metaldog]

I always clean my weapons after use & have taught my kids to do the same. About every 6 months, I clean anything in the safe that hasn't been used. Call me crazy, but I like to keep em in good condition.

 

[gregkl]

from another thread:

This is good. I guess I am on the right path. I used to keep my guns perfect. Now I actually shoot them. I used to clean every time I shot them. Now I wait until they have some rounds through them or I decide I want to clean them.

Next step is to increase the rounds shot before cleaning.

 

[horsehaulin]

Every use, 100-2000 rounds makes no difference. A clean gun is a running gun. Since I have been in the Army, I have never had a malfunction out of my rifles when they were clean, same goes for my sidearms. You can criticize those that "clean too often", but I have no fear of my weapons performing when I ask them to, ever. I also clean those that have not been pulled from the safe every three months to protect from moisture. But since I have started using a Froglube, that problem is a non issue.

 

[Mark 1911]

After every use.

For my EDC about once a month if I haven't shot it.

For the other guns in my safe, if they haven't been shot, then lubricate twice per year.

 

[Godbybe]

Bolt action target rifle- 500rds
Glock for IDPA- 500rds
Carry Glock- After each practice
Shotgun- 200rds

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I clean mine after every range trip. Semi-auto carry guns get cleaned (or at least wiped down and lubed) every couple of months even if they haven't been shot, just to eliminate any "holster gunk" that might have accumulated. I shoot a lot of corrosive ammo through my milsurp rifles, so they get a rinse before I leave the range (NOT the same method that BiscuitNaBasket uses! ) and then a regular cleaning when I get home. If I've only shot non-corrosive, then I'll sometimes wait until the next day.

 

[Jeremy1066]

Lubricate often and clean seldom.

 

[Manatee]

​Periodically

thank God bacon was spelled properly

word for the day: gerund