How often should I clean my revolver?

[Second Ammendment]

I recently read several articles about how often I should clean my gun, leaving me thoroughly confused. My father was in the army and keeps his guns shining.
One of the articles talked like this is just old school and may actually damage your gun. They made it sound like most people clean their guns too often. Does any one have experience with this?

 

[SSGSAD]

Clean it when you want..... I clean after each use, (shooting), and once a year ..... I clean all .....

 

[Jackson]

If you shoot 38's through your .357 you should clean the cylinders every time out or at least fairly frequently. I've had enough junk build up that .357's didn't seat all the way. Other than that, I clean range guns when I notice performance issues. I clean carry guns more frequently but less than every time out. Probably less often than many.

 

[OutdoorDad]

Clean it when you want..... I clean after each use, (shooting), and once a year ..... I clean all .....

Yep.
As I get older, I clean less frequently.

But I also shoot less frequently.



I don't do laundry as much as I used to either.

 

[Mgderf]

How often do you wipe your backside?
After every use, or is that too often?

 

[Leo]

Some of the answer also depends on how long it is until you use it next. If it is your deer hunting revolver, and it will sit unused until next deer season, clean it an oil it before you put it away, even of you only fired one shot. If you are going to shoot it next Saturday, and it is not dripping wet or too filthy to run properly, you can get by without cleaning it. A revolver that shoots a lot of waxy lube cast bullets will fire less rounds before cleaning than a semi auto shooting jacketed bullet ammo. As mentioned, if you are shooting .38 spl or .44 spl in a magnum revolver, the residue inside of the cylinders can get built up pretty fast.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Clean your revolver. That's not code for something else, right?

MGDerf Prolly has the best answer. Do you WANT a dirty gun?

 

[oldpink]

I recently read several articles about how often I should clean my gun, leaving me thoroughly confused. My father was in the army and keeps his guns shining.
One of the articles talked like this is just old school and may actually damage your gun. They made it sound like most people clean their guns too often. Does any one have experience with this?

Yes, clean every time, but I qualify that statement by saying that you really can damage your gun if you do it improperly or use substandard or incorrect equipment.
For one, skip the stainless bore brushes, unless you like scratching your bore.
I have no idea why the cleaning equipment companies get away with selling those.
Also, skip the multi-piece rods that screw together, but instead get the one-piece stainless, spring steel, or carbon fiber rods.
Make sure that you minimize or eliminate rubbing your cleaning rod with the bore, especially at the crown, cleaning from the breech end if possible and using a bore guide if you must clean from the muzzle.
As long as you're doing it right, you'll only extend your gun's longevity by cleaning each time.

 

[dirtybird]

How often do you wipe your backside?
After every use, or is that too often?

Always after every use. The brown stains are a pain to get out if you don't.

 

[Drail]

A stainless brush made for bore cleaning is much softer than the steel in the barrel.

 

[oldpink]

A stainless brush made for bore cleaning is much softer than the steel in the barrel.

Even a stainless barrel?
It's your gun barrel.
Bronze phosphor brushes do a remarkably good job, and with not a doubt that they're softer than barrel steel, be it chrom-molybdenum or stainless.
I'm not risking mine.

 

[gregkl]

I used to be crazy about keeping my firearms cleaned and well lubed. Now, like Leo says I clean depending on use. If I was to shoot it once a year, I would clean it after the one time shooting it. If I am going to shoot it every weekend, I would wipe it off, run a bore snake down the barrel, add some lube and have it ready for next weekend.

At the end of the season, I will do a detail strip, clean and lube every part and put it away safe, clean and warm until next season.

When I started shooting Trap with my autoloader, I would clean it each week. Then I got to the point that I would clean it when the bolt wouldn't lock open which was about 200 shells.

The exception to this is if I get dirty handling it, then I will clean it.

 

[Hopper]

I recently began using Flitz Bore Cleaner on my wheel guns. It doesn't take much on a small nylon brush (like an old toothbrush) to make quick work of the the forcing cone, and burn marks on the cylinder face. I also use it on patches for the barrel and in the cylinders. Really makes cleaning up stainless revolvers a snap.

 

[Tombs]

Shouldn't require much cleaning if you don't mind it looking ratty. As someone already said, if you switch between 38 specials and 357 magnum, make sure you keep the chambers spotless.

If you shoot a lot of lead, make sure to clean the forcing cone and the barrel very well. Try to keep the star on the back of the cylinder clear of debris, as well as under the ejector star. Other than that, it's mostly cosmetic.

 

[Drail]

No, it's actually not mostly cosmetic. Powder fouling and oil works on your gun just like lapping compound. You need to get that crap out of there whenever you get a chance.

 

[oldpink]

No, it's actually not mostly cosmetic. Powder fouling and oil works on your gun just like lapping compound. You need to get that crap out of there whenever you get a chance.

QFT

 

[Seancass]

Depending on the gun, it varies from every 50 shots up to about once every three thousand shots. I try to clean them often enough to keep the rust to a minimum. Generally clean whenever either form or function is no longer satisfactory for some reason.

 

[88E30M50]

How often I clean a gun depends on what gun. Also, some guns get a deep cleaning after each range trip and others just get a boresnake pulled through and wiped down. Revolvers get a good cleaning after I shoot them. When I shoot a Glock, it usually gets a boresnake pulled through and then put away, but revolvers just don't feel right to me being dirty. My 1911s fall somewhere between the others.

 

[Ngdonut]

I typically clean my revolver after every use, if nothing else at least the cylinder and a brief action cleaning to keep everything running buttery smooth. I dont worry about the bore quite as much, unless I know I wont be shooting it for a few months.

 

[Psode27]

Its a revolver, I would err on the side of clean. The worst case scenario is that you regret the 5 min you took to clean your revolver...
i clean the stuff I shoot every time I go out just because. I clean everything I own once a year. If something is a defensive weapon, I generally think cleaner is a better option than dirty. Not to say I wouldn't trust a dirty firearm, I do, but I would rather have a clean one.