Maintenance: how often and well do you clean?

[Kent]

When I was young with lots of time and few guns they were cleaned regularly even if not fired.

Now it seems I clean the bore and wipe down the rest quickly. I don't get it spotless just ensure function and prevent rust.

[RRotz]

always after firing the weapon and maybe 60-120 days in between if not fired. you can easily over clean a firearm, i don't know how but it can be done by obsessive people like me. so i try to let the gun sit in its sock and GI soft paratroopers individual weapons case for a period of time in between cleanings.

[Rivrrat]

Asap after I shoot. And like RRotz I'll break everything down (basiclly field strip) every 4-6 mos inspect and oil. I recently relocated from Seattle to Tucson, in Seattle I tore em down and lubed em because they would start to rust. Here in Tucson I do it to clean out the dust that accumulates.

[LAFAL]

immediately or day of firing. Then once again next few days when time permits. Store them in a dehumidified gunsafe with LIGHT coat of nitrosolvent or breakfree on them. Also a dab of grease on the bearing/camming surfaces of bolts,carriers, etc. Gas systems dry. Periodically inspect and rewipe cause I don't get to exercise them like I use to.

[faldoc]

For guns I seldom or never shoot, I swab the bore every 6 months or so, and wipe down the exposed metal parts. I leave a small light on in the closet the gunsafe is in as a warmer/dehumidifier.

For shooting guns:
Frequent shooters like a stainless Paraordnance, every 700 to 1000 rounds or so, maybe every 3 outings, as it is a pain to do it each time. Blued guns get cleaned every time. All guns to be cleaned get sprayed with Rem-oil immediately after shooting. Never spray with a bore cleaner and leave it for hours! It will eat up certain finishes, and you don't know which until you see the etching. My Colt bolt carrier is a mess from Remington bore cleaner which I left on for a couple of days.

Of course, for my valuable or preban "evil" guns, I clean them every time I go out, and every time I handle them if blued. If a bore gets dusty it gets swabbed. I keep a loose cover on the muzzle for guns stored upright to keep dust out, as this attracts moisture. A tight cover prevents air from circulating, increases risk of corrosion. In 29 years and counting, no rusted guns.

[ANON]

I clean mine every time I shoot them. The only one that doesn't get this treatment is a smith and wesson semi auto pistol. Don't know why, maybe it has something to do with pride in ownership. It's stainless and alloy so it'll probably stay in good shape anyway.

[Finnbear]

I clean my weapons of course after every outting, I clean them like they just came off the assy. line only cleaner.
I have used many different cleaners - just lately I tried Tetra gun seems to do just as they said - infact, I have never seen such a good bore cleaner as there's ! Makes Sweets and the rest out dated - REALLY.
I live in the NW, the weathers damp alot - so I lube the rifles every month or so - Better than pitting for just a little work.

[Chessman]

Gosh, judging by the replies from everyone else, I must be really bad!

I'm lazy when it comes to cleaning military-type rifles. They were made to withstand abuse, so that's how I treat them. None are collector items, they're shooters. I put a lot of rounds through my guns, here's my methods:

AK47's - I only clean when I feel guilty which is about every 6 months or so. I have friends who never (and I mean never) clean their AK's. That gun can go for 100,000 rounds, with a handful of dirt in the action and no lubrication, and still keep working.

FAL - Every couple of range trips, and a light cleaning at that. There's always a small amount of dust and dirt in the receiver but it never seems to matter. Maybe I'd clean more often if it was a collector FAL, but with these parts guns, why bother?

AR15's - Again, every 2-4 range trips, depending on how lazy (or guilty) I feel. I did a torture test on an SP1 carbine, putting about 1000 rounds through it, sandwiched between a tactical rifle course where we were rolling around in dirt and dust and getting our rifles really messy. The AR15 just keep right on cycling, no problems with cheapy reloads or SA military ammo. I finally cleaned it when I felt guilty.

Glocks - cleaning? Heck, after breaking in the barrel with G-lube, just run 1 dry patch through the barrel and wipe off the breech face. Glocks work forever with minimal maintenance.

Bolt guns - well, that's where things change. Those get cleaned after every trip, and sometimes between groups at the range. There -- I don't treat all my guns so horribly. http://www.fnfal.com/forums/smile.gif


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Regards,
Jim, The Chessman
1. e4 c5! 0-1

[James]

I very seldom clean my guns. I shoot almost every weekend during the summer months. That involves between 2 and 4 pistols and 3 to 6 rifles. Maybe a shotgun every now and then. Some of these I may shoot 30 rounds and some may get 300 rounds shot through them. Since I shoot some of the same guns each week I would be spending more time cleaning them than shooting. I have a Ruger 10/22 and Mark II that I never clean. The majority of my guns are shooters that already have wear and tear on them. I do wipe down the outside and do some maintance here and there but that's about it. If I know that I will not be shooting a particular gun for several months or more then I do try to clean that one up.

[Timber Wolf]

I'm sure glad some other slackers posted as I was beginning to feel pretty bad! I clean my guns when they fail to function. Other than that they get a little lube and wipe down. I am blessed with dehumidified secure storage and have no rust problem. Was not always like this as I used to fight rust constantly during my moblie home days. Worried a lot about theft too. Had about a third as many guns as I have now.

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First rule of gunfighting, "Have a gun!".
Timber Wolf, N.R.A. Endowment Member

[ANON]

Chessman--I hope your not using corrosive ammo in your guns...I don't and I still clean mine religiously, cuz that's the way my dad taught me http://www.fnfal.com/forums/smile.gif
Here's my reasoning for cleaning frequently...it increases the useful life of your firearm.
as for the 100,000 ak with dirt added...I guess it's ok for an ak http://www.fnfal.com/forums/smile.gif
I know my parts kit fals can last longer than I'll be alive if I maintain them properly
If it's clean, I have no doubt about it functioning (very important)
If it's not, I really wouldn't want that 100,001th round to be the one that jams when I really need it to go bang
A parting question...If you had a 69 camaro or vette, would you go 100,000 miles before cleaning it? How often would you change the oil, I'm sure they could go 10,000 miles between changes, but would you want to?

[Mark_308]

I clean everything a day or two after getting back from the range. I'll clean the bore of the Rem 700 PSS before I leave the range; the FAL is OK till I get home. If I haven't shot more than 50 rounds through a pistol, it can wait until next time. My wife and I like to sit down and watch "Tales of th Gun" on the History channel while we clean everything we shot; gets us in the right mood.

Riverat, you say you moved to Tucson recently. If you read this, give me a holler if you want to go out and shoot up the desert sometime.

[fireman]

Clean 'em???? You're s'pose to clean 'em??????

Aw, crap!!!

:-)

[Chessman]

Me, a slacker? Thanks Timber Wolf! http://www.fnfal.com/forums/smile.gif In fact, at work we joke around that if you clean your AK47, you'll ruin it and it probably won't work!

ANON: No, I don't use corrosive ammo. I'm careful to make sure I never do, otherwise yes, a good cleaning with soapy water would be necessary.

Most of my guns are shooters, not collectors. Some people never clean, while some are fanatical about meticulous cleaning after every range trip, even if they only put a few rounds through it. I think I'm somewhere in the middle. For example, Glocks simply don't need a lot of cleaning or lubrication. OTOH, I clean my S&W model 29 (44mag) after every range trip (which isn't too often). For that case, I can't stand the thought of my "Dirty Harry" gun being unclean.

Interesting your analogy to classic cars like an old vette or camaro. I had a 1967 big block vette for several years. It was a classic, so I took good care of it. I was fanatical about maintenance and kept a log, with receipts, of everything I did to the car. But the analogy to cleaning our guns doesn't match. If my guns were classics, I'd take better care of them. But they're not, so I give them a cleaning when I think they need it, but otherwise I'd rather shoot them more than I clean them. My precision bolt guns are a different matter, so I spend much more time meticulously cleaning them after a range trip.

As it turns out, yesterday I bought a very nice FAL from ARS. It may be a parts gun, but it's just plain beautiful with a very smooth action and a trigger that kills my notion of all military guns having lousy triggers. So who knows, I may (will?) end up taking much better care of this one than my junker Century L1A1. http://www.fnfal.com/forums/smile.gif


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Regards,
Jim, The Chessman
1. e4 c5! 0-1

[BUFF]

I guess it depends a lot on where you live and what you are shooting, both gun and ammo.

I used to enjoy cleaning my guns, but those days seem to have gone the same way as my pants with 34" waists....

I live in the Rocky Mountains. Don't let the alpine-like mountain views on TV and in the travel brochures, er, brocheures, er, pamphlets fool you, we are a desert. My state gets 16" rain a year. Humidity is pretty low all of the time. Unless you get your gun rained on or your trunk is already full of moisture, rust is rarely a problem with most guns here.

My corrosion problems are mostly from concealed carry. I avoid rust by picking guns that are corrosion resistant, usually stainless steel or ss and alloy contruction. They get shot regularly, and I don't like to carry a dirty gun (can't at work), so these get cleaned after being shot. My AR-15 gets the same treatment, as does my employer's M-16. I may need those guns for serious.

The rest of my guns get less cleaning. If it is a gun I shoot recreationally frequently, it only gets cleaned when it begins to choke. I have a Ruger 10/22 that I bought in 1975 that I have never cleaned since it was new! Still waiting for it to start jamming.

If it is a match gun, I clean it before a match, and as often as I can between practice sessions.

If it is a hunting rifle, I clean it and put it away at the end of the hunting season.

If it is a new gun (to me or brand new) I clean it good when I first get it, as much to see how it works as anything. I go shoot it, then, I clean it and put it in the safe.

When going to shoot recreationally, I often find my self initially deciding to take such and such a gun, and then put it back because it is clean and I don't want to clean it again after shooting it!

I clean any gun before taking it to the gunsmith, so he won't realize I am a slob!

I lived in upstate New York for a couple of years. I acquired an Ithaca 1911A1 while there, which I was warned to keep oiled because of the humidity. I noticed shooters there were religious about cleaning and oiling their guns, because the rust monster would get them if they didn't.

I guess I am lazy. My wife says so. I prefer to think of myself as an energy conservationist.

BUFF
"Will Rogers never met Al Gore."

[RABIDFOX]

I clean my guns as soon as I get back from the range. Sometimes due to other things, I have to wait to clean them. I never go longer than 2 days after I shoot them.

[bykerhd]

I use to be a very religious scrub it till it gleams and then scrub some more kind of guy. I've backed off from that a lot as I've gotten farther into milsurps and black rifles. Unless it's corrosive, I usually run a few patches wet with Break Free and then wipe them down. Except for gas systems, of course. Haven't seen any sign of problems and I'm likely doing less damage to the bores by not over cleaning.

[jerrymrc]

Kind of what BUFF says. I do clean every few months but when it comes to the corrosive issue I have let the guns sit just to see what (if anything) came about.

Nothing. Just a little black dust like normal. No rust, No green shit. No corrosion.
I guess thats what living with no humidity will do for you. Now when I was growing up in Oregon....

[squid8286]

I am pretty anal about cleaning any weapon I own from the cheapest .22 to the most expensive "assault rifle." I field strip them, and get all the crud out of the barrel and action that I can. I mean ALL OF IT! Then I put an oily swab down the barrel, and lightly oil the moving parts of the action. Actually I grease the moving parts of my rifles, and I use CLP on my handguns.

[Super B]

My Mausers, which shoot corrosive 8mm, get cleaned at the range while warm. I use GI "milky" bore cleaner at the range. Then I take them home and clean them again w/ Hoppes copper solvent. I finish off with a wet patch of Liquid Wrench penetrating oil w/ Teflon down the bore.

My FALs wait till I get home and get field stripped and cleaned w/ Hoppes. They also get sprayed down w/ Liquid wrench, and greased occasionaly w/ Tetra.

[W.E.G.]

Wow.

Sombody bumped a thread that Chessman posted to.

Not that it has anything to do with cleaning guns, but Chessman has THE most righteous FAL tattoo of any I have ever seen.

I wish we could get him to post a pic of it again.

[cthulhu138]

I cleaned my FAL after the first time I shot it.
Then I cleaned it some time later after it fell in muddy water. I cleaned it this year because I duracoated it. So, once every year and a half. Usually a good 500 or so rounds between cleanings.

I don't clean my glocks very often either.

My match AR-15 that I use for service rifle matches, I clean that every time it goes out. Really, really clean. Bore paste, picks in the lugs and all. But if it comes out of the safe, it usually shoots a minimum of 100 rounds if you count fouling rounds and sighters.

Other stuff falls somewhere in the middle. I try to take good care of blued stuff, as it will bite you on the ass the fastest. I also wipe down hunting rifles that just came in from the damp cold really quick too.

[macvsog]

This thread has helped me allot with my obssessive disorder when thinking I need to clean every weapon after every time I shoot it. The only exception is when using corrosive or ammo of questionable source. The thread below is for "breaking in barrels" but I think you can use the philosophy for cleaning also. What Gale said was always gospel to me and still is. Hope this helps all.


www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=12582

[Frontman]

I can't fire a weapon without cleaning it thoroughly when I get off the range. My grandfather was a stable sergeant in the cavalry, and he's the one who taught me to shoot, and to clean (and I mean clean!) a gun after shooting it.

6 years in the Army myself only reinforced the habit.

[fordruid]

Every time I shoot them and a good wipe-down and mechanism lube with oil twice a year.
Stored in a safe with desicant.

[B. B. Ryan]

We're not far from Boston so the humidity can be quite high, even in the winter time. It's alway typical New England weather-quite unpredictible so with that in mind we clean right after the shooting session. Quite frankly due to laziness, old age, chronic arthritis in both shoulder and just recovering from abdominal surgery but not having enough brains to stay away from the range, we've been using Mobil 1 to both clean and lube. Acutally we started using Mobil 1 in the full autos many years ago and was just pleased beyond description how well it works on firearms in general. Does not take metal off of metal (such as copper out of the bore) but with a tooth brush steel wool and rag takes all the carbon & gunk off the parts. Wipe down and lubricate. Does not effect blue, parkarized or SS finishes either.

Happy holidays.

J

[bluzjamer]

Clean guns!!!!!! Ok....wife says Ok, right after she finishes cleaning bike!!!
Jeeezz!!!!!:whiskey:

[hagar]

Between gall bladder surgery and taking time off, I was off work for 4 weeks in December, and I took the time to inspect and clean all my guns. Took about all of my spare time, and a can of Ballistol spray, a bottle of Sweets 7.62 and Kroil. One thing I am anal about is copper in the bore. I have bought old milsurp rifles and literally cleaned them for a week to get all of the copper out. Ballistol seems
to do a good job keeping the rust monster at bay.

[gunplumber]

Yesterday I went to a shoot and put

1200 rounds through the PKM
500 rounds through the M16
500 rounds through the AK 74
200 rounds through the FAL
200 rounds through the G3K
200 rounds split between 2 22 rifles.

all on full auto

I should have cleaned last night, but I was lazy.


This morning I am filling my utility sink with hot water and simple green, primarily for the PKM since I assume all 7.62x54 to be corrosive.

I will dunk in the hot water and simple green and scrub with a medium nylon floor brush.

I will then rinse and blow any water residue off with an air compressor.

Then I will dunk the parts completely in a 5 gal bucket of eds red **

I will then put the barrels in the vice while they are still dripping and run a brush down the bore about ten times, and then patches till they come out clean. If 5 patches don't come out clean, I"ll repeat. with more eds red and bore brush.

Then I wipe everything else dry.

Total estimated time to clean all the guns - 1 hour.

There is no drill sergeant telling me there is a spec of dust somewhere, so I clean for purpose and function, not for a white glove inspection.

I may need to scrape carbon, which will add to the time, but only if it appears to need it for function, not simply because there is a slight trace.

I don't have the luxery of 3-4 hours scheduled for weapons maintenance every time they are shot, as in the military.









** 1gal odorless mineral spirits, 1 galwhite kerosene, 1 gal trany fluid, 1 can of lanolin (shoe care)

original receipe includes 1 gal acetone which is too volitile for inside use in my opinion.

[SSR85C2]

I usually clean mine a day or two after shooting it. I leave a coating of oil on the inside and outside at ALL TIMES. Keeps the rifle from even thinking about rusting.

If I havent shot them in a couple months or so, I will take them out and visually inspect them and do what needs to be done. ;

[lhofeld]

Depends on the gun. Guns that I need to function or have had corrosive ammo through them will be cleaned the same day as they were shot. Shooters will be cleaned with in a few days. If I am going to shoot with in a week or so it will go into the safe with a light coat of Hoppes down the bore. If it is long term storage the bore goes into the safe wet with Hoppes or oil, all external non-coated metal will be wiped down and left wet. All muzzles are covered to prevent dust from settling in at the muzzle. Non shooters are stored the same. Every 6-9 months they get field stripped as much for inspection as anything, wiped down swabbed and then prepped and stored again.

[Fr8dawg]

Originally posted by Timber Wolf
I'm sure glad some other slackers posted as I was beginning to feel pretty bad! I clean my guns when they fail to function. Other than that they get a little lube and wipe down. I am blessed with dehumidified secure storage and have no rust problem. Was not always like this as I used to fight rust constantly during my moblie home days. Worried a lot about theft too. Had about a third as many guns as I have now.

------------------
First rule of gunfighting, "Have a gun!".
Timber Wolf, N.R.A. Endowment Member


I put my SAR-48 into my old man's possesion as part collateral on a loan. The old man had it for about 5 years or so before I got the firearm back, and it was then that I realized that it hadn't been cleaned before storing it at his place.

It cleaned up real nice, the chrome parts wiped off clean, the bore is shiny, the paint looks good, the exterior is in excelent shape.

[IronSkegge]

Ed's red is the best.

I skip the lanolin, keep the acetone, and add a pint of naptha. I like to use it for dipping mags.

[salty]

SEMI's :Bore after every shoot (except 54R's - then before I leave range) - gas system every 400- 500 rounds - action / trigger group wipe down after use and at least twice per year. Bolts - after every use as they are so easy. Pistols - bore after every use (except 22's) and actions after 2-3 uses.