Frequency of cleaning beyond field strip?

[k2pichu]

Hi, I was cleaning my M&P9 2.0 the other day and I noticed the trigger area has some carbon on it. I was wondering how often you guys clean the trigger assembly and what's the best way of doing that. Do I even need to clean that area? Also how often do you take apart and clean all the parts in the slide (extractor, firing pin, etc)? I haven't found any videos or posts that talk about the frequency or process of cleaning beyond the regular field strip clean.

[iflyskyhigh]

I hardly ever clean guns. The polymer guns are built to run forever with very little cleaning. I have too many guns and I shoot too much. If I cleaned every time I shot I’d never get anything else done 

 

Maybe a field strip and quick wipe every few thousand rounds. Run a dry brush through the bore while it’s apart.

 

My CZ TSO I clean a little more often but it still requires very little.
 

2011/1911 maybe a different story.

 

Ammo and powder used make a difference in how clean the guns run as well. Titegroup is filthy but still doesn’t keep the gun from running.

 

Every once in a blue moon I’ll break the Glocks and M&P’s down and give ‘em a good cleaning, but that’s usually when they need some other maintenance and I’d be breaking it down anyway.

[VeilAndrew]

Seconded. You likely will not have to "deep clean" many of the modern production handguns. Just a quick field strip, wipe, brush, and lube if things get really bad. It's also worth seeing how you can lube up important contact points with just the slide locked back. I lube like that all the time on my CZs.

[Pure2j]

Point 1 tactics just posted some pictures of his 4.25 m&p with 80k on it without cleaning

[konkapot]

Part of cleaning is not just to clean but also to inspect. If you're shooting a lot, parts can/do break. Cleaning lets you see wear/breakage issues. 

 

M+P probably is a once a year detail strip. I did my Limited/Open guns about quarterly.

Edited October 28, 2022 by konkapot

[Zachjet]

3 hours ago, Pure2j said:

Point 1 tactics just posted some pictures of his 4.25 m&p with 80k on it without cleaning

Could you post the link

[SteelCityShooter]

About twice a year I "deep clean" my M&P 2.0 but I don't strip the receiver.  I use Birchwood Casey "Gun Scrubber - Synthetic Safe" to hoseout the receiver and let the excess drain onto a paper towel.   That flushes out all of the accumulated grime and old lube leaving everything spotless but bone dry.  I see no benefit to removing the internals as the Gun Scrubber does such a thorough job.   

 

Then I relube the internals with Breakfree CLP and lube the slide and receiver rails  with Brian Enos' "Slide-Glide" light grease.  

 

The gun has run flawlessly for thousands of rounds. 

[dtuns]

I hit the lower with hornady gun cleaner and lube every 500 rounds or so.

[k2pichu]

Thanks for the inputs. I normally just do a quick spray of cleaner on the slide, wipe, and oil the contact points. With the season wrapping up in the New England area, I figured this would be a good time to do any full strip/deep cleaning of the more internal parts. I agree with @konkapot's view that part of it is to inspect those parts and perform preventative maintenance on cheap wear parts. 

[Pure2j]

Here it is https://www.instagram.com/p/CkP1SCTOdie/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[Lior]

Good question. As a competition shooter I clean guns more than absolutely necessary - in the case of M&Ps after a thousand rounds or so. As far as detail stripping for cleaning is concerned, I will do it only on an opportune basis, i.e., if I pull out the trigger assembly or sear block for another reason. Since switching to optics on CORE models, the number of times I have removed the extractor to clean it and its channel has dropped to nearly zero. The guns still run flawlessly though.

 

[ryan45kim]

I detail clean my M&Ps two practices before a major or when it stops working. If you run them you will wear or break parts, I’d rather find issues at my bench then after a blown stage at a major. It’s rare that it’s needed, I consider it insurance. 

[Zachjet]

On 10/29/2022 at 11:49 PM, Pure2j said:

Here it is https://www.instagram.com/p/CkP1SCTOdie/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

This makes my skin crawl lol

[Yeti]

Once a year tops, unless I shoot in the rain. 

Even then I don't break it completely down.  I'll spray out the trigger group with CLP aerosol until it looks clean, then blow it out with modest air pressure.

[k2pichu]

On 11/6/2022 at 2:08 PM, ryan45kim said:

I detail clean my M&Ps two practices before a major or when it stops working. If you run them you will wear or break parts, I’d rather find issues at my bench then after a blown stage at a major. It’s rare that it’s needed, I consider it insurance. 

 

I know this is a subjective question, but what schedule do you use for replacing wear parts and springs? I'm in the same camp that I'd rather preventatively replace worn ports and find issues on my own time instead of at a major match. 

[ryan45kim]

I do not have a schedule for part replacement. When I do a detail clean I replace any broken or worn parts. Springs get replaced when they weaken. If you run a recoil spring 15lbs or above they seam to last forever. If you drop to a 13 or 11 replace the spring when it stops feeding. 
 

[Stafford]

On 10/29/2022 at 11:49 PM, Pure2j said:

Here it is https://www.instagram.com/p/CkP1SCTOdie/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

 

That’s really sludged up. Worst I’ve ever seen. Can’t see how that amount of buildup doesn’t slow down the slide action. 

[lgh]

When shooting 1911's a lot, I detail stripped and cleaned once a year. Replaced mag springs and followers once a year. OTW just wiped out what I saw with the slide open. Lubed rail, locking block, hammer, etc. Shooting Glocks, I field strip (5 seconds on a slow day) once in awhile, wipe, and relube. I use Weapon Shield. It's only been important to keep the feed ramps and chambers relatively clean.

 

Don't know how much of this applies to M&P but I might be getting one of the all metal versions so I watch this thread.

Edited April 8, 2023 by lgh

[Matt1911]

I’ll clean about every 6 months. 
usually apply a couple drops of oil every couple months.