Poll: Gun cleaning

[EZ Bagger]

100 to 125 in a typical match plus two range days at 400 each day. Then I clean before the next match. The open guns will run for many more rounds than that, but I like to keep 'em pretty.

[wooddog]

Last season, just to sat I did it, I decided not to clean my STI open gun all year (April 07 - April 08). I didn't get to shoot alot during the season but managed at least one match or practice per month. Maybe 2500 rounds total. No malfunctions.

Not to say its a good idea not to clean, just a little over rated.

[G-ManBart]

I don't have one set answer for that one. After I've shot a gun a while and know it's habits I'll usually go to cleaning maybe every thousand rounds and before any big matches. I do this more to check for worn or broken parts than to clean anything. If the chamber isn't gunked up and the firing ping and extractor tunnels aren't full of gunk, the gun should run 100% with normal powder and lube fouling in it.

The one thing I avoid, at all costs, is starting a match with a freshly cleaned gun. Just because it worked before you took it apart and cleaned it doesn't mean it'll work after you've done all that to it. At the very least I'll try to run 100 rounds through the gun before any match if it's just been cleaned. That's worked fine for all of my guns....Open, Limited and Single Stack. At one point I think I had about 3.5K through my Limited gun and had to clean it before a big match, but it was running fine and really wasn't all that dirty (N320 and MG bullets help there).

[boz1911]

45DV8 won't be able to participate in this poll...........there is no "never" box to check.....

[XD Niner]

I usually go between 1000 and 1250 on my Open guns. I shoot IMR4756 and Zero or Montana Gold JHP bullets. I use Slide Glide Lite for a lube. The guns seem to run just fine at this cleaning frequency. I use patches and Blue Wonder to clean the bore but not a brush. Fire the next bullet down it and it will be dirty again.

I always clean it a few days before a major match. I then take it to the range and run 100 to 200 rounds through it to verify that it is functioning properly and that the zero is still dead on.

[HSMITH]

3-5K on my limited guns. I should clean the top end on my Open gun every 700-1000 rounds, but they usually end up going way over 2K rounds before cleaning too.

[Joseph796]

What type of gun and how many rounds between cleanings? How many rounds before failure due to dirty conditions/complications?

Glocks, 5K+ rounds. Failure at 0 rounds due to dust/dirt/lube combination in ME, none due to shooting residue.

HKs, same. One failure after reloading with a mag that dropped in mud, fired 3x before failure.

ARs, 5-10K rounds. No failures due to ammo gunk.

Sigs, 1K+ rounds. Failure due to spring breaking, none due to ammo gunk.

M60s, 10K+ rounds.

Berettas, 5K+ rounds. Only failure due to improper reassembly.

I am a clean freak. I clean my guns (Glocks, 2011's, AR-15's) after every use!

[rvb]

I have a beretta that I practice with that currently has 20k+ since it was last cleaned. I put a drop of lube on each wing of the locking block from time to time and that's it.

The beretta I shoot in matches gets cleaned <2k and a drop of lube about every other time it goes out.

open gun gets cleaned <1k.

I have an AR I built that I put ~2k through before cleaning for the first time. First failure was at a match when the gas tube pin fell out of the front sight base (didn't have any spares on hand when I built it and got lazy and re-used an old pin) I cleaned it then while I had it apart.

Guns that I only shoot once or twice per year get cleaned when they get put away.

So I didn't know how to vote in the poll since about all the answers were right... depending...

-rvb

[AikiDale]

I thought 'Clean' meant getting all 'A' hits?

[ChrisStock]

I thought 'Clean' meant getting all 'A' hits?

yeah...what he said

CCW pistol... after every practice, as getting crap on my dress shirts tends to hack me off.

M&P .40 .... around the 1 K mark usually, but it depends on what load I've been shooting...some of mine are dirtier than others.

1911 ... well... hasn't been cleaned other than the feed ramp since..... well... February.... a few thousand rounds ago

[notasccrmom]

For me it depends on how you define cleaning. I field strip and clean the bore on my G34 after every match. I shoot lead through it, so I keep it clean to be safe. If I shot jacketed exclusively, it would get taken apart almost never. I've only been doing a full detail strip twice a year or so to clean out the trigger parts and keep it feeling smooth.

[Shay1911]

I never put an uncleaned gun back in the safe.

[Bill Nesbitt]

I was showing one of my guns to a buddy one time. He said: Bill, this can't be your gun. It's clean.

[Singlestack Dan]

I was showing one of my guns to a buddy one time. He said: Bill, this can't be your gun. It's clean.

LoL!

Cleaning is a part of my shooting ritual, and I find it relaxing and enjoyable. I clean the heater every time I shoot it.

[wlktheduk]

Wheelguns: dirt and/or "gunk" under extractor star and in chambers cost me some bragging rights back when I shot a lot of PPC matches, so I try to clean the wheelguns at least every 250 rounds.

Automatics: my Glock goes around 300 to 500 rounds between cleanings, but my single stack guns (Colt's) get cleaned more often.

CCW guns: after each practice season. She Who Must Be Obeyed has set very strict guidelines about dirty guns and clothes.....

[Flyin40]

STI Open gun, usually at the very least every 500rounds, sometimes more. I do clean it prior to every single match and if its a 2 day match I clean in before each day of shoot regardless if it only had 100 rounds through it.

Flyin

[ogiebb]

when i come home after a match i sit on my couch and clean what pistol i have used... been doing since the first day i owned a pistol

[reneet]

Shoot it til it jams, spray it with Breakfree, then shoot it some more..................

Keep that chamber clean, and they run forever.

+1

Limited gun - STI Long Slide . . . Somewhere around 2500-3000 rounds it'll start malfunctioning. I drop oil on the rails, barrel front & chamber and keep going until it completely pukes. It gets a complete top to bottom disassembly & cleaning before nationals. Oh, CRAP! That's coming up soon. Better get it out of the safe and clean it up.

Open gun - STI . . . Same as above but it usually goes more rounds before it starts jamming.

[kgunz11]

I have really acidic hands and while I might not completely break the gun down and clean it, I do have to take it out of the case and wipe it down real well. On my Edge I caused some pitting in the hard chrome because I shot in a match on Sunday and waited until Wednesday to clean it.

I will usually break the gun down and clean it thoroughly after 3 matches and all the practice in between. That averages about 1000 rounds or a little more between cleanings.

ETA: AR15s are cleaned within 1000 rounds, AR10's every 250.

Bolt guns are cleaned every 100 or so rounds. I've noticed pressure spikes and erratic velocity in the bolt gun around the 150 count. It's a lot more powder down the bbl in the bigger calibers and they require more frequent cleaning.

Edited August 21, 2008 by kgunz11

[Tom S.]

I was taught "Never let the sun go down on a dirty gun". I clean mine after I shoot them.

This has history behind it. In the days of black powder, you had better clean it or you might not be able to load it from the accumulation of crud the powder left, plus the barrel would rust very quickly. Even when black powder was dropped in favor of smokeless, the primers contained mercury fulminate that if left unattended would also rust and pit a barrel.

Today's powders and primers negate having to clean a gun so often. Still, old habits are hard to shake, and I still clean my firearms after a day of shooting.

[Steve J]

IMHO it's way too easy to keep your equipment clean and in good working order on a weekly basis. Waiting until something malfunctions or breaks to clean it and inspect it just doesn't make any sense to me.

[Vlad]

I never put an uncleaned gun back in the safe.

Well thats easy then .. just leave it dirty in your range bag.

[benny hill]

Every gun I own gets cleaned GOOD everytime is is used. Maybe thats why they run all the time. I don't like lapping the moveing parts with burnt gun powder.

[Seth]

Every gun I own gets cleaned GOOD everytime is is used. Maybe thats why they run all the time. I don't like lapping the moveing parts with burnt gun powder.

I'm betting that this statement changes the way that a LOT of folks clean their toys....

[el pres]

Every gun I own gets cleaned GOOD everytime is is used. Maybe thats why they run all the time. I don't like lapping the moveing parts with burnt gun powder.

Altough I may like a DIRTY CHAMBER I'm for the most part with Benny on this one. I may not clean it "Good"

everytime but I clean it a lot, and it always runs !! Infact I've gotten some crap before, something about avocating

"overcleaning" ..

Handgun, every week

AR, about 250

Shotgun, well its a Benelli and they dont get dirty so, before a match !!