How Do You Care for Your Firearms?

[Bird]

Maybe it's just my old memory, but in spite of a lot of talk on TBN about handguns and carrying them, I don't recall seeing much, if anything, about cleanining and lubricating them.

My dad was by far the best shot I've ever seen with a .22 rifle and he kept it loaded all the time in their bedroom closet. It was used frequently for squirrels and rabbits, less frequently for bullfrogs, and occasionally to kill a hog or calf, but he only rarely cleaned it. I still have that rifle and to the best of my knowledge, it's never malfunctioned.

I, on the other hand, clean and lubricate all of my guns every time they're shot, and always have. The last time I went to qualify, I was the only retiree along with a dozen active duty officers and before we started, the instructor in the classroom went through all the usual rules including what to do if a gun malfunctioned and what would and would not be acceptable as an alibi in the event of a malfunction. He did mention that a malfunction, or jam, due to a lack of lubrication would not be acceptable as an alibi.

So what do others do? How often do you clean and lubricate your guns?

 

[whistlepig]

I wipe them all down after I shoot them. I clean the bores on the center fires and the shotguns every time I shoot them. I only lubricate them only when the actions appear close to dry. I have seen some very fine wooden stocks ruined by over lubrication. I rarely clean the bores on my .22 rim fires.

 

[Marveltone]

If I'm shooting very much during the course of the day (20+ rounds), I'll run a Bore-Snake through the barrel periodically at the range until I get home. I like to give a fairly thorough cleaning once I'm in for the evening; bore, cylinders, any sliding or pivot points. (Pipe cleaners really work well for getting into tight places.) I then use a tiny shot of Rem Oil in all the working parts, followed by a wipe-down of the whole gun with a cloth that has been lightly treated with Rem Oil.

Just my little personal routine.

Joe

 

[Bill Barrett]

Like you, everytime.

 

[RoyJackson]

Pretty much the same as what you do with a few exceptions:

1) The Glocks don't get cleaned too often and lubed too often (not much to lubing a Glock). There is some discussion on firearms related sites as to the benefit of cleaning a Glock too often.
2) AR-15: Also some controversy about cleaning these rifles too often. Some "authorities" (take that with a grain of salt) suggest putting 400-600 rounds through the rifle between taking it down for cleaning and that excessive cleaning can be detrimental. Since I rarely put more then 50-100 rounds through it (a RRA Entry Tactical), every second or third trip to the range (so, about once a year nowadays).
3) AK-47's: People clean AK-47's?????

I have a couple Ruger SA handguns and one S&W Model 17. These are blued guns and get cleaned every time out and wiped down (silicon cloth) everytime they are handled.

 

[Birdhunter1]

Well being I am a hunter and distance shooter and Illinois does not have concealed carry legalized yet my goals for a clean firearm are probably different than yours.
The first issue is rust in this humid environment, I keep a rag attached to a hook on the door of the safe that is saturated with oil to wipe down any gun after it is handled.
The guns I keep in the house for whatever reason i don't have time to open the safe and grab one are clean, all the time clean and ready to fire.
My .243 and other rifles I use to hunt with and shoot at long distances I clean the bore when my groups at 100 yards start to open or after about 50 shots. Yeah that might be overkill but I like to keep on top of copper buildup in the bore and I like them to be accurate. So far I have not found them to be really off when clean, but my best groups are usually after a few shots 9and on two rifles that number is taped to the side of the magazine so i don't forget.

Now my slug gun to hunt deer with, I clean it once season is over, our season is a 3 day weekend ad a 4 day two weeks later. In 5 years I have not filled my tags by the end of the first season, usually by day two I am done.

My quail hunting gun probably gets the most abused. I say that but it still has an easy life, it may ride in the dog box for a week between use, it may get carried for a day and not fired 10 times, it may get 2 boxes of shells a week. If I go to SW Kansas it gets cleaned daily as it is nothing but dust out there, but our typical winter here is either snow, mud or dry but not dusty. It gets a full cleaning about twice a season, every now and then I'll clean the piston, if it gets rained on or wet it gets a full cleaning. It is a Beretta 391 20 gauge, it still looks rather new after 7 years.

My .22's I clean when they don't shoot as well as they use to, usually brings them back to accurate.

 

[whistlepig]

If I'm shooting very much during the course of the day (20+ rounds), I'll run a Bore-Snake through the barrel periodically at the range until I get home. I like to give a fairly thorough cleaning once I'm in for the evening; bore, cylinders, any sliding or pivot points. (Pipe cleaners really work well for getting into tight places.) I then use a tiny shot of Rem Oil in all the working parts, followed by a wipe-down of the whole gun with a cloth that has been lightly treated with Rem Oil.

Just my little personal routine.

Joe

On the center fires I will clean after about twenty rounds also. I have found that if you shoot much more than twenty rounds with out cleaning it takes forever to get the bores clean. I like Rem Oil for the actions also. It seems to make my bolt actions cycle a lot smoother than any other oil I have used.

 

[SandburRanch]

I've been shooting CCI in my .22 and they are so dirty I've looked down the bore after one shot and sometimes could barely see any light because of residue. The bore gets cleaned after every outing even if it was just one shot.

 

[whistlepig]

Are you using CCI Green Tag?

 

[Bird]

I've sometimes wondered whether there's really any difference in the different gun oils and solvents. I still have just a little Outer's gun oil and solvent, but the last solvent I bought is Hoppe's, which I've used in the past. And now I've started used the Wipes Plus and Remington Rem Oil wipes; handy and disposable, but so much oil that I also use a clean cloth.