How Often Do You Have To Clean a Gun (Really)?

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • Mgderf

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    43   0   0
    May 30, 2009
    17,879
    113
    Lafayette
    Beretta ARX. It was fine all day...until the very end.
    If you shoot a lot of copper plated .22bullets, your problem might be copper fouling, and not leading.

    Try scrubbing the barrel with a good "copper-killer" cleaner.
    If your problem is copper fouling, you will get a lot of green colored patches.
    Keep going until your patches are clean.

    You'll then need to re-season the barrel.
    Copper killer tends to strip everything out of the barrel.

    Good luck.
     

    IUKalash429

    Bullet Hose
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    35   0   0
    Apr 6, 2019
    1,080
    113
    Rum Ham
    Honestly, next to never. Suppressed stuff might get a wipe down, especially PCCs after a busy day, but the guns that ride most often with me to the range look like chimney sweeps on the inside. Hasn't ever affected reliability or accuracy.

    Now if I'm shooting corrosive ammo, at the end of the day I'll pour a bottle of water over the bolt and down the gas tube and barrel, and then run a few rounds of non-corrosive ammo to burn everything off. Will hit those guns with some CLP when I get home.
     

    Twangbanger

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    21   0   0
    Oct 9, 2010
    7,062
    113
    Beretta ARX. It was fine all day...until the very end.
    Well, you piqued my memory, and I have to admit there is one notable exception to my lackadaisical cleaning policy. And that's my son's S&W Victory. Some newer guns and ammo have issues. I don't know if it's bad internal barrel surface finish or what, but his gun leads up really bad near the muzzle. We're talking like, the build-up is visible with a bore light or even the naked eye looking from the muzzle end. If it's been more than a few hundred rounds since cleaning, it can go from hitting 8" plates at 15 yards to completely missing them in a range session. The bullets are getting scored so bad by the obstruction they can't fly straight, as incredible as it sounds. Clean it out, and it's right back to snuff. I have never, ever seen that before in a gun, especially a .22.

    That is why my best .22 rifle sees nothing but Eley. That bullet lube they use is really, really magical stuff. I doubt if a rifle fed a steady diet of that right from the beginning, ever really needs cleaned.
     

    88E30M50

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Dec 29, 2008
    22,748
    149
    Greenwood, IN
    How often it gets cleaned depends on how much it’s shot, what kind of gun it is and how long it’s likely to sit in the safe before getting shot again. I don’t clean the ARs much but I do run those a bit wet. If I take the SP1 out for an afternoon, I’ll do a good cleaning on it since it’s most likely not going back out for another 5 or 6 months minimum.

    Glocks? Do you clean those things? Sigs and 1911s do get cleaned more often but mainly because I love the mechanics of those and just can’t help but to want to scrub them after a range trip. CZs are kind of middle of the road. If it’s a regular shooter, I’ll just lube the rails and pull a bore snake through it and that’s about it. Some of the more special CZs get treated like a 1911 though.
     

    JettaKnight

    Я з Україною
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Oct 13, 2010
    26,517
    113
    Fort Wayne
    Do you ever just shoot lead rounds? I took a .22 to an Appleseed once and it started keyholing right as we go to the end of the day qualifications.
    Never had that, and all I shoot are LRN.

    I clean mine every couple thousand rounds.


    The commie stuff always gets cleaned ASAP.


    PS - That's some 1950's hairdo that fellow in the video has.
     

    Ngdonut

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Feb 15, 2013
    306
    28
    Greenfield, IN
    Modern Smokeless powder is not all that harmful to firearms. I don’t get too stressed out about cleaning guns. Lube is more important usually. Certain range toys might get cleaned after every shooting. But I’ve also been known to go 1,000 rounds on a pistol or two before deciding to give it a good clean.
     

    Mjr.Malfunction

    Plinker
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Feb 19, 2021
    47
    18
    GOSHEN
    At the Grand Power Headquarters in Slovakia, they have a K100 model that has fired 112,470 rounds ( all documented and witnessed ) without a single failure that wasn't user error. This is with only routine maintenance i.e. replacing parts that normally wear out. It has never been cleaned. Anyone can go there and sign it out of the safe where it is kept and fire on their test range.
     

    Leadeye

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Jan 19, 2009
    36,696
    113
    .
    I shoot a fair amount of BP cartridge guns, those get cleaned along with the cases with hot soapy water. Smokeless stuff gets a regular scrubbing when I go through the safe to inspect them.

    I've found that early smokeless guns like Broomhandles prefer a lot of oil.
     

    russc2542

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    24   0   0
    Oct 24, 2015
    2,111
    83
    Columbus
    yes, I clean my guns... when I get around to it. .22s more than anything else because this year more than ever they get the most use and they get the dirtiest/most problematic when dirty.



    Black powder's a whole different animal when it comes to cleaning
     

    ar15_dude

    Marksman
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Mar 12, 2008
    299
    18
    Seems previous comments focused on guns getting dirty from shooting. Since I carry everyday, and only shoot maybe monthly, in my experience daily carry of a pistol, both IWB and on duty belt, ends up with a lot of dust accumulation. I find I need to clean about every 2 weeks. And it prevents embarrassment when you pull it out of the holster and there are visible dust bunnies. Maybe y’all don’t carry? YMMV.
     

    88E30M50

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Dec 29, 2008
    22,748
    149
    Greenwood, IN
    For dust that accumulates on carry guns, a quick shot of compressed air from a can I use to blow the dust out of my computer keyboard keeps them clean enough
     

    Mongo59

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Jul 30, 2018
    4,448
    113
    Purgatory
    These are the EDC's, notice any similarities?

    DSC05877.JPG

    The Taurus is my church gun, confuses any radicals as they think they have accidentally stumbled into a brothel...
     

    2in1evtime

    Master
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 98.4%
    61   1   0
    Oct 30, 2011
    3,444
    113
    retired-midwest
    Depending on the amount shot, could be a general wipe down to a complete cleaning, i go thru all my collection wether shot or not and do a complete cleaning on a yearly basis.
     

    Mongo59

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Jul 30, 2018
    4,448
    113
    Purgatory
    Sorry if any of my recent posts have offended anyone, My local Rulers had a whole shopping cart full of wine on clearance and I see it as my duty to sample each and drink all the ones my wife would not like...

    You newly weds should be talking notes...
     

    BigRed3588

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Dec 4, 2013
    462
    63
    Boynton Beach
    If it’s my EDC or one of the guns I have staged for personal protection, it gets a thorough cleaning after every trip to the range. Probably overkill but I like to know they’re in the best condition possible should I need them.

    If it’s a range toy, it gets a swab down the barrel to pull out any loose fouling when I get home and a good cleaning every 500-1K rounds unless it’s seen some particularly dirty ammo. I generally try to do a detail strip when the mag springs need replaced.

    I must admit, I have a tendency to neglect my revolvers. I find cleaning semi-autos to be kind of relaxing whereas revolvers feel like work.
     

    tomcat13

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Feb 16, 2010
    1,530
    113
    Near Louisville
    All this talk of Clean or Not to Clean has me feeling a need to go thru the Safe & Wipe me All down. Something else to add to my List of Things To Do! Thanks All. Ha
     
    Top Bottom