How often to clean?

[dennishoddy]

Once I saw a retiring Alva P.D. officer's cylinder on his 38 Model 10 being hammered open because the green grunge had invaded, I have cleaned my guns after every usage or once a week when I carried every day.

I got a traffic stop in Cancun once. The officers revo had so much rust on it that it surely could not fire from the salt water exposure. I didn't test him though.

 

[Tanis143]

I'm amazed at the number of folks that don't use lube on their guns. We have shooters that have FTE's, and FTL all the time. As an RO I'm looking at their gun pretty closely and they are dry. I'll offer them some lube in a non judgemental way, and some will take it, and their gun will run, but there are some that say their gun runs better dry. All the while I'm thinking this guy isn't going to be in the top tier of scores because he is spending all his time clearing jams caused by running dry, but it's their game and I tried.

Wow. I would ask them if they would run their car's engine without oil. You have metal sliding on metal at a rate thats almost too fast for the eye to see and they think it runs better dry? I would've taken their guns from them and tell them they are too dumb to hold a firearm much less shoot one.

So I decided to break out those jags and try one. Did a dry patch through my Taurus PT840. I've not fired this weapon in a while. It just sits in nightstand. And wouldn't you know that dry patch pulled out some carbon. Will have to figure out which jags work as they are not labeled except with single digit numbers (probably had a list with the kit, which I probably threw away). I will check out those jags posted though.

 

[Snattlerake]

I got a traffic stop in Cancun once. The officers revo had so much rust on it that it surely could not fire from the salt water exposure. I didn't test him though.

Probably an issued gun. They make good clubs in a pinch. I've seen a lot of issued guns neglected. Makes me cry.

 

[Aries]

Wow. I would ask them if they would run their car's engine without oil. You have metal sliding on metal at a rate thats almost too fast for the eye to see and they think it runs better dry? I would've taken their guns from them and tell them they are too dumb to hold a firearm much less shoot one.

So I decided to break out those jags and try one. Did a dry patch through my Taurus PT840. I've not fired this weapon in a while. It just sits in nightstand. And wouldn't you know that dry patch pulled out some carbon. Will have to figure out which jags work as they are not labeled except with single digit numbers (probably had a list with the kit, which I probably threw away). I will check out those jags posted though.

I would bet that if there is a brand name marked on them, or any way to remember or figure out who made them, there's probably a list you could find somewhere on the interwebs.

But for $15 bucks give or take you can get a new set of brass jags. If I lost one, I'd just order a new set in a New York minute.

 

[SoonerP226]

Probably an issued gun. They make good clubs in a pinch.

Oliver North had a story about that from when he was a young officer in Vietnam. He was carrying, IIRC, a Remington 870, and a piece of shrapnel embedded itself in the action bar of the pump, pinning it in place. He was about to throw it down when his CO called him up short. Ollie explained that it was disabled by the shrapnel, and his CO replied that he was "throwing away a perfectly good club."

 

[Jcann]

I wipe my rifles down after each use but I don't run a brush/jag through them unless accuracy starts to degrade. Most barrels shoot best fouled and more barrels have been ruined through improper/repeated cleaning than shooting. I do clean the bolt and grease the lugs. Now my pistoles get totally cleaned/greased/oiled after every use. I use nothing but Bore Tech products.

 

[Tanis143]

Most barrels shoot best fouled and more barrels have been ruined through improper/repeated cleaning than shooting.

Um, that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Please explain how a fouled rifle barrel works better than a clean one. And I have never heard of a barrel getting ruined through repeated cleaning. Improper cleaning? Yes. But not repeated cleaning, especially if you are only running a cloth/mop through the barrel.

 

[xseler]

A fouled barrel may actually seal better than a clean one. Maybe.

 

[Master Carper]

Um, that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Please explain how a fouled rifle barrel works better than a clean one. And I have never heard of a barrel getting ruined through repeated cleaning. Improper cleaning? Yes. But not repeated cleaning, especially if you are only running a cloth/mop through the barrel.

The accuracy of a barrel can be totally ruined by improper cleaning practices! I get in barrels all the time for recrowning, because of a "lip" at the muzzle, from letting a cleaning rod flop around as it exits the muzzle.

I have guys tell me that their gun use to shoot under an inch at 100 yards, and is now shooting 3-4 groups on it's best day. I give the bore a proper cleaning and recrown the muzzle, and the next report I get back from a customer is that their barrel is now shooting under an inch again.

Same goes for damage at the throat area, just in front of the chamber. Let a steel cleaning rod bang up against the rifling and it will destroy accuracy far faster than shooting it will.

If a cleaning rod is used, it needs to be the proper size and preferably coated. If it is properly maintained, you don't have to worry about the throat or muzzle being abraded from the rod having a coat of "garbage" on it. Also, if cleaning from the breech end, a properly sized and fitted bore guide should ALWAYS be used!

If cleaning from the muzzle, a proper muzzle guide should be used.

In my 35 years of building custom rifles, I have seen many many guns accuracy totally ruined from an improper cleaning.

Yes, there are a lot of guns out there that do not shoot well with a clean bore! This is especially true for .22 rifles. And since the vast majority of your older .22 barrels are made from a softer steel vs. that of a high powered rifle, special attention needs to made in their cleaning. A dirty .22 generally shoots better than a clean one, because the fouling build up allows for a tighter seal between bore and bullet. My .22 will shoot an inch or less at 100 yards from a bench, but it has to be dirty. If I clean it squeaky clean, it will shoot at best a 6" group at 100 yards. I can shoot a 50 round box of waxed lead bullets through it, take it to the range and it will shoot groups of an inch or less and do it for a thousand rounds. Clean it again, and it won't shoot worth a poot until after it has another 50 rounds shot through it.

 

[POKE1911]

Didn’t read all posts but I found that a light cleaning after each range trip works best for me. To me it just seems that it cleans much easier and quicker, almost a wipe down if I stay on it. I’ll admit that I am a weirdo that likes to field strip and clean my firearms almost as much as I enjoy shooting them.