[blackriderhank]

Hey guys and gals,
I would pose the question how often do you clean and lube your SD firearm both carry and home defense. I was taught all guns cleaned once a month if not fired or after every time it was fired. I was taught at a young age to clean every time its fired or once a month if not fired to maintane proper cleanliness and lubrication. Please all share your thoughts on this subject.

 

[Boomer]

When I go out for a little shooting I never really put more then 200 rounds through them. More often its less than 75 rounds, because I usually take at least 2-3 pistols out. I generally go about 5 range sessions before breaking out the cleaning supplies. Every 2-3 range sessions, I field strip and give a good wipe down and touch up on the oil. But after every range session Ill give the outside and mags a good wipe with a rag to remove the residue.

 

[blackriderhank]

Thanks for the info Boomer. My dad and my drill sgt would have a fit if a firearm is not cleaned every time its fired. Am I just old or just out of touch with younger shooters?

 

[KeithD]

It has nothing to do with being out of touch All of my hunting rifles and shot guns get cleaned every time I use them.

My self defense guns rarely get cleaned. Why? cause if your runing a good gun they dont need to be to function. I'll come close to 30,000+ rounds through my carry pistol this year and maybe actually clean it twice. Lube with slip every 5000 rounds or so and it'll be fine.

My 5.45 AR gets cleaned every time becuase of the russian corrosive ammo that it shoots and it will rust if I dont. My 5.56 AR's get lubed and very rarely get cleaned.

I run mine hard through mutliple high round count classes and my own training session and they run fine. My guns get dropped, scratched, banged up, dirty, wet and abused. So i dont feel the need to shine the scratches everytime I shoot it.

Like I said in the other post, some people will sit and strip it down completly everytime they shoot it, thats cool no problems. But many of the top SD guns out there will run extremely dirty for a long period of time, so its not neccisary to do that to keep a running SD weapon.

 

[blackriderhank]

Hey Keith me again,
My lifetime of firearms care is well ingrained and will never change. A dirty M16 or .45 need constant cleaning to be reliable. As far as top SD guns go I will keep them clean and lubed at all times. I enjoy the back and forth we are having and respect your opinion thats why we are here, right, Take care keep posting and my name is Keith also. Later dude take care be safe

 

[KeithD]

oh god another keith.... thata what the world needs. I guess first you have to define reliable. AR will run for long periods of time with out cleaning as long as they stay lubed. But alot depends on the environment. Over seas in very fine sand environments would cause the rifle to fail much sooner in round count than someone shooting in there back yard a few hundred rounds a week.

I have ran AR's with close to 10,000 rounds with NO cleaning, just kept them wet.

1911's are horrible for reliabilty when dirty. I've seen more 1911 pistols choke during classes the any others. thats just a personal observation od seeing thousands of students a year running them. Along with other bad design features im not a huge fan of them.

Like I said theres no right or wrong, its just in my expereince and the experience of many others if your running a quality kit you done HAVE to cleen it everytime.

 

[blackriderhank]

Hey Keith,
In the Ars defense my military M16 was in the 80s and was a pos. Because of that I never got into the ARs. I did in the late 80s get a SKS and still in love with it. Goes boom every time I pull the trigger. What more can you ask from a rifle?

 

[KeithD]

LOL, not much more. I have a few friends that run SKS's and AK 74's in matches and they run like a top. AR's still have some failure points if your not care full. improperly staked gas keys, no lube, chamber that needs properly reamed. All those things can make for a bad day.

If you purchase a quality AR and make sure that those things are covered they will run. with lube they dont like to run dry. Just like anything some guns require more maintanence then others.

 

[boonejeepin]

Once every week or so for my carry guns. Once every few months for HD shotgun.

After a range trip is mandatory for me.

 

[KeithD]

Here are some pics of the inside of my 17 from a little while ago, its enough to make some cringe but still not as bad as ive seen em' lol

And still have NEVER had a failure with this pistol and it is my EDC.

 

[Joeywho?]

What's this 'cleaning' I keep hearing about?

I generally don't clean my carry guns, including my AR 15. Takes up too much time, doesn't get me anything. I lube my AR before each use, it runs like it should. I rarely even lube my pistols. They just don't need it.