EDC Gun Maintenance

[C-dub]

Ya'll must have some sensitive guns.

I've carried Glocks for many years now and shot each of them in matches without any failures due to the gun. I limp wristed one once when switching to off hand and the case didn't fully eject. Cleared easily, continued, and finished the stage. Prior to each match the only prep that was done was to pull the slide back and put put a drop of lube on each rail. It probably didn't need it, but I do that with every gun (shotgun or rifle) before a match.

I wipe them, you know, like with a cloth, maybe once a quarter. Completely strip them down once or twice a year depending on the amount of shooting they've seen. The last couple of years, though, its only been once a year.

I don't even clean the Glocks after every match or range session. Maybe every second or third time. That might be after roughly 500 rounds. I'll shoot between 100-200 rounds each session.

[canvasbck]

I used to be a "clean it after every range session" person before I got into competitive shooting. My competition gun will routinely go 3k-6k rounds without so much as a field strip. I have even pushed that out to 10k without issues. A full disassemble and cleaning only happens once a year and I hand it off to a gun smith for that.

I'm about to switch to a 1911 for competition, so I know that cleanings will be getting more frequent than they are currently. I doubt I will ever do the amount of cleaning you all are describing.

My main EDC gets cleaned 2-3 times a year regardless of number of rounds fired through it. Carbon seems to be much less of an issue than lint is.

[Bitter Clinger]

Ya'll must have some sensitive guns.

I've carried Glocks for many years now and shot each of them in matches without any failures due to the gun. I limp wristed one once when switching to off hand and the case didn't fully eject. Cleared easily, continued, and finished the stage. Prior to each match the only prep that was done was to pull the slide back and put put a drop of lube on each rail. It probably didn't need it, but I do that with every gun (shotgun or rifle) before a match.

I wipe them, you know, like with a cloth, maybe once a quarter. Completely strip them down once or twice a year depending on the amount of shooting they've seen. The last couple of years, though, its only been once a year.

I don't even clean the Glocks after every match or range session. Maybe every second or third time. That might be after roughly 500 rounds. I'll shoot between 100-200 rounds each session.

I find that I can go 2-3 range sessions of ~500 rounds per session before I even see enough gunk to make me consider performing a cleaning. One factor may be that I only shoot brand name (Federal, IWI, Hornady, etc.) factory new ammunition.

[flechero]

Ya'll must have some sensitive guns.

I've carried Glocks for many years now and shot each of them in matches without any failures due to the gun.

I used to be a "clean it after every range session" person before I got into competitive shooting. My competition gun will routinely go 3k-6k rounds without so much as a field strip.

I find that I can go 2-3 range sessions of ~500 rounds per session before I even see enough gunk to make me consider performing a cleaning. One factor may be that I only shoot brand name (Federal, IWI, Hornady, etc.) factory new ammunition.

Not to be snarky but we all have guns that will go 1k or more rounds without cleaning. (even the 1911's) I clean my guns for the same reasons I shower, do laundry and wash the car... because they get dirty. People live, cars drive, clothes wear fine dirty, just as guns shoots dirty.

A dirty gun gets my clothes dirty and I wash after handling a fired gun for obvious health reasons. Lead, carbon and primer residue are not things I want in the daily laundry, on my hands or up against my skin, IWB. And yes, I wipe down tools that get oil grease and other crud on them for the same reasons.

[Soccerdad1995]

Ya'll must have some sensitive guns.

I've carried Glocks for many years now and shot each of them in matches without any failures due to the gun. I limp wristed one once when switching to off hand and the case didn't fully eject. Cleared easily, continued, and finished the stage. Prior to each match the only prep that was done was to pull the slide back and put put a drop of lube on each rail. It probably didn't need it, but I do that with every gun (shotgun or rifle) before a match.

I wipe them, you know, like with a cloth, maybe once a quarter. Completely strip them down once or twice a year depending on the amount of shooting they've seen. The last couple of years, though, its only been once a year.

I don't even clean the Glocks after every match or range session. Maybe every second or third time. That might be after roughly 500 rounds. I'll shoot between 100-200 rounds each session.

Oh yeah, Glocks are a different story. After a range session with my Glocks, I just throw them back in the mud hole out in the yard. They seem to like living there and rolling around in the mud. Kind of like pigs. I was talking about cleaning and maintenance for my grown up guns, like my 1911's.

[mcscanner]

My IWB 'plastic' holster on the body side gets more attention than the gun. Small bottle of gun oil and q-tips to swap the metal hardware to keep the body sweat from rusting fasteners. Once, maybe twice a week during the hot sweaty months. Gun gets a dust bunny blowdown once a month and cleaning after every range visit.

Mike

[Jago668]

Ya'll must have some sensitive guns.

I've carried Glocks for many years now and shot each of them in matches without any failures due to the gun. I limp wristed one once when switching to off hand and the case didn't fully eject. Cleared easily, continued, and finished the stage. Prior to each match the only prep that was done was to pull the slide back and put put a drop of lube on each rail. It probably didn't need it, but I do that with every gun (shotgun or rifle) before a match.

I wipe them, you know, like with a cloth, maybe once a quarter. Completely strip them down once or twice a year depending on the amount of shooting they've seen. The last couple of years, though, its only been once a year.

I don't even clean the Glocks after every match or range session. Maybe every second or third time. That might be after roughly 500 rounds. I'll shoot between 100-200 rounds each session.

I know my Glock can do 1,700 rounds because I've done that in two days at a class. Same with my S&W AR15. Which is purposely didn't clean them, just to see. However I can see no good reason to not clean them after every range trip. If I was going once or twice a week I can see why I wouldn't want to. Going every couple of months though, makes for a good time to clear lint and dust out of them.

[Bitter Clinger]

Ya'll must have some sensitive guns.

I've carried Glocks for many years now and shot each of them in matches without any failures due to the gun.

I used to be a "clean it after every range session" person before I got into competitive shooting. My competition gun will routinely go 3k-6k rounds without so much as a field strip.

I find that I can go 2-3 range sessions of ~500 rounds per session before I even see enough gunk to make me consider performing a cleaning. One factor may be that I only shoot brand name (Federal, IWI, Hornady, etc.) factory new ammunition.

Not to be snarky but we all have guns that will go 1k or more rounds without cleaning. (even the 1911's) I clean my guns for the same reasons I shower, do laundry and wash the car... because they get dirty. People live, cars drive, clothes wear fine dirty, just as guns shoots dirty.

A dirty gun gets my clothes dirty and I wash after handling a fired gun for obvious health reasons. Lead, carbon and primer residue are not things I want in the daily laundry, on my hands or up against my skin, IWB. And yes, I wipe down tools that get oil grease and other crud on them for the same reasons.

Not to be snarky in return but perhaps you should consider that you may simply not own enough guns.

[oljames3]

OP's original post started

I am curious as to how often you break down your EDC gun and clean the dust and lint out of it. Obviously it could rain and soak you and you have to do it sooner but just on a regular basis how often do you?

To clarify my earlier post, I don't have a "rotation" and don't carry "precious" self defense ammo. I have one pistol secured; my original every day carry. I haven't decided to keep it or sell it. I find it useful as a tertiary pistol.

I clean my pistols when they get dirty to help prevent malfunctions. For example, after a day of flying rockets in the AZ desert (is that redundant?) or CO high plains, I field strip and clean out as much of that fine grit as I can. If I am caught in the rain and my pistol gets wet, I field strip, clean, and lube it ASAP. This is the tool with which I defend myself and mine.

I clean my pistol after each firing session because that is the way Drill Sergeants SSG Austin and SGT Jett raised me at Ft Leonard Wood in 1973. The tool with which I defend myself and mine will always be ready.

My preferred self defense weapon, the M109 155mm self-propelled howitzer's barrel "should be cleaned at the conclusion of the day's firing and 3 consecutive days after, making a total of at least four cleanings. If the weapon is not to be fired withing 24 hours after the fourth cleaning, it should be wiped dry, inspected, and lubricated with oil, lubricating, preservative, special. If the tube continues to sweat after the fourth cleaning, cleaning should be continued until the sweating stops. When the weapon is not being fired, the tube should be cleaned weekly and then wiped dry, inspected, and reoiled."

Old habits. Hard to break.

[flechero]

Not to be snarky in return but perhaps you should consider that you may simply not own enough guns.

Without question, I do NOT own enough guns...

[Winston]

Lets face it guys! Most of us who clean our guns after every range trip are probably just obsessed with the process. They don't need to be cleaned at all unless there's some serious carbon buildup. I don't clean mine all the time but I have noticed that I'll completely break down some of my guns every now and then just to do it for fun. I'll be watching TV and decide to clean and lubricate a gun that's been sitting in my safe that's already clean. lol It doesn't take longer than 5-10 minutes to clean and lubricate a gun anyways. If it does then you're playing with yourself. :) I guess I like sitting at home playing with myself sometimes! hahahaha! Plus it's good to get use to learning about every part of your gun and being able to put it back together quickly. You get to check out the wear on it and basically just admire the engineering that went into the design. I'm not even going to lie. Sometimes I enjoy doing things like this almost as much as shooting. I should have probably chose to become a gunsmith or firearms engineer when I was younger. On the bright side I've never needed to bring any of my guns to a gunsmith. I can do it all myself! Even thinking about getting into reloading soon but that's going to cost! For now I'll just have to loose all my money to quality ammo. I probably won't be able to reload as good anyways but the cost of .300 blackout and other types of ammo seriously has me thinking about buying some equipment to get started. Ammo cost is getting ridiculous!

[WTR]

I think it depends a lot if you reload and what powder you use.

[Grundy1133]

The way I see it, your gun is your responsibility. If you ever have to use it you'll want it to work. Clean it as often or as little as you want but just remember it's your life on the line. Nobody elses. That's why I ALWAYS fire off a round after a cleaning. I want to make sure it still works after I've taken it apart.