how often do you clean your .22LR pistols?

Mr. Friendly said:
many in the rifle sub-forum say they don't clean their .22LR rifles...so I wonder about pistols.

I used to clean my pistols, but now I just keep them oiled. haven't cleaned them in years. they are still more accurate than me and I can keep all my shots in a 6" circle at 10 yards, so I'm happy. :)
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Before I start let me say that I'm NOT one of those that feels I need to clean any gun if so much as one round passes down the bore. With that in mind on to the story.....

A shooting buddy wanted me to do the mod to remove the magazine disconnect in his Ruger Mk III. When I tore down the gun to do this the insides were packed with a mixture of fouling and oil. Turns out he had not cleaned it in years either. Just added oil when it seemed too dry. The gun still shot well but he added that recently it had started to suffer from a slightly sticky trigger and the odd failure to #### the hammer. It was no wonder either. The fouling and oil had formed a hard black cookie crumbled consistency that was so tightly packed inside that parts were simply no longer able to move as they were supposed to move.

After I cleaned it he did admit that the trigger felt better than it had in a long time. But if you'd seen what I removed you'd have been simply amazed that the gun functioned at all.


For my own semi .22's I tend to clean around every 600 to 800 rounds. With normal oil things are pretty gooey in there by that time. A while back I found and bought a can of EEZOX and I'm running that in two of my .22 semi auto pistols right now. I haven't shot them as much recently so it's been a few months and only a few hundred rounds through these guns. But so far it seems like the dry film lubrication of the EEZOX is delivering as suggested with a reduced amount of fouling being held in the action. The dry film doesn't hold the fouling so more of it seems to be tending to be flushed out and away by the pressure pulses into the action inherent with a blowback semi auto.
 
My Beretta 89 needs cleaning regularly to function reliably. I typically fire 200 rounds each range trip and clean it when I get home. Misfires start appearing by 300 rounds, with the firing pin getting gummed up. Doesn't seem to matter much what ammo I'm using.
 
I do a full strip/cleaning of all my pistols , 10/22, AR, etc.., after every range session.

everything in the safe is extra clean.
 
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usually if it looks dirty or if it start leading. my MKIII seems to start leading up in the barrel if I do too many in 1 sitting.
 
I clean my Ruger MK II when it starts giving my problems. Usually around 750-1000 rounds. The Smith revolvers get a quick brush through the chambers when it gets tough to push the rounds all the way in.

Auggie D.
 
Every two weeks which is 4-6 trips and roughly 500 rds. I shoot a S&W 41 so it doesn't tolerate much filth.
 
Beretta Model 71 here, just a quick wipe-down and a light re-oiling on the rails. Actually let it go last summer for a while, put well over a thousand rounds through it without cleaning, then the sear-spring decided to break when I dropped the slide on a fresh mag. It went full auto on me, jamming on the 6th round. I have to admit, while it startled me, I had the biggest smile I've ever smiled on my face about two seconds after it happened! I then quickly packed everything away and went home. Closest thing to a full-auto I've ever shot!

I quickly went home, disassembled and realized the spring broke. I can't say leaving it dirty caused the spring to break, and I can't say it didn't cause it. Now, just a quick wipe-down to remove crud and debris, and a decent cleaning every 1000 rounds or so. The barrel might see a patch once or twice a year.
 
Forgot about my single action. That gets the cylinder cleaned every 200 rounds, because if not its hard to push in the round. And I wipe down the strap and front to prevent lead from building up.
 
how about .22lr revolvers? or any revolvers for that matter? i got my first revolver in .22lr. and the fron of the cylinders get extremely dirty. which is understandable. just wondering how much i need to worry about it.

so far ive been cleaning the cylinder and barrel every range trip (300 rounds or so)
 
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