Semi-auto pistol cleaning

rayzorloo

rayzorloo

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Hey CGN, I've been shooting a couple of years now. Going into my second year of IDPA, and I've heard differing opinions on how often to clean and lube a semi-auto pistol. I've heard jokes like "it's a Glock so doesn't need to be cleaned until 1k rounds..." I don't shoot a Glock myself...but I have also seen ads on the EE saying "cleaned after every range trip". Now most times, even after a match I maybe shoot a couple of hundred rounds. don't typically clean in after that range trip. I understand if I shot 22LR but 9mm or 40SW, or if I was there all day and shot 500 rounds so I wouldn't think a cleaning is needed if I only shot a couple of hundred.

But I also get that some guys love to clean their toys, just like some guys wash their car weekly especially winter time. I figure this has been asked already but thought I'd ask. Like I mentioned I have heard both sides of the spectrum and somewhere in between.

Thoughts
 
Down.Range said:
I am a detail strip and thoroughly clean every range trip type of guy. Nothing ever sits in my safe uncleaned.
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pretty much same thing here... only if i do not have time to clean it right away (dont happen much) but if i dont have time it still gets cleaned within a day or 2

i didnt always clean my guns a few years back and had a couple issues so i started doing it all the time
 
if im shooting multiple times a week, I wait until the last day im shooting then clean. However if I shoot more than a box of ammo (50 rounds), I re-oil and clean the feedramp before the next outing.
 
I'm usually an 'Obsessive cleaning' kinda guy, with my firearms.
Recently, I've been trying to go at least 5 range trips between cleanings.
You know the theory; 'Lead' the barrel properly and shoot until the accuracy drops off.

I fackin' hate it! Gawd!
My guns feel like grungy, "dragged behind the pick-em-up truck" pieces of crap! I'm embarrassed to hand them over to anyone at the range.
My Momma raised me better than this.

I'm going back to 'clean'.
 
bsand said:
if im shooting multiple times a week, I wait until the last day im shooting then clean. However if I shoot more than a box of ammo (50 rounds), I re-oil and clean the feedramp before the next outing.
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The re-oiling after a range trip..100-150 rounds is me as well, then clean after about 500. Just before a match I clean her up for sure.
 
I do a 10 minute operational clean after every session. 1 pass with a wet brush, let it sit while wiping down the slide and frame. wet patch, dry patch, oil and patch. lube barrel and contact surfaces, reassemble, wipe magazines. Done.
I do a more detailed cleaning after a few sessions.
 
Centrefire auto pistols should be able to go several thousand rounds between cleanings if properly lubricated notwithstanding things like heavy lead fouling or foreign debris (e.g. getting dropped in a mud puddle). Clean it more if it makes you feel good, but don't worry too much about it otherwise. This applies to guns used for recreational/training purposes; carry should should be cleaned and inspected regularly.
 
rayzorloo said:
The re-oiling after a range trip..100-150 rounds is me as well, then clean after about 500. Just before a match I clean her up for sure.
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I usually clean before th match and foul the barrel just to make sure everything is working correctly. The second day I took out my new shadow custom. I forgot to remove my dry fire oring. Damn gun wasn't firing anything. I thought it was the reloads, tried factory ammo still barely touching the primer. Went to check if the firing pin was broken, realized that the oring was still in place.

Since that I always make sure my guns work before a match.
 
I've found getting myself into the habit of cleaning within the first day or two works best. If if its anything above 100rnd count especially. That way its done and seems easier to do for some reason.
 
I am a minimalist when it comes to cleaning and lubing. My 1911 gets a wipe with a rig rag or silicone cloth, a patch or swab goes down the bore. Then as little lube, oil, as possible goes on the frame, remember oil draws dirt, dirt causes reliability issues. the Beretta 84 gets pretty much the same, both of these guns are carry guns and both of them are reliable.

Once or so a year, it all depends on how the guns look and have been treated/fired, they get a more detailed cleaning but still as little lube as I can get away with, again oil attracts dirt which attracts problems, so I use minimal oil and grease. My father always taught my brothers and me that the only thing worse to do to a gun than too little cleaning and oiling was too much cleaning and oiling.
 
GLS_1956 said:
I am a minimalist when it comes to cleaning and lubing. My 1911 gets a wipe with a rig rag or silicone cloth, a patch or swab goes down the bore. Then as little lube, oil, as possible goes on the frame, remember oil draws dirt, dirt causes reliability issues. the Beretta 84 gets pretty much the same, both of these guns are carry guns and both of them are reliable.

Once or so a year, it all depends on how the guns look and have been treated/fired, they get a more detailed cleaning but still as little lube as I can get away with, again oil attracts dirt which attracts problems, so I use minimal oil and grease. My father always taught my brothers and me that the only thing worse to do to a gun than too little cleaning and oiling was too much cleaning and oiling.
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carry guns, I clean until they are spick and spam EVERYTIME. Regardless of how many shots fired, and quarterly cleaning regardless if any shots fired or not. I also do rotate my carry ammo, every 6 months I put new SD rounds into my magazine and use the old rounds as practice ammo. Costs a little bit more doing that, but whats 15$ compared to my life?
luckily i carry a glock 26, so its basically bone dry, minus slide hood barrel and the disconnector.
 
bsand said:
carry guns, I clean until they are spick and spam EVERYTIME. Regardless of how many shots fired, and quarterly cleaning regardless if any shots fired or not. I also do rotate my carry ammo, every 6 months I put new SD rounds into my magazine and use the old rounds as practice ammo. Costs a little bit more doing that, but whats 15$ compared to my life?
luckily i carry a glock 26, so its basically bone dry, minus slide hood barrel and the disconnector.
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Carry guns? Just curious...your location says BC, other fella is Oklahoma so him I get but yourself in BC? Or is the G26 a service pistol?
 
I don't detail / strip and clean after every use but I do spray it down and wipe the bore and exterior. I'll strip and clean every month or less often if it's being used less.
 
Rimfire pistols get stripped and cleaned every 2-3 outings (weekly) and centerfire get stripped and cleaned monthly, maybe every 8-10 trips.

Reliability wise, rimfires need cleaning for function, I've gone thousands of rounds on centerfires before reliability becomes an issue. By strip I just mean top end, I almost never strip the guts of a semi auto, they get sprayed and blown out, only the barrels and slides get worked on.

I believe we clean guns more than necessary, not that it is a bad thing of course, and clean guns are better protected from corrosion, but its kind of like an engine, a freshly shampooed engine runs better in your head, but in reality it does not. I have 20K + on pistols that I have never taken apart past the slide and barrel.

Pride and jurisprudence are very good reasons to keep guns clean, and guns that get shot rarely (don't have many of those) need more care.
 
I guess I'm in the minimalist camp. I'll wipe the outside down before putting away in my safe. I've shot matches with a dirty gun and experienced no issues. When I do get around to it, I will do a field strip, clean & lube very sparely. Some people use way too much lube on their pistols.
 
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