Cleaning Frequency

[HenryFan]

I suspect this topic has been discussed before in this forum but how often do you clean firearms?

I personally clean firearms after range visit or, for hunting rifles, at the end of the season unless the rifle gets wet. I just would not feel comfortable doing less. I shoot some russian steel-case ammo and at a minimum, I clean the bore after a range visit and give the rifle a more detailed cleaning soon after.

I know many maintain they don't clean firearms, especially rimfire, until they notice a decrease in accuracy. Since I am not a benchrest shooter, I don't worry about a change of accuracy after cleaning. I doubt I would notice the difference unless the first round or so was a wild flyer.

For firearms seldom fired, they come out of the safe and get a good cleaning once a year. Doing this, like cleaning after a range visit, gives me a chance to inspect for rust or some other corrosion or crud.

[markiver54]

You have pretty much described my cleaning frequency. I don't shoot nearly as much as I used to though so the occasional out of safe inspections are done more than actual cleaning. I DO take down my EDC fairly regularly to clean and lube. It can collect dust and grit quickly riding on my hip.

[Hatchdog]

At the minimum I will run a bore snake thru my firearms after shooting. I do my solvent cleaning in the garage not the basement due to fumes so in the winter (no heat in the garage) I don’t do deep cleaning. However in warmer temps I’ll field strip and clean everything.

[GFK]

I suspect this topic has been discussed before in this forum but how often do you clean firearms?

I personally clean firearms after range visit or, for hunting rifles, at the end of the season unless the rifle gets wet. I just would not feel comfortable doing less. I shoot some russian steel-case ammo and at a minimum, I clean the bore after a range visit and give the rifle a more detailed cleaning soon after.

I know many maintain they don't clean firearms, especially rimfire, until they notice a decrease in accuracy. Since I am not a benchrest shooter, I don't worry about a change of accuracy after cleaning. I doubt I would notice the difference unless the first round or so was a wild flyer.

For firearms seldom fired, they come out of the safe and get a good cleaning once a year. Doing this, like cleaning after a range visit, gives me a chance to inspect for rust or some other corrosion or crud.

Seems like a plan! I like to keep all my tools in good working order. So, that means to clean and inspect often. Of course, after each use is a good time to do both. If nothing else, I find myself wiping down my firearms throughout the year.

[Mags]

I'll clean following a day of shooting a lot. But, sometimes I go outside to just pop off a few rounds to satisfy a shooting itch. Only after several such itches have been satisfied, weeks later will I do light bore clean and lightly oil the bore. Going by a gut feel for when it is time.

[HenryFan]

I guess I am more likely to be lax after shooting rimfires than centerfires but the get about the same treatment.

[JVogler]

I was cleaning all tools on same day of use for the longest time. Only recently in the last year or so have been getting two range visits before cleaning. I want to get back into the same day use / cleaning schedule. All tools are cleaned and put away right now,got to get out to the range more this years so I can clean more.

[Steve51]

My normal cleaning is done with bore snakes and Balistol.
After a shooting session, I usually spray balistol down the barrels and or cylinders and let it soak for 30 - 60 minutes and run the bore snake through the barrel and or cylinders. Use a shaving brush to brush the firearm down, including the wood stocks.
Except for the Henry .22 rifles, I usually do a more thorough cleaning once or twice a year depending on the use of the firearm. I did a deep clean on my two oldest Henry .22 rifles one time - there was basically no dirt or fouling at all and both had 1000's of rounds through them. I truly believe a Henry .22 rifle would last forever with just a basic barrel and chamber cleaning on occasion.

[Travlin]

Do a search through the posts of about summer 2017 and try to find my post about the article in Guns Of The Old West Spring 2017 issue about a Henry Golden Boy that went 28K rounds with very little cleaning. No it is not a mis -print twenty eight thousand rounds.

[rickhem]

My Bullseye pistol, a Smith M41, only gets some lube on the slide, and I brush off the breech face of the bolt, along with brushing the chamber and feed ramp on the barrel. I haven't touched the bore in longer than I'd like to admit. The muzzle on that thing is covered with that gray-white residue from thousands of rounds being fired. I do clean the mags more frequently. That pistol still runs 100% and the holes go where the dot is when I'm doing my job.

I also decided to try something with a service rifle upper a few years back. I ordered another upper to swap out for the one I was using, and while waiting for it, I decided I wasn't going to clean the barrel on the "in use" upper while waiting for the new one. It shot so well that I kept using that one for the rest of the season. I was well over 4000 rounds on that Douglas barrel (not a super custom barrel at all) and the last prone slow at 600 that year I shot a 196, one of my best strings, so apparently the not cleaning didn't make much difference. I lubed the bolt carrier and kept the trigger clean, but that's it. It was a running joke with the guys I shot with, they'd always ask if I cleaned it yet, and how many rounds was I up to.

I'm still a minimal cleaner as far as aesthetics go. I'll make sure they function 100%, and any leading in the barrels or cylinders gets addressed regularly, but I don't go much further than that. Target pistols all have discoloration on the grip frames from my hands, and I'm OK with that. They're not museum pieces. I have one revolver, a Harrington and Richardson 999 that is all engraved and the bluing is like glass. Gorgeous gun with a beautiful walnut display case. I tried about 8 or 10 different .22 brands in that and it just doesn't group. That's the one that taught me that I am definitely not a "collector".