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".

[JVogler]

Went to the range the other day , it was a 22lr kind of a day. Took my Ruger GP100 a Golden Boy rifle, shooting 25 yards, that's long distance shooting for me. Was using box of Aguila Cooper plated round nose 40grain in the red boxand shot 100 rounds. During my time at the bench cleaning it took about 5 patches to get the Golden Boy clean. Had both toys cleaned and put away within an hour.

[Luv the lever]

Clean after every shoot. I have ropes but never use them, I keep saying “next time”. When I clean it’s all rod with patches and brushes, remove triggers and stocks. All lumber gets a rub of BLO.

Same for pistols.

[RanchRoper]

Clean after shooting and always be ready to rock.

[FormerParatrooper]

Clean after every range trip. My Grandfather instilled that, and the Army reinforced it. I don't find cleaning my weapons as a chore, it is my relax time. I have some older ones that I won't shoot anymore because of age and condition and a lack of proper ammo. I pull them out of the safe at random and give them a good going over.

[2ffat]

Like many others, I clean after every shooting. I also clean and oil once a year if I haven't shot it recently.