Cleaning - How often?

[Doublehelix]

What are your procedures/schedules for pistol cleaning? My H&K manual says to perform a normal cleaning after every shoot (or every 12 months), and then a major cleaning (or detailed cleaning) after 500 rounds.

In the major cleaning, they say that you should also add the following to a normal cleaning:

1. Disassemble and clean the magazines
2. All parts should be rinsed or immersed in solvent and thoroughly scrubbed with a nylon brush, then dried.

Does this sort of match up with what you folks are doing as well? Disassembling the magazines after 500 rounds seems excessive, but what do I know???

I'd love to hear your processes.

Thanks in advance!

James

 

[Sullivan_pbr]

I wipe mine down after each use. I only clean when they're dirty or will be stored for an extended period.

 

[Amishman44]

I wipe mine down after each use. I only clean when they're dirty or will be stored for an extended period.

Yup...pretty much! Wipe down + run a bore snake through the barrel to get the junk out every time I shoot! If I know I'll be back out within a week or two...it'll get the simple cleaning I give for every shoot! If I know it'll be a month or more until I'm able to shoot again...full strip + cleaning + lube (lightly) and back together again!

Use common sense...if it's dirty, clean it...if it's not 'real' dirty...just wipe it clean an move on!

 

[ChootEm]

Not as often as I should.....with time constraints and burning to candle at both ends every couple hundred rounds but they may go a year or better between full cleaning.

 

[looney2ns]

It depends, do you carry it everyday? Do you sweat on it? If so, it needs attention much more often to keep the rust at bay.

Mags, depends on the powder you shoot, I've seen some powders make the mags pretty nasty in short order.

With a little practice, it doesn't take long to do a good cleaning on most guns and the mags.

 

[warthog]

Each time I return home from the range I how often I clean and for those I didn't shoot this year, every year until yjey are either sold off or get slathered down with cosmo and stored.

Carry piece(s) are cleaned monthly unless something I feel should get cleaned. I don't really sweat nor does mine seem at leat to cause me trouble.

 

[SSGSAD]

Once a year, shot or not ..... every time I shoot..... completely clean !!!!!

 

[gregkl]

Every 10,000 rounds whether it needs it or not! JK. I am pretty OCD about cleaning my firearms. They stay very clean.

However, if I am shooting a certain gun weekly or more, I will go several weeks without cleaning it. When I start getting dirty handling it, I know it's time to clean it.

 

[Maximinus Thrax]

My carry gun is cleaned every time I shoot it. By clean I mean patches through the barrel, gunk off of the slide, and wipe off the rest.

I push out the roll pins and do a deep clean every year for every gun that makes it to the range on a regular basis. Ones that rarely make it to the range get broken down even less frequently.

 

[ChootEm]

So I guess the big problem I have is on the rare occasions I do get to the range I usually take several with me. Between the few 22's, the 7.62's, the 9's, and the 45 I struggle to clean them all after a range visit. The 22's probably get cleaned more often but they also run fifty times the rounds than the others do. Long story short I feel I do a decent job cleaning them. They all run fine and I don't feel like I have OCD..hehehe....

 

[Tester]

My carry gun gets wiped down every night. All guns shot at the range get field stripped, cleaned, oiled and reassembled. Any stored guns get taken out and wiped down every month or so. I don't clean mags unless they exhibit a problem.

 

[chezuki]

Cleaning? Not sure I understand...

 

[Bennettjh]

I usually run a bore snake through it after each range trip. When it gets dirtier than I'm comfortable with, take it down and clean and lube it.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Wipe down after shooting.

I clean about every 1,000 rounds, unless I'm working up a reload and I make something that's really dirty or burns incompletely.

I take everything out of the safe and re-oil it about every 6 months.

 

[dudley0]

Cleaning? Not sure I understand...

When you shoot it.... you are just cleaning the barrel out. Gets rid of the fuzz that collects from AIWB carry.

 

[M67]

Because of humidity, I'll wipe down after use.

But as for tear down, completely clean, I do that when they stop working correctly. Shoot them and leave them.

 

[KLB]

Cleaning? Not sure I understand...

IKR. What is this cleaning of which they speak?

 

[BiscuitNaBasket]

I clean and inspect my carry gun on a regular basis. I also use a silicone cloth and wipe down the slide if it has been unusually humid outside. Run a bore snake through the barrel once a week or so.
If I shoot more than 100 rounds I'll do a 100% disassemble and clean. Not that it's necessary to be that thorough, but it's relaxing to me as well.

Long guns I'm not as anal about cleaning unless I'm storing it for an extended amount of time or selling it

 

[LtScott14]

Wipe down after shooting.

I clean about every 1,000 rounds, unless I'm working up a reload and I make something that's really dirty or burns incompletely.

I take everything out of the safe and re-oil it about every 6 months.

+on Bi-Monthly or 6 mos or so. That is great PM. Use to be a Range Offficer, you would not believe the conditions some firearms showed up for quals. Complete Pig Pen guns.
Guys wondered why we furnished cleaning materials on the completion of shooting to assure the dependability of all their firearms. Had one guy who upon removing the first mag couldn't get slide to return. Recoil spring was actually fused from rust. (Ruger P89) we soaked it in WD40, no dice. He had to replace the spring.

Seems the Glocks did do the best. Berettas were good too. We didn't see a lot of SigSauers, most guns were personal owned. Just follow above maintenance, you will go trouble free. Good luck.

 

[Doublehelix]

I am not surprised by the wide variety of answers, I sort of expected it. One thing I notice is that only one responder actually referenced anything about magazine cleaning. I am guessing that most folks don't bother to clean then until necessary?

James