Firearm Cleanings

[WiseOwl]

Question to you experience folks.....

Should I clean my pistol and shotgun after each session? I know how to look down the barrels and tell if they are dirty and looking through the extractor opening, but by cleaning them after each time does it help or is it just being OCD?

I have been doing it about 4 times a year (each season) because thats when I have been able to shoot. I just wanted your opinions and thoughts on this.

Thanks in advance

WiseOwl

[eeyore]

I would say you are cleaning them more then a lot of people, but that was not the question. I would say yes (but i don't always do that myself). But i never fail to clean the pistols each time or if i shoot any reloads (they are always dirtier) and if i shoot any stuff that has corrosive primers or i think may have corrosive primes.
If you shot black pwder i always clean after that when i get home.

[boltgun308]

I would be more concerned with corrosion than anything else, and I'm not talking about the interior of the barrel. I usually just wipe down the outside and that's all. I used to be **** about cleaning after every match or between strings. Now it is not uncommon for me to shoot 300 - 500 rds between barrel cleanings.

[WiseOwl]

Another question.

My brother has the Springfield XDM .40 (which I love because of the capacity)...I noticed today that a little bit of rust was forming on the rear right side of the slide. How can he stop that? He keeps this particular one in the case at all times. He wipes it down after he uses it and has only cleaned it once (about 350 rounds have went through it)....any thoughts?

[TyrannyUnleashed]

Another question.

My brother has the Springfield XDM .40 (which I love because of the capacity)...I noticed today that a little bit of rust was forming on the rear right side of the slide. How can he stop that? He keeps this particular one in the case at all times. He wipes it down after he uses it and has only cleaned it once (about 350 rounds have went through it)....any thoughts?

Does he have a dehumidifier in the case at all times? If it is a disposable type, it needs to be replaced as recommended. Remember a light (very light) coat of solvent and oil will help maintain the finish. Also to your first question, I always suggest cleaning a firearm after each time shooting. My dad still has his very first shotgun that was given to him when he was around 6. He is now 85 and this gun was cleaned after every use and it is in perfect shape. For that reason alone I clean, and clean some more.
Just my .02

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Another question. My brother has the Springfield XDM .40 (which I love because of the capacity)...I noticed today that a little bit of rust was forming on the rear right side of the slide. How can he stop that? He keeps this particular one in the case at all times. He wipes it down after he uses it and has only cleaned it once (about 350 rounds have went through it)....any thoughts?

Yep my thought is you shouldnt buy a pistol for that much money that rusts. Pistols ride in places where they are exposed to alot of abuse and there are manufactures that simply dont get it and there are those that have been around for 25yrs and have it right.
On the cleaning, yes I suppose as tier level 1 survivalist, soldiers, LEOs, or whatevers we should clean our weapons after each session so our level of readiness is top notch always however I can tell you I dont. A good example is the other day, i busted 4 rds off in the AR. Guess what it aint getting cleaned.
I clean mine alot more than most but I also shoot them to the point of fail so i know what that point is too. My G17 took several thousand without failing and I just couldnt stand it anymore. My ruger 10-22 is good for about 300 and a little POS 25acp I have is good for about 12rds and so on and so forth.
Black powder or corresive ammo must be done each time and sometimes several times afterwards to get it completly clean.

[boltgun308]

Some of the old Springfields were not melonite coated. The new ones are and I would have thought the XDM was a new enough model to be melonite treated (salt bath nitride). The case he keeps it in may be the culprit, also. I have carried a Glock in a marine enviroment for years with no rust issues except for the sights which were not Glock issue.

[Klayton]

I clean all my guns after they are fired. BUT, I do NOT use copper solvent when I do the normal cleaning. Copper solvent is needed if you fire ALOT of jacketed ammo (think in the thousands of rounds). But this solvent is corrosive to your gun innards so DO IT SPARINGLY! Some people swear by it, some people curse it and will never use it. To each their own.

As for the rust, I lightly coat all exposed metal on my guns BEFORE they go into a SILICONE gun sock BEFORE they go into a gun safe that has two different types of dehumidifiers... Hope this helps.

[WiseOwl]

Boltgun308, should I tell my brother to contact Springfield? He said this particular one stays under the mattress and only goes in the case on trips. Other than that little spot this pistol is flawless and I love shooting it.

Klayton, I use Rem Oil on them. I was told by my "advisors" not to use solvent that it can cause rust. I usually put a dab on the rem oil on a cleaning cloth and clean spotless ( I have a universal cleaning kit with all of the adapters) then wipe down and add a small squirt were the slide groove is. But just a little bit. My .40 is Stainless and I swear I can see my reflection in it...:)

[rice paddy daddy]

I field strip and clean my firearms after every range trip. This is simply the way I was trained, plus I have quite a chunk of cash invested, and I want to protect that investment.

[Klayton]

Yes solvent will cause rust, thats why it is used ONLY if you fire ALOT of copper (jacketed) ammo. That ammo leaves ever so small traces of copper (via friction obviously), after awhile you will get copper build up which throws off accuracy AND speed of your ammo.

I use Rem Oil also when I run out of my CLP (old military habits die hard).

My method (please feel free to give me any suggestions, because I am no expert):

1) chamber brush is used for 2 or 3 strokes into the chamber,
2) bore brush ONE TIME ONLY, and ONLY in the direction of the bullet (never reverse direction when there is a bore brush inside your barrel, and most people say never run a bore brush in the opposite direction of bullet direction),
3) oil up a swab and swab the full inside of your barrel,
4) oil up a swab and swab the full inside of your barrel (yes 3 is same as 4-use a new swab for step 4)
5) now you dry swab the inside of your barrel until it comes out clean (on a long range day this can take up to a full packet of swabs (#100)
6) once swab comes out clean, LIGHTLY oil up a swab and run this lightly coated swab through your barrel twice
7) your barrel is now clean, now use general cleaning procedures for the rest of your gun
8) LIGHTLY coat all metal with gun oil (avoiding wood if you have wood stock)
9) clean the optics of your scope with approved materials
10) close scope lens covers
11) insert gun into silicone gun sock

:)

[ebb]

Klayton I am not trying to be a smart *** but how do you know the bore is clean?

[Elza]

Klayton I am not trying to be a smart *** but how do you know the bore is clean?

When the patches come out clean. A patch will pick up any crud in the bore.

A good way to clean copper out of the bore is with ammonia. Put a rubber stopper in the muzzle and pour in ammonia until the bore is filled. Let it stand over night. The ammonia will come out blue-green in color and the bore will be sparkling clean. Ammonia devours copper but is harmless to steel.

To the OP: I clean mine after every use. It’s kind of a zen thing with me. I enjoy zoning out and cleaning them.

[qrprat77]

I use Hoppes #9, a cleaner designed from the ground up for cleaning bores dirtied with corrosive ammo, and it smells nice too!
I also clean every gun I haven't shot recently every three months.
Just because.

[rice paddy daddy]

Hoppes #9 is good stuff. There are a large amount of cleaners out there, but hoppes cannot be beat for cleaning powder fouling. Other, more caustic, chemicals are needed for removing excess lead and copper fouling, however. I use Remington 10X for copper removal. Leading should not be an issue with factory ammo, but if you roll your own, the hardness of the lead is a factor, plus high velocity loads should have gas checks on the base of the bullet.