Handgun cleaning.

Dante · 03-04-2008, 20:23

I go to the range pretty much every Sunday and fire on average 300 rounds. After this my handgun is very dirty as one could imagine. To clean all of the shit out of it and relube it takes me an hour and I wanted to know if I am doing something wrong, because it is really getting to be a pain in the ass. Is it meant to be like this or am I just really slow? I typically hit everything (except the finish) with gun scrubber and wipe it off, and just wipe everything down, clean out extractor tube, firing pin tube, etc.

Dante

Sacamuelas · 03-04-2008, 20:40

I look at the time spent cleaning my pistols/rifles/shotguns in the same way that I spend time fishing or sitting in the woods quietly looking for big horns. You actually had the time to shoot and clean em', just..... change your perspective and actually appreciate and enjoy the quality time with your own thoughts.

-Saca, father of twin 4yr old grizzly bear/hyena hybrids, errr.....kids

haha
[/hijack]

Oh yeah, an hour is a bit long for a single pistol. But to each his own....

**Team Sergeant** · 03-05-2008, 07:12

Unless you're firing some cheap ammo 300 rounds should not make a handgun that dirty.

I think it takes me less than 10 minutes to clean & oil my handgun.

You must be talking about a 1911?

Rich Dressler · 03-05-2008, 12:08

A clean weapon is a happy weapon, but you can probably use a quicker cleaning with your shooting schedule. A toothbrush on the extractor and feed port and a bore brush for chamber fouling should set you up for another 300 rounds. You didn't mention what type of weapon you are shooting. My daily carry is a Para Ord. 12/45 and takes time to clean completely but my old P-38 (Dad's carry in WWII) can be cleaned in less than half the time. Just for fun, try letting cleaning go altogether for a few weeks and see how long you go without a malfunction. Rich

Big Daddy · 03-05-2008, 16:31

I'm up to appx. 2,500 rounds now on my 1911 without a cleaning or problem.

Sten · 03-05-2008, 16:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

I'm up to appx. 2,500 rounds now on my 1911 without a cleaning or problem.

Why?

BryanK · 03-05-2008, 18:42

Extractor/Firing pin tube

Plunger tube maybe? If you want a pretty thorough deep clean, try Wipeout for the bore. Here's a link http://www.eabco.com/WipeOut.htm (It's worked well in some of my projects). And be sure to apply a light coat of lube to all parts that were sprayed with gun scrubber. That stuff eats plastic!

Dante · 03-05-2008, 22:31

Yes, I am using a 1911. It just seems like there's so much shit to wipe away. After I switched over to using grease on the slide rails it eased it up a bit. I'll see how a toothbrush quickens the job. The way I always did it I use q-tips on the slide rails and all the hard to get spots and just wipe everything else away with a rag. I guess maybe I am trying to detail clean too much? I just always figured that cleaning everything was the way to go.

82ndtrooper · 03-05-2008, 22:54

I ran a Sig P228 9mm Luger for over 6,000 rounds before cleaning it and it still did not fail to feed, fail to extract, or stovepipe, nada, nothing, ding. Ammunition was mostly Winchester White box, some CCI Blazer and maybe a few mags of Federal American Eagle.

I wouldn't rec' it, but just saying, that some guns will run and some wont without a regular field stip cleaning and lubrication.

If it's an 1911, you'll have to clean it once every two mags..............

tom kelly · 05-01-2008, 13:43

If you run a gun wet and dirty it should function without a problem for a short period, However, if you run a gun dirty and dry you will have a malfunction of some type. If you depend on your weapon to defend yourself and possibly save your life clean and lube it after every time it is fired when you have the time and opportunity.Regard's, tom kelly

AngelsSix · 05-17-2008, 14:52

Always knocking the 1911's...........

I have put plenty of rounds through each of my 1911's with nary an issue, dirty OR clean. I might take a few days to get around to cleaning them, but they get cleaned thoroughly each time I do clean them. I shot them dirty a few times to see what problems would crop up. I have more issues with crappy magazines than the guns. I noticed that the shorter they make them, the more they jam up. My standard size 1911's work great.

GratefulCitizen · 05-17-2008, 19:52

My 1911 sometimes used crap ammo (10mm can be hard to find and is always expensive).
It made for a much dirtier cleanup.

Started using Tetra Gun lube.
Over time, it became much easier to clean, regardless of the type of ammo used.

Something in the lube keeps the crap from clinging as strongly to the gun.

Just add a www.
tetraproducts.com/product_view.asp?ID=2

Blitzzz (RIP) · 07-22-2008, 20:45

I don't have any reason tome cleaning my pistols. Each round has about 1/10th of a rifle cartridge so cleaning isn't as necessary as often as my rifles and I also shoot BPCR which must be cleaned immediately after firing. To get to the point I brush with Hoppes and then use a bore snake on my pistols, and finish with white grease.

Also with the BPCR brass must be washed and scrubed inside. Black powder will corrode the inside of the brass. Blitzzz

JJ_BPK · 07-23-2008, 03:57

Cleaning your weapons on a regular basis is THE best way to keep them in shape.

BUT,, I have to tell you about "Ol' DIrty"

latest round count, dated 02/03/08,,

Ol' Dirty hasn't been cleaned in 14,320 rounds!!!!!!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT ADVOCATE THIS TYPE OF WEAPONS MAINTENANCE

Quote:

This is a tale of a legendary rifle from Texas known as Ol' Dirty. The rifle is owned by FAL Files and TX-FNFAL member, James. This is not a story for the faint of heart or for AR-15 owners so read at your own risk.

A year or so ago, James decided that he would conduct a duration experiment just to see how long a standard post ban FAL rifle could go without a cleaning of any kind. The rifle started life as a nice StG 58 kit built on an Imbel receiver with a DSA fake long Belgian flash hider and a spray can camo finish. Since I have known James, the rifle has always been very reliable and accurate and really one of his favorite firearms.

The experiment started as a challenge to see if a FAL could withstand continued abuse and filthiness that a less robust rifle could only dream of. Ol' Dirty has had 14,320 rounds of various surplus ammo fired through it without a cleaning. The chamber area has an incredibly nasty build-up of carbon (it actually now has an almost solid carbon feed ramp). The gas plug is pretty much frozen up from carbon fouling and I don't think the piston has been seen for some time now. The rifle still cycles perfectly and the accuracy is as good as ever. I have shot my rifles against this rifle many times and it is tough if not impossible to beat. Accurate shot placement out to 400 and 500 yards is common for James and Ol' Dirty.

It just goes to prove what the FAL can accomplish under the most extremely filthy conditions.

Update: I have been informed that this was never intended to be an experiment but that James just doesn't like to clean his rifles.

http://www.falfiles.com/forums/showt...threadid=68486

Because there may be persons with medical conditions, children, and others with weak stomachs,, I will not post the pictures of Ol' Dirty,, but here is one of a target shot by OD..

I guy's got to have his limits...

Juliet Delta · 08-09-2008, 22:41

At the gun store I worked at, I got to clean a large number of 1911's for customers. One customer was a personal friend of mine, and used a Vickers NH. When he first got it, he didn't know how to take it apart...he just let us clean it for him. All he did was lock the slide back and apply lube (CLP). It went it's first 5k rounds without even being field stripped. Ammo was an assortment of FMJ reloads and commercial ball 230gr. He had 1 or 2 magazine related malfunctions, and that was it.

When he handed it over to us...it looked like it'd been pulled out of a swamp. Everything but the sights got pulled off and run through a ultra-sonic tank. It still required scrubbing to get the remaining gunk off, after it was run through the tank.

I surely would have thought a 1911 fit that tightly would have choked long before 5k rounds...but it always ran wet. It's my belief that the crud being relatively damp allowed it to flow into areas that didn't negatively affect the mechanism. Were it dry, it probably would have clogged up, and slowed down the moving parts, IMO.

Another responsibility of mine was to maintain rental pistols. Glocks, Sigs, XD's, 1911's, BHP's, S&W revolvers, HK's, and Beretta's. All ran 10,000-100,000 rounds/ year....non were ever broken down and detail cleaned unless a part broke and needed replacement, but they all ran wet, also. They were field stripped and cleaned/ lubed about once a week. If a gun started to have stoppages, a simple wipe-down and re-lube got it running, every time.

I now detail clean my pistols aprox every 1k rounds, and do a basic cleaning after each usage, and a relube every 2 weeks even if not used.

These were pistols used on an indoor range at room temperature...I can't offer much help with keeping pistols running in alternate environments.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like to compare notes.

JD