Gun cleaning frequency

[Ckidd_21]

Was talking with my dad about cleaning guns and now curious. How often is everyone here cleaning their guns? Every time you shoot? Every other? More often for daily carry? Personally I try to clean my daily carry once to twice a month and hunting rifles as we shoot throughout the year (definitely don’t get to it every time ). My dad and I learned about shooting and cleaning from a former Marine and he was pretty strict on doing it every single time he shot. I 100% understood why as he said “I need it to go boom every time I squeeze that trigger”. What are your guys routines?

 

[brockel]

Besides a wipe down I think I cleaned one back in high school

 

[Forkyfinder]

I clean a bolf rifle barrel if i notice the accuracy slipping. My grandpa's always said a gun should be "clean" after its shot - but that was from a time when they bought corrosive ammo and shot it. I came around to deciding it was a bad idea to clean all the time when i noticed that it takes a few shots of fouling to get back to consistent the same POI. Ive been told that a lot barrels have been ruined by "cleaning" than being a little dirty from shooting non-corrosive ammo.

ARs/pistols ill clean a little more but mostly the moving parts and less so the barrel. Jmho

 

[brockel]

ARs/pistols ill clean a little more but mostly the moving parts and less so the barrel. Jmho

 

[Wind Gypsy]

View attachment 337947

Makes me laugh every time!

Id say I usually go 200-400 rounds between cleaning a barrel on most bolt rifles. Some start misbehaving and need it a bit sooner.

 

[cowboy]

Barrels are like finger prints - no two are alike.

Some variables include caliber, type of bullets, speed you’re pushing them, bullet stability, location and atmospheric conditions etc.

One example is that Barnes all copper fowl differently than cup and core. Shooting different types of bullets on top of one another without cleaning can also result in some interesting results at times.

I broke in and developed loads for a rifle builder for his clients that order a rifle build and want proven loaded ammo to be part of the package. Some barrels can be extremely finicky- some will dial in without much tinkering.

I found that the best solution is to be consistent with your cleaning procedure and routine with something that you found that works for that barrel. You may have a rifle parked right next to one in your gun safe that needs a completely different cleaning routine than the other one.

Just my opinion - just ain’t no right or wrong answer. When you find a routine that suites your needs - stay consistent.

 

[Boarmaster]

I wipe down the outside after every hunt or as needed. I only clean the barrel and action after the season or after hunting in the rain. Has been pretty much my way for 40 years. The right answer is really when it needs it or when not maintaining the rifle could lead to issues. I did have to clean the copper out of one mid season a few years back. Lost accuracy.

 

[Stcknstringer22]

Depends on the gun. My x bolt 7mm maybe has 25 shots thru it. Never cleaned it. My new christensen 7 prc I cleaned 5 times now breaking in the barrel. From what I heard it's a needy cartridge. Needs cleaned more often than your ol trusty deer rifle.

 

[LuketheDog]

I clean mine sometimes, I even know where my cleaning kit is! I definitely clean the .22s more than the other rifles though.

 

[shannerdrake]

Muzzleloader - within a week or two of shooting it every time.

Everything else? Uhm . Does wiping them down if they get wet count?

 

[Stone_Ice_1]

Every time I shoot it.

Several reasons for this. As someone else mentioned I shoot Barnes and it requires cleaning. Also if you shoot until it starts shooting bad, when do you notice that it is off? I don't want to notice when the biggest elk I've seen in my life is standing in my line of fire. I would rather know it is clean and what it is going to do.

 

[deer_shooter]

Every time I shoot.

 

[belshawelk]

I am the worst person here.

I clean every gun after after time I shoot.

 

[HandgunHunter]

not until the gun tells me it needs cleaned. Such as accuracy falls off, it gets wet/dirty from use in the field, and so on.

I have one from the day I built it….many years and a few dozen critters….still hasn’t been cleaned and shoots well.

 

[CoHunter1991]

I do my hunting rifles once annually after season wraps up. But I only put 40 or so rounds through each of them a year.

 

[Seamaster]

I have shot benchrest for many years. Cleaning the barrels after shooting is the common practice, as is shooting again to foul the barrel before shooting for score.

With hunting rifles the only cleaning I usually do is after the season ends each year. I believe the "tactical" crowd, and the keyboard crowd, are the fellows more likely to rarely clean their barrels. My .22 rifles do not get cleaned very often other than an occasional wet and then dry patch.

 

[nrpate05]

I clean my bolt rifles usually once a year and that is max 100 rounds through each of them, usually less. I used to clean after every session, but it just got to be too much and I don't think it was necessary.

 

[WapitiBob]

Every range session.

 

[kodiakisland]

I can't even imagine cleaning every time I shoot. It's not like we're still shooting mercury and nitrocellulose. I clean my semiautos when they tell me they need cleaning. I clean my bolt guns about once a year unless accuracy starts to fall off. My long range benchrest guns probably 2-3 times a year. There is absolutely no reason to clean every time you shoot any more than changing the oil every 3K miles because that's how we did it in the 70s.

I shoot weekly. Usually 10 guns or so each time. Rotated through 30 guns or so. Some get shot a lot more than others, but all get shot on a regular basis. There is just no reason to clean most guns after each firing.

Modern primers are clean and many newer powders contain decoppering agents. If your cast bullets are causing excessive leading, you need to fix what's wrong instead of cleaning more often. All new barrels get treated with Dyna-tek Bore Coat. Copper fouling is pretty much a thing of the past.

For those who aren't familiar with the Dyna-Tek product, ask John Barsness next time you run into him.

 

[blicky123]

Was talking with my dad about cleaning guns and now curious. How often is everyone here cleaning their guns? Every time you shoot? Every other? More often for daily carry? Personally I try to clean my daily carry once to twice a month and hunting rifles as we shoot throughout the year (definitely don’t get to it every time ). My dad and I learned about shooting and cleaning from a former Marine and he was pretty strict on doing it every single time he shot. I 100% understood why as he said “I need it to go boom every time I squeeze that trigger”. What are your guys routines?

It's great that you and your dad have a solid routine for gun maintenance, especially with the background of learning from a former Marine. I think the frequency of cleaning really depends on the type of firearm, how often it’s used, and its purpose. For me, I clean my daily carry every two weeks, but if I shoot it, I clean it immediately afterward. The reasoning is similar to what you mentioned: reliability is crucial, especially for something I might need to trust in a self-defense situation. As for my hunting rifles, I clean them thoroughly at the end of each hunting season and do a quick wipe down after every outing. They’re not used as frequently as my carry gun, so I don’t clean them every single time unless they’ve been exposed to harsh conditions, like rain or mud.