[Creekside_Sports]

For me I swear by Break-Free CLP and use that to clean, lube and oil all my personal firearms and my customer's firearms. The only time that I use something different is when a gun comes in with heavy copper fouling and I use Mpro-7. But the procedure is still pretty much the same.
Step one: Put your cleaning agent of choice on the brush and down the barrel
Step two: Run your brush multiple times through the barrel starting at the throat of the barrel.
Step three: Run wet patches until they come up clean
Step four: Run dry patches until they up dry
Step five: Run 1 wet patch to oil the inside of the barrel
Step six: Wipe down all exterior/ exposed metal and wood with a silicone gun cloth.

That's the process that I do at the shop and its the same way that I was taught in school. Hope this helps.

[Durangokid]

I clean or try to after each use. For corrosive I wash the bore good with Windex. This is followed with Gun Slick foam cleaner [Good Stuff]. I wipe the bore with 92% alcohol and finish with Balistoll in the bore. I use this cleaning with all ammo except I skip the Windex with standard primers.

For black powder. I use a 50-50 92% alcohol and Murphys Oil Soap. I pump this in the bore with a patch let it set 20 minutes. Run the patch down a few times. Pour it out. One dry patch down the bore. Wet the patch with Alcohol to dry the chamber and vent. Finish with WD 40 or Balistoll. This is 3 patches and clean. I use 100 % cotton baby diaper cloth from Walmart for cleaning patches.

[MarineDoc]

I'm old fashioned. Served with the Marines and have a son who is a policeman. Have been indoctrinated to clean after each use. What helps is being retired and having plenty of time.

[whitedemon]

i don't know if any one has ever told any one about how to get rust off a gun turpintine will but be carefull with it it is rusts down fall

[Glore]

Most others here have put good useful information. I clean my guns everytime I shoot them. Part of the enjoyment of owning guns for me is to clean and maintain them properly. I use Hoppes #9 solvent and have used it for years. I have recently discovered Militech and have found only positive information information about it. I will post a review after I receive my order.

Old dental equipment (hygiene tools with a point for cleaning tight places with a cloth wrapped around the tip, being careful not to have metal on metal contact) old tooth brushes, q-tips are some of the best tools for cleaning, solvents and oils are a matter of personal preference. I dont over lube anything with oil and enjoy and clean my firearms enough that I can wipe off all excess oil and they still are protected.

Also one thing I would like to add. There are numerous videos showing complete dissasembly for nearly every gun out there all over the web, ecspecially YOUTUBE. Take a look and follow instructions and you can service and keep your firearms clean and running flawlessly.

[XGrunt]

I clean my firearms after every shooting session, and pull them out three or four times a year for periodic cleaning/inspection/lubrication.
I always break pistols down to standard field strip, clean everything with either Nitro gun solvent or CLP, (Nitro for really filthy situations), and a brush,then lightly oil with Miltech-1, and apply lithium grease with a q-tip, (from a spay can, it's thinner) to high friction areas, and rub off excess.

Rifles I swab out with a brush and #9, then patch out till dry and clean. Clean hard to get areas with small brushes and qtips, lube with rem oil or Rem dry lube. If the bolt field strips out, I pull it and clean/lube accordingly.

Removable magazines are also cleaned and lubed after each shooting session,
then reloaded and stored in the safe(s).

I store my rifles upright in the safe, and generally place a cap over the barrel or a white golf tee in the end of the smaller bores, to keep dust out.

[Sarge22]

After each use the weapon is wiped down and the barrel swabbed with CLP. Once every six months I break down the weapon to the most basic parts and give everything a good "rub down" with a brush and CLP dampened cloth before wiping the parts down with a dry cloth to remove all but a film of oil. One person told me my use of CLP every use was going to ruin my gun. How does excessive (in his mind) lubrication "cause" wear? And why, dear friend, are all my guns like new while you are constantly bemoaning the lack of quality in your arms?

[ceegee]

Originally Posted by notdku

What is your criteria for cleaning your guns?
Do you clean based on rounds fired, time since last cleaning, condition of gun, etc.


How do you clean your guns?
What products do you use and what methods to thorough cleaning.

1. I do not shoot often so I clean after every trip to the range, preferably same day but NLT 24 hours.

2. Hoppes solvent and oil, bore snake, bore light, nylon brush, Q-tips, and one-piece carbon fiber rod.

• Follow all safety precautions
• Run a bore snake through the barrel (rare step for me - depends on how dirty the firearm). If I don't do this, I'll run a dry patch through the barrel first
• Run a patch with solvent, then a dry patch or two. Repeat until patch comes out clean
• Run a lightly-oiled patch through, followed by a dry patch
• Wet a patch with solvent then hand-wipe the bolt, inside the receiver. May also use a nylon brush and/or Q-tips at this stage
• Lightly wet a patch with oil, and go over the bolt, inside the receiver, etc. Then do the same with a dry patch to leave a thin coat. I want to eliminate all excess oil - no drops visible
• Wipe the exterior barrel and stock

Nice survey. I may modify what I do based on other responses.

[W. C. Quantrill]

I do not use corrosive ammo, almost everything I shoot, I load.

Pistols are cleaned periodically, after about 250 rounds. Rifles are cleaned about once a month, which amounts to 100 to 200 rounds.

Hoppes copper cleaner is swabbed in, left to soak for a bit, then swabbed out with a nylon brush...Someone here said patches kept coming out green? Well, they will if you use a brass brush. They wont come clean unless you use a stainless or nylon brush.

If the stainless .45 gets really gunky, I pull the grips, strip it totally into a fine wire basket and run it a pass through the dish washer. It comes out surgically clean. I then re-oil it and reassemble it.

I dont have sand to worry about, and I dont have humidity to worry about, so the only issue is to maintain the guns in weapon condition. I dont have a gun that isnt shot. The earliest one is a M1843. Every gun on this place is loaded and ready to go. There are no kids in this house, or if they are, they all shoot anyway. If I need a gun in a hurry, I can grab one and be out the door with it, knowing it is going to work when I pull the trigger. I dont have time to go hunt ammo and load one if there is a coyote in the calf pen. It must suck to be some of you guys that live in town.

[nosreme]

Handguns (1911s & Hi Powers)-every session or 200 rounds; even if less than 200 rounds since last session, before the next session if it's been more than a week since I last cleaned & lubed

AR 15s-before every session

I will not use CLP at all in my pistols - just FP10 or Wilson Lube