Can you over clean your gun? Wear it out?

You aren't going to wear a gun out by dis-assembling and cleaning it. I completely clean and inspect my guns after every shooting session, without exception. Your guns really need to be cleaned and properly lubed if you expect them to be trouble-free and last a life-time.

 

If that was the case then all of the M-16's used at basic training posts would fall apart when you picked them up. They get cleaned after every range day and sometimes just for good measure. Those rifles are OLD too. They've been cleaned by hundreds, maybe thousands, of privates over their lifespans.

 

Here's a question that will answer your question.

Would you trust your life to a dirty weapon?

 

My past weekend may offer some insight to your query.

I was the assistant to a great shooter (my father-in-law) at a Benchrest match. He's very mature and can use the help moving gear.

The folks at this match all shoot custom built weapons. From actions to stocks to the handloaded rounds, everything is one off.

That said, they clean the bejesus out of everything. Between rounds, they scrub and clean and lube, then dry and shoot, and it all starts all over again. The only thing that may be a factor is the fact that the barrels are especially built for competition and may hold up better to the abuse of constant cleaning?

The folks at this match were shooting pieces worth thousands of dollars. Every detail is a concern to them.

 

For something like a semiauto pistol you've only fired a few hundred rounds through I wouldn't get fanatical and detail strip it .

For my pistols after a range trip I usually field strip , hose them down with GunScrubber wipe off the surfaces clean with a soft cloth to remove residue , run a clean patch down the barrel a few times , spray with Breakfree and reassemble .

After about three trips I will scrub the frame , slide and inside of the barrel with a brush for a few seconds . If just sitting in safe I pull them out about once every six months for spot cleaning and about every two months to shoot with some Breakfree and work the actions .

 

There are gas guns out there that will function better with a little bit of carbon in the gas system, but your average pistol will function much better when sparkling clean. Regardless of what sort of garbage this guy is trying to sell or was fed at SHOT, he's wrong.

Don't you shoot well enough to notice a loss in accuracy, or shoot enough to notice the loss of crispness in the action? What sort of pieces are they that you can do this and not notice?

 

Overclean....wear it out? That's sort of a silly notion don't you think?

 

It doesn't sound like you're familar with what a high quality product GunScrubber is Matt , the weapons ARE clean doing this .

Now when I shoot many 200 Gr LSWC I will hit the inside of the barrel while still wet with a brush for a few minutes .

Loss of accuracy and crispness , no why should there be ?

Despite shooting many Lead SWC's my barrels have no buildup at all in them but then when I do use a brush I always use one that is oversized for all calibers to get into the lands and groves .

As far as how well I shoot , I rarely shoot paper anymore and instead opt for 4 inch DX Iron swingers on my target stand and empty 20 oz soda bottles on a hill out to 25 yards , I don't have a problem regularly hitting them and that is good enough for me .


The guns are Charles Daly 1911's and a Taurus 40 S&W , but it takes a bit more time to clean the revolvers I own .

I did the same basic thing with a Colt 1911 I owned years ago and never saw a loss of accuracy or reliability as the gun never malfunctioned despite thousands of rounds of mixed loads factory and handloads .

 

I have always been hounded to get break my gun down, and clean it after every shoot, but I'm new to the game...

 

I've never used Gun Scrubber, but after your testimony, I'll be buying a can. Hoppe's and a metal brush isn't eating the copper out of my barrel very well and if the Gun Scrubber clears lead like you say, it's got to be good stuff.

 

I do not think you can "over clean" a gun. You could "under lube" it, but not over clean. If you ran an oversize brass/bronze brush through the bore a few hundred thousand times it MIGHT cause some wear. I think your shoulder would wear out first.

Gun scrubber is good. If you are getting lead or copper residue left in the barrel w/Hoppes #9, try Shooters Choice bore solvent. It cleans out both as well as plastic wad fouling from shotgun barrels. It is the only bore solvent I use.

Don't forget to clean the magazines after every use. Mags are often times neglected and the most delicate part of a self loading pistol. Kleen Bore makes a good mag brush for single stack pistols, double stack pistols and AR/AK mags. Three brushes at $5 each would be enough for anyone's inventory of guns.

 

I've cleaned my M4 rifle and M9 pistol hundreds upon hundreds of times. They are just fine. My accuracy is still good, and the parts show no signs of wear from cleaning.

Continue to do what you are doing. You are right for cleaning your weapon and you have a good routine in place. Don't chage it. Keep your pistol clean, and it'll run good for you. Don't worry about that guy. He may be smart, but that is one area he needs a little refresher education in.

Like I said before in an earlier post. If it comes down to using your weapon to defend your life or your loved one's life, would you rather it be clean and oiled or dirty?

 

Guys I ran into a similar discussion a few years back on a board and if you've noticed the original Hoppe's #9 isn't doing as good a jobs as bygone days it isn't your imagination .

Seems with all the EPA stuff they changed the formula a long time ago because some of the ingredients were carcinogens .

Another good cleaner is Hoppe's Elite , it is a water based cleaner without the smell you and I like but the wives seem to hate in their house but it isn't cheap running about $5 for a little spray bottle at Walmart if they have it .

If you're so inclined to buy a big bottle "$28 at MidwayUSA" as I did a few years ago here is a tip I stumbled on to after I knocked the bottle over and broke the top .

Find a household product with a foaming spray head and put it on the bottle and when you start to clean your auto pistol first fill up the barrel with Elite "Foam" and let it sit while you clean the frame and slide etc . then hit the barrel a few times with a brush then a patch it should come clean fast .

 

Rather than keep trying out different saddles on this horse, I ask the folks who own a good sized part of the barn.

I sent this e-mail to Smith and Wesson.......

I received this reply... from pgazda@smith-wesson.com

I don't agree, but I'm old........

 

When I shot High Power in the late 80's and early 90's it was with an old H&R M14. I was under the impression that cleaning it thoroughly after every match or practice was the way to go. It would get stripped down with the action removed from the stock, op rod and bolt removed. After an Old-Shooter heard this he set me on the straight and narrow. Only remove the stock if it is absolutely needed. Run a saturated patch or 2 through the barrel just to say you did. If your accuracy didn't suffer then there would be no need to do the full barrel cleaning.

 

Like I said earlier, some gas guns are different.

 

Maybe I have a touch of ocd, but thinking about just running a bore snake down the barrel and calling it good after a range trip makes me twitch.