Full Disclosure, I’m typing this out while Journey is playing in the background: Don’t Stop Believing. Had to get that out of the way for the old heads in the room but it’s all good. “Strangers….waiting…”
So tonight I had the joy of cleaning all of the guns I shot this past weekend, I emphasize the sarcasm there because personally I believe that the cleaning process is the worst. I can’t stand it, it’s boring and tedious and anyone who says otherwise probably likes to do crossword puzzles for hours on end. I’m a restless soul and doing one thing (repetitively) for any period of time just annoys me to no end. FWIW I can only reload for an hour to two at most and then I have to stop. Boredom sets in.
All that in mind I’ll list out three things I make sure to do when cleaning my guns. Purists will probably recoil in horror but years and umpteen thousands and thousands of rounds later I’ve never had an issue. To each his own.
1- I EMBRACE Carbon. You know that guy who wears a headlamp and cleans his guns with a dental pick for hours on end? I’m not that guy and probably not even half that guy. There is carbon residue on ALL of my guns but no significant carbon buildup. You couldn’t eat off of my M4 bolt and just about every armorer in the military would reject any of my guns for turn in. The good news is…I don’t care. My guns function and they are as clean as they need to be.
2- Fancy Cleaner / Lube? Not. I have some Remington cleaning solution and some Slip 2000 which I bought a few years back because it was on sale. I also have grease on hand which I use for my EBR and Mini 14, can’t even remember the name. I am not brand loyal and I pretty much go with what I have, once that runs out I’ll move on to more of the same or something similar. It’s not a Chevy vs Ford thing for me, cleaner is cleaner and lube is lube.
3- Sometimes I SKIP Cleanings. Oh the horror!!! Yes indeed ladies and germs, sometimes I go 2 to 3 range sessions between cleanings. Can you even believe it? Let’s do the math shall we. If I fire 300 rounds through my Glock or M4 and go 2 to 3 range sessions before the next cleaning, I think you’ll agree that I should be good to go. After all these are guns that can cycle thousands of rounds with nary an issue.
Final thought: Stop taking the whole cleaning thing so seriously, unless you are enrolled in dental school or trying to drop 4 inch plates at 1000 yards (or currently deployed to an environment where sand storms hit your location weekly).
Final Final Thought: Drill Instructors/Sergeants and former NCO’s probably hate me for this post. I can only shrug my shoulders and say: It’s whatever bro.
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That’s absolutely wrong! I don’t hate you.
A couple things I have found effective on the lube side of this post. Grease works great on the edc pistol. It stays where its supposed to. If I get all dusty at work I can disassemble the gun and rinse off the dust real quick before bed, the grease stays put, reassemble in the morning and it
-phone freaked out-
Is good to go. Any high temp grease is fine, I did get some red grease on my cloths so I switched to clear but that should not usually be an issue anyways. Grease works well on AR’s too.
On the oil side mobile 1 synthetic seems to do really well. But it is not a cleaning agent.
Great thing about grease is it does not ooze and you can put it only where you need it and attract less dust.
Downside I guess would be you need to know the exact spots to lube.
WHAT!!!!!!!! Are you absolutely FRIGGEN NUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok had to get that out of my system. HAHAHAHA
My take on cleaning.
1. I take my the entire contents of my 2 Gun Safes the range for the weekend, (twice a year) Wipe each down, fire and sight each one, putting at least 20 rounds through everything.
2. Head home, after safety checking each of course, pile them in the cleaning bench, hit the 70s channel on the radio, grab a few six-packs and do the dirty work.
3. I use only Hoppers, sorry guys, old school here, and Rem Oil. soak the hell out of them and stack them back into the safes.
For my EDC I inspect it every week, wipe it down and clean it if bounces around on the truck floor for a couple of weeks. Other than that, if it’s dirty I clean it, if it’s just dusty I dunk it into a bucket of Diesel and let it drip dry. :-/
After a hard day at the range, 500 rounds or better, I will strip the ARs or whatever and “quick clean” them. (down the pipe a few times, a good wiping, and oil) that’s about it, fix any major problems, load what I keep around “handy” and shelve the rest.
I guess it’s “whatever bro” for me also. And before someone out there says “that’s a firearm that your life may depend on ….. Blah Blah Blah” Please note I have never, and I do mean never had a firearm misfire or not fire when I pulled the trigger (except when there was no cartrage in the pipe), I’m 61 and have fire tens of thousands of rounds, I believe that’s a fairly good record.
NRP
The military standards are for the obvious……Err On The Side Of Caution in the event of “SHTF”!! At the end of the day, isn’t all of what we do for “The Prep” and readiness?? Keeping your guns cleaned and ready to go only makes sense to me. Yes, I’m from a military/LE back round, lol, so for me its a no brainer, an additional 20-30 minutes (especially for my SHTF guns) is a must!!!! With that said, I would say at the very “least” I keep my guns only slightly off military standards.
I’ve only recently been back in the collecting game. I see they have a lot of new lubricants and greases on the market. Looking at the Wilson Combat lubes, and CLP-4.
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It’s all personal preference and of course a happy medium where common sense comes into play as well. Military standards aren’t exactly obvious, they are for a large group of individuals and quite often the lowest common denominator. This is why at the range they used to have the ridiculous practice of shoving brass rods down the barrels and making people carry their weapons “up and down range” ALL the time instead of just at the low ready. It’s why just setting your weapon down (while loaded, round in chamber) on safe was never good enough to walk downrange, you had to lock and clear it AND sometimes insert a device in the chamber to prove it was clear. Ever wonder why weapons issued to basic trainees look like they have been to war 5 times and back? It’s not because they are pumping thousands and thousands of rounds through them, it’s because they are cleaning them to death…but I digress.
One last question, if a Glock and cycle 10,000 rounds without failing doesn’t it seem a bit “overkill” to clean the thing after every range trip, during which 100-200 rounds might have been fired? Not saying I go 10,000 rounds between cleanings but I think you get the point.
I enjoy cleaning them. I don’t enjoy crossword puzzles though.
I wouldn’t have found the cracked fire control group in my fnp had I not cleaned it after 100 rounds. The other part of cleaning is inspecting for future problems. Weak extractor spring on the AR or cracks in the bolt, piston rings that don’t hold the weight of the bolt etc. My preference is to clean. Just me though.
Some firearms deal with dirt better than others.
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I just cleaned / lubed one of my piston driven AR’s, shot it over the weekend too but left it for tonight to clean. Talk about “enjoyable” vs the direct impingement version. Literally took 10 minutes, although someone with more OCD might have taken an hour 🙂
I do use a combo of lube and grease on the piston driven guns.
I’ve never played with a piston ar. I have seen pics and vids of the difference in fouling. I’d like to experience it some day. AR is about the most tedious to clean. Seems like the fad is slowing in the piston world, might be able to find one at a good price sometime soon. Elections are coming though…
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Indeed. Clinton again? Better stockpile….
here is a good article
http://www.gundigest.com/tactical-gear/tactical-guns/ar-15-pistons
if you are a Tier 1 guy who runs a suppressor maybe piston is better, or if you have an SBR. lol
Good read, the ending paragraphs made me chuckle some.
I have no need for a piston driven ar. Its pretty much a want right next to that trp. Neither of which are in the realistic near future for me.
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I have no need for many of the guns (or even gear) that I own, only wants. The good news is my wife thinks all my guns cost around $100 each. LOL!
Thats amazing! All mine were on a once in a lifetime sale! I mean I can sell them tomorrow and make money. How can I pass that up? It would be crazy to.
I am OCD about keeping my firearms clean. Just the way I am. No apologies at all, and I don’t feel guilty about it either.
As for being “old school”, I plead guilty as charged. Hoppe’s No.9 or nothing. My wife has even pestered me to write to Hoppe’s and DEMAND that they formulate a men’s cologne that smells like good old No.9
No, I haven’t dabbed a tad behind each of my ears……but if I had to, I would.
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I bet you dab yourself with Old Spice in the morning! 🙂
Gotta love the old school flavor, go for what you know.
The TM’s for the M-16 / M-4 call for the presence of carbon, even after cleaning. It is all the “inspectors” that determined the presence of carbon meant the rifle had not been properly cleaned and it has been ingrained in armorer’s for years. Too clean is almost as bad as too dirty when it comes to an AR and depending on the environment, there is such a thing as too oily.
Fickle platforms in the best of circumstances.
I could not find that in the army tm. I did see where it said to remove carbon and debris from the bolt and other areas. It did cover malfunctions due to carbon, such as on the firing pin causing light primer strikes. The concept of leaving carbon on a tightly toleranced machine seems like asking for failures. I look at cleaning as a separate issue from oiling. Clean and dry is bad. Clean and to wet is bad, but is usually remedied on the first trigger pull sending clp into your eye. Clean and properly lubricated is good in my experience. I have found them to be good weapons all in all. The ergonomics and light weight are hard to beat. Everything has pros and cons. Is the ak as finicky? Not in my experience, but the ergonomics suck and its heavier and the sights are lacking and optics are a problem and I hope you’re wearing gloves while operating it. Need to learn the ak mag rock just to load a mag or miss it and get the mag jammed. Can they break? Yeah.
I guess it is personal preference though.
These are great practices to have when it comes to cleaning a firearm. Certain firearms do better if they go without cleanings with every use. These are usually the lower end weapons that aren’t as finicky. By following these practices with low end firearms, it’s possible to save hassle and money.
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Totally agree, and since all I invest in are low end firearms I always follow this methodology. 🙂
‘Clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be happy’! I was introduced to Break-Free cleaner/lubricant (but I’m not a paid spokesperson) in the Marines and have used it ever since because it works good and saves time and effort! Besides the fact that I shoot better with a revolver, I will/would carry one because they function well even when dirty. Have a misfire, pull the trigger again, can’t hit what you’re shooting at with 5/6 rounds, 1-reload and try some more, or 2-tuck head between legs and kiss your ass goodbye!
I liked your comment about not using a fancy cleaner to clean your gun. As long as you are cleaning your gun your probably fine. What in your opinion is the best way to clean a gun?