Cleaning Your Guns

tanked_darren · February 13, 2011

Just cleaned my guns today, I always get serious when I do it. I'm kinda crazy when it comes to my guns, they must be perfect.

Even my cheap SKS (which I left dirty for a week now it has small surface rust in one spot in the gas tube, from shooting cheap/corrisive ammo) I can spend hours cleaning (4 hours 3 guns.)

I have 5 guns and only 1 of them are worth over 500$ but I treat them all like gold when it comes to cleaning.

Anyone else have this "obsession"?

renegadeking · February 13, 2011

absolutely, i just bought a $1600 dollar browning 7mm rifle and i used to clean it all the time, until my father said over cleaning can be a bad thing so i will clean it right after the hunting season. Call me crazy but i would like my $1600 dollar investment last for a very long time. It doesn't matter if it cost $5 or $5000 maintenance is key. All of this gun talk is gave me an urge to go shooting, but come to think about it its time to clean my 12 gauge defender.

sorry to hear about the rust that would really tick me off. Hope you can get that fixed up.

MikeNH · February 13, 2011

I've never done a total detail strip on any of my pistols but after shooting they get a field stripping and I clean the barrel, slide, etc and oil everything and reassemble it all. If they sit I'll strip and oil them every month or two as well, just because I want to increase the chances of getting a phone call where someone asks me what I'm doing and I can answer "oh, just cleaning my guns".

8.1HD/ALLISON · February 13, 2011

I try to keep them reasonably clean. You don't wanna see my 12 guage I take duck hunting. That has got to be the worst conditions for a gun out of hunting anything I can think of. It usually comes home wet and muddy.

renegadeking · February 13, 2011

I try to keep them reasonably clean. You don't wanna see my 12 guage I take duck hunting. That has got to be the worst conditions for a gun out of hunting anything I can think of. It usually comes home wet and muddy.

matt, have you ever looked into the Remington 870 Marine magnum. It looks like a good gun.

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms...ine-magnum.aspx

vettelovralexand · February 13, 2011

I try to keep them reasonably clean. You don't wanna see my 12 guage I take duck hunting. That has got to be the worst conditions for a gun out of hunting anything I can think of. It usually comes home wet and muddy.

matt, have you ever looked into the Remington 870 Marine magnum. It looks like a good gun.

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms...ine-magnum.aspx

That is more of a "tactical" shotgun. Notice that it is an 18" barrel with a cylinder choke aka not interchangeable. That said, they are a nice gun to carry around with buckshot for varmints at close range. Dad has one.

Back on topic though. It depends on the gun, but most of the time I wipe down guns after using them to keep finger prints from making the gun rust and then clean it up pretty good at the end of the season. My shotguns probably get abused the most, but even those are in pretty good shape. Just try not to over oil as you can crack wood stocks.

Mckenzie · February 13, 2011

i just got me a mossberg 500 pump gun and i cleaned it when i got, i shot it some today,but its not getting cleaned till i go home

When i was little we shot my dads m1 carbine with a rock-ola barrel which is extremely rare and we put it up without cleaning...and we haven't shot it sense....i sure as hell hope its not messed up

we always clean the 3 mosin nagant's we got because berdan primed ammo is real dirty

Nytemare · February 13, 2011

I do this for a living...I am a weapons tech (torpedoman) on a submarine. We take care of the small arms on board, as well as the torpedo's, ammo, and a few other things.

I am very meticulous in making sure everything is well lubricated...as we work in a salty environment....but as for clean...a few passes down the barrel and a few wipes to get rid of the bulk carbon is good enough...If you are going to use them again in the near future...if being stored I like to make sure they are as carbon free as possible without putting them in the sonic bath...thats usually third line maintenance for us...as in sending them ashore to get a full overhaul...than coat them in Seafoam or 3-in-1 oil. Not a huge fan of CLP. I also like to keep the chamber and barrel wet when storing. I have also used WD-40 on occasion to keep the rust at bay...nothing pisses me off more than rust on a gun...its unprofessional.

Before I was on submarines I was a gunners mate on the surface....I was just as meticulous with the big guns too. Just a lot bigger swabs and cleaning rods...that was a fun job in heavy seas, getting smashed with waves and trying not to fall over the side.

The 870 is a good gun man...we use the police edition in the Navy. Its a really fun weapon, and its presence when you board a ship is something to be seen. Everyone fears the shotgun. You just have to have it visible and people comply. I swear you could bring a 50 cal over and people wouldn't care one bit but as soon as they see the 870 everything goes quiet.

old dog · February 13, 2011

i dont care how much the gun costs it need's to be cleaned appropratly when fired and then to be put away ,corrosive primers need to clean them completly .semi automatic's gas swstem's have to be taken care of ,or dont spend the money to begin with

I do this for a living...I am a weapons tech (torpedoman) on a submarine. We take care of the small arms on board, as well as the torpedo's, ammo, and a few other things.

I am very meticulous in making sure everything is well lubricated...as we work in a salty environment....but as for clean...a few passes down the barrel and a few wipes to get rid of the bulk carbon is good enough...If you are going to use them again in the near future...if being stored I like to make sure they are as carbon free as possible without putting them in the sonic bath...thats usually third line maintenance for us...as in sending them ashore to get a full overhaul...than coat them in Seafoam or 3-in-1 oil. Not a huge fan of CLP. I also like to keep the chamber and barrel wet when storing. I have also used WD-40 on occasion to keep the rust at bay...nothing pisses me off more than rust on a gun...its unprofessional.

Before I was on submarines I was a gunners mate on the surface....I was just as meticulous with the big guns too. Just a lot bigger swabs and cleaning rods...that was a fun job in heavy seas, getting smashed with waves and trying not to fall over the side.

The 870 is a good gun man...we use the police edition in the Navy. Its a really fun weapon, and its presence when you board a ship is something to be seen. Everyone fears the shotgun. You just have to have it visible and people comply. I swear you could bring a 50 cal over and people wouldn't care one bit but as soon as they see the 870 everything goes quiet.

randas · February 13, 2011

I see your in BC, so your probably shooting the same Czech surplus 7.62 as me. You need the clean your gun right away after using that stuff. A friend of mine ruined a $700 CZ this way

renegadeking · February 13, 2011

I try to keep them reasonably clean. You don't wanna see my 12 guage I take duck hunting. That has got to be the worst conditions for a gun out of hunting anything I can think of. It usually comes home wet and muddy.

matt, have you ever looked into the Remington 870 Marine magnum. It looks like a good gun.

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms...ine-magnum.aspx

That is more of a "tactical" shotgun. Notice that it is an 18" barrel with a cylinder choke aka not interchangeable. That said, they are a nice gun to carry around with buckshot for varmints at close range. Dad has one.

Back on topic though. It depends on the gun, but most of the time I wipe down guns after using them to keep finger prints from making the gun rust and then clean it up pretty good at the end of the season. My shotguns probably get abused the most, but even those are in pretty good shape. Just try not to over oil as you can crack wood stocks.

for some reason i didn't acknowledge the short barrel i must of got hung up on it being made for wet environments.

also remember that too much oil can be a bad thing. especially in the barrel, if its shot with all the oil it can damage the rifling.

you don't have to worry about bring .50 cal. over, you can buy them at cabelas for about $3,000 they probably not the best .50 out there. I was looking into buying one. i would love to shoot a deer a mile away.

Nytemare · February 13, 2011

Yeah we do pre-fire and post fire cleanings actually....

By near future I mean next day. They get a quick cleaning at the end of the day, than a total strip and detailed clean when we are done totally. Your right you have to get the bulk of the bad stuff out of there. But our weapons have a hefty maintenance schedule too...and those gas tubes get changed quite regularly among outer parts.

Its stored with oil in the chamber and barrel, but dried out totally before firing. Yeah firing with oil in the barrel is really bad....firing with oil in the chamber is even worse. That's a good way to have some serious jams.

I am pretty particular when it comes to cleaning, maintaining, and weapons drills...do either one wrong....lets just say it may be the last thing you do wrong.

You can shoot a dear at damn near a mile with a nice .45 riffle...maybe even a .300 Winchester if your good. Although...all you need to do with a 50 is get close....LOL

Oh yeah...and pledge on your wood stalks/grips...thats what we always did when I was growing up...never had a crack.

Nytemare · February 13, 2011

I see your in BC, so your probably shooting the same Czech surplus 7.62 as me. You need the clean your gun right away after using that stuff. A friend of mine ruined a $700 CZ this way

Naaaah...we don't use much in the way of 7.62mm...I think the stuff we use is a little different than you though...we use NATO standard 4 Ball 1 Tracer.

renegadeking · February 13, 2011

You can shoot a dear at damn near a mile with a nice .45 riffle...maybe even a .300 Winchester if your good. Although...all you need to do with a 50 is get close....LOL

very true but it won't knock it over on the spot, lol

Nytemare · February 13, 2011

You can shoot a dear at damn near a mile with a nice .45 riffle...maybe even a .300 Winchester if your good. Although...all you need to do with a 50 is get close....LOL

very true but it won't knock it over on the spot, lol

LOL...if you hit it with a 50 there may not be a dear to knock over. Look its skinned, gutted and ground up all in one shot....