What’s Your Gun Cleaning Routine?

[Godfather]

I’m sure the responses to this prompt are going to be wide and varied, from old school to new fangled, from do nothing but pull the trigger to the complexity of a deep fake algorithm.

I can somewhat fondly recall the grumpy old dudes at the local range where my dad dropped me at twelve with my .22 and a box of ammo and a promise to be back in a handful of hours, and the range discipline, the shooting instruction, and of course what seemed like a lore-based running dialogue on cleaning protocols. For me, those stayed with me for a long time, and were then disrupted at long range school with some deeply differing views. That said, I’d never push my way on others, and I respect the differences.

Today, I live by the mantra of shoot a dirty rifle, store a clean one.

For me, a clean stored rifle has a layer of oil or Ballistol in the barrel. Before taking it to shoot/foul, I’ll run a swab with isopropyl alcohol through it. If it’s season and continued use, I keep the bolt and action appropriately lubricated, but leave the barrel dirty. When I go to put the weapon in the safe for awhile, I’ll run my protocol, which is:

- dry swab(s) to get loose particles
- isopropyl alcohol swab(s) to catch more
- swab with solvent, let soak for a moment
- vinyl brush with a tad more solvent
- aggressive brushing
- swab until clean on exit
(Depending on round count)
- swab with copper cleaner, let soak awhile
- vinyl brush aggressively
- swab until clean on exit
- isopropyl alcohol swab(s) to neutralize
- dry swab(s) to clean
- swab with oil or Ballistol
- oil /grease bolt and friction areas
- storage until next use

I’ve heard all myriad of views on nylon versus copper brushes, brushing one direction vs both, all in one cleaners/lubricant versus the alternative, etc etc etc.

What’s your gun cleaning routine?

 

[Ron Dan]

I’m sure the responses to this prompt are going to be wide and varied, from old school to new fangled, from do nothing but pull the trigger to the complexity of a deep fake algorithm.

I can somewhat fondly recall the grumpy old dudes at the local range where my dad dropped me at twelve with my .22 and a box of ammo and a promise to be back in a handful of hours, and the range discipline, the shooting instruction, and of course what seemed like a lore-based running dialogue on cleaning protocols. For me, those stayed with me for a long time, and were then disrupted at long range school with some deeply differing views. That said, I’d never push my way on others, and I respect the differences.

Today, I live by the mantra of shoot a dirty rifle, store a clean one.

For me, a clean stored rifle has a layer of oil or Ballistol in the barrel. Before taking it to shoot/foul, I’ll run a swab with isopropyl alcohol through it. If it’s season and continued use, I keep the bolt and action appropriately lubricated, but leave the barrel dirty. When I go to put the weapon in the safe for awhile, I’ll run my protocol, which is:

- dry swab(s) to get loose particles
- isopropyl alcohol swab(s) to catch more
- swab with solvent, let soak for a moment
- vinyl brush with a tad more solvent
- aggressive brushing
- swab until clean on exit
(Depending on round count)
- swab with copper cleaner, let soak awhile
- vinyl brush aggressively
- swab until clean on exit
- isopropyl alcohol swab(s) to neutralize
- dry swab(s) to clean
- swab with oil or Ballistol
- oil /grease bolt and friction areas
- storage until next use

I’ve heard all myriad of views on nylon versus copper brushes, brushing one direction vs both, all in one cleaners/lubricant versus the alternative, etc etc etc.

What’s your gun cleaning routine?

Wait, you guys clean your guns?

 

[niacrtwi]

Shoot it, wipe it down, maybe run a brush and patch through it (occasionally). A dirty gun is a good excuse to buy a new one. Following the one is none, two is one philosophy, this cleaning practice helps achieve the two gun goal.

For AR platforms, I had an instructor at The Site, who complained ARs were always too clean and admonished his students for cleaning them. He carried a big squirt jug of gun oil around and every 30 mins or so would squirt a couple pumps of oil into the actions. It was hard to argue with success.

 

[Godfather]

Ha ha ha ha ha!

Wait, you guys clean your guns?

 

[Godfather]

I love it!

Shoot it, wipe it down, maybe run a brush and patch through it (occasionally). A dirty gun is a good excuse to buy a new one. Following the one is none, two is one philosophy, this cleaning practice helps achieve the two gun goal.

For AR platforms, I had an instructor at The Site, who complained ARs were always too clean and admonished his students for cleaning them. He carried a big squirt jug of gun oil around and every 30 mins or so would squirt a couple pumps of oil into the actions. It was hard to argue with success.

 

[robmcleod82]

Really depends on the caliber. My 7-375 gets cleaned every 20 rounds to make sure i am always ahead of the carbon ring (n570 carbon rings are a nightmare to get out and plays hell on my SDs and ES) most of my other guns i will clean every couple hundred rounds or so unless its a hunting rifle then it gets fouled and left dirty other than cleaning the action after each trip until season is over.
My regular regimine is a patch of wipeout accelerator, followed by wipout foaming or patchout cleaner, leave in for a couple hours then patch out until clean patches show then inspect with borescope and repeat as necessary. For very fouled bores i will do my initial wipeout treatment followed by iosso or jb bore paste and kroil. And continue until all heavy fouling is removed. On a side note the iosso brushes are by far the best i have ever used they are super stiff.

 

[camcarter33]

I only clean after I notice a drop in accuracy, start working up a new load for a different bullet, or after a long hunt in shitty conditions.

 

[Jake V]

I’m sure the responses to this prompt are going to be wide and varied, from old school to new fangled, from do nothing but pull the trigger to the complexity of a deep fake algorithm.

I can somewhat fondly recall the grumpy old dudes at the local range where my dad dropped me at twelve with my .22 and a box of ammo and a promise to be back in a handful of hours, and the range discipline, the shooting instruction, and of course what seemed like a lore-based running dialogue on cleaning protocols. For me, those stayed with me for a long time, and were then disrupted at long range school with some deeply differing views. That said, I’d never push my way on others, and I respect the differences.

Today, I live by the mantra of shoot a dirty rifle, store a clean one.

For me, a clean stored rifle has a layer of oil or Ballistol in the barrel. Before taking it to shoot/foul, I’ll run a swab with isopropyl alcohol through it. If it’s season and continued use, I keep the bolt and action appropriately lubricated, but leave the barrel dirty. When I go to put the weapon in the safe for awhile, I’ll run my protocol, which is:

- dry swab(s) to get loose particles
- isopropyl alcohol swab(s) to catch more
- swab with solvent, let soak for a moment
- vinyl brush with a tad more solvent
- aggressive brushing
- swab until clean on exit
(Depending on round count)
- swab with copper cleaner, let soak awhile
- vinyl brush aggressively
- swab until clean on exit
- isopropyl alcohol swab(s) to neutralize
- dry swab(s) to clean
- swab with oil or Ballistol
- oil /grease bolt and friction areas
- storage until next use

I’ve heard all myriad of views on nylon versus copper brushes, brushing one direction vs both, all in one cleaners/lubricant versus the alternative, etc etc etc.

What’s your gun cleaning routine?

In rifle, at range I only clean barrel when accuracy starts to diminish. I’ll generally clean after range day is finished. I spray sharp shooters wipe out, let sit, then run patches through on jag until clean. I run one patch with ballistol, kroil for corrosion resistance. I went from spraying action, and wiping exterior with rem oil, kroil, to exclusively using Ballistol, because it doesn’t damage the wood.

For 22s, basically do the same, but use a bore snake.

Pistols I remove slide and barrel. Clean barrel with short rod. Spray action, wear areas. Reassemble.

Shotguns, I remove barrel and clean receiver with ballistol, swabs and brushes. I remove bolt in inertia shotguns. Leave in, in pump. Haven’t owned or cleaned a gas gun in a while. I use bore snake on barrels and wipe exterior. When really dirty or sand in action, I use really hot water to flush action before cleaning. It’s hot enough it dissipates quickly.

I’m too tired to discuss muzzleloaders . I only shoot and clean them after 1 shot, 1 kill.