How often do you clean those irons????

[Major Matt Lewis]

So, I had an annual match this past weekend and there's not much happening here this weekend so, I set out to clean the guns tonight....

I figured that I would at least get through all the long guns.  I figured no biggy, cause I shoot smokeless.  Well, then it occurred to me that I had not had my rifle apart since Cody Conagher worked his magic on it.  That was hmmmmmmm, a while to say the least.  So I take the side panels off and what did I see.....SLUDGE!  Man, I did not think that it had been THAT long....My Drill Instructor would kill me on sight right now if he new about it....

So, a 20 minute leisurely cleaning turned into a 2 and a half hour quest to desludge my rifle.  I will tackle the shotguns tomorrow night.  That Sweet Gun sure does seem to work though. 

So, do you have sludge in your rifle?  How often do you show your irons some love?

[Stoney Pete]

I clean my CAS firearms every Feb. (the begining of the season).

Ocassionally through out the summer months I'll give some TLC whilst watching a movie, but not often.

Stoney (who's medical condition kept him from having a drill instructor, but has a Dad who was like a DI and would "kill me" too. ) Pete

[Driftwood Johnson]

Seeing as I shoot Black Powder in CAS I have to clean my guns after every use. But I DO NOT rush home and clean them immidiately after shooting them. The corrosive qualities of Black Powder are not as bad anymore with non corrosive primers and I try and clean my guns within a week after shooting them. If I'm going to be shooting them right away, I may just give them a cursory cleaning. Of course the difference between cleaning Smokeless guns and cleaning Black Powder guns is that while cleaning BP is messier than cleaning Smokeless, it is much easier and requires no scrubbing at all. The cleaning solutions are water based and there are no harsh chemicals. There is also absolutely no leading to deal with either.

When shooting Smokeless, I get pretty lazy and do not clean my guns after each use. A really well designed modern gun will shoot just fine without frequent cleaning. Here's an interesting anecdote. My Dad had not been shooting for many years, and several years ago he gave me his Trap gun, a Browning Double Auto. The Double Auto is an unusual gun, not to be confused with the Auto-5. It is a semi-automatic, but it is only two shots. One shell goes in the chamber and the other goes into a slot in the receiver. That's it, there is no magazine proper, just a holding area in the receiver for one shot. It's like a double barreled shotgun with one barrel. To clean it you pop the barrel off and clean the barrel and the exposed parts of the action. Anyway, Dad must have bought the gun about 1965 or so. We used to shoot it together for a few years while I was in High School. I'm pretty sure Dad never shot it again, he cleaned it, put it into its case, and put it in the back of his closet where it sat for about 25 years. I'm pretty sure Dad never took the gun apart and did a detail cleaning of it. He wasn't really all that handy.

Anyway, after Dad gave the gun to me I shot it in Trap for a few seasons, and restricted my cleaning to the simple cleaning he did. One day I decided to strip it down and see what was inside. Now mind you, this gun never hiccupped or had a single misfire or misfeed. I found an exploded diagram and proceeded to dismantle the gun. Let me tell you, I was amazed at what I found inside. The entire inside of the gun was coated with powder residue, some of it almost 1/4" thick in places. But that gun never once failed to feed or fire. I might add that the internal hammer had been cocked while the gun sat in the closet for 25 years. It didn't seem to bother the springs at all. I cleaned it out and put it all back together again, and shot it for another season until I bought an O/U to shoot in Trap.

Last year the O/U had a problem about half way through the Trap season and I finished the season with Dad's old Browning. It was really great to be shooting my Dad's gun every week, because Dad isn't with us anymore. One of these days I should take it apart again and see how much crud has built up inside.

[JD Trampas]

I clean after each use, got into the habit and will stick with that, never a problem with my guns so far, knock on wood.

All for now JD Trampas

[Birdgun Quail]

  LEWIS!  WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WITH THIS WEAPON?  USING IT TO CLEAN LATRINES?  DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY!

LEWIS---I CAN'T HEAR YOU!! 

I clean my guns after every match.  However, my upland hunting shotguns I don't usually clean until after bird season is over.  Go figure?  So, my opinion is that if one is shooting clean smokeless ammo, one can go a long time between cleanings if one wants.  Some of us just like to start a match with guns that were cleaned since they were last shot. 

LEWIS---I STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU!! 

[44caliberkid]

My toggle action lever rifles, like the '66 or 73, I only clean the barrel after shooting and do a complete teardown once a year.  I only have 44-40 and 38-40 calibers, so the bottle neck keeps a lot of blow back powder residue out of the action.  If you're using 45 Colt or 38 Special, you'll have a lot more.
  I use cap 'n ball revolvers, so after each shoot I clean the barrel, cylinder, and nipples.  I do a complete disassembly about every third shoot.
  And of course, I only shoot black powder in cowboy guns.

[Col. Riddles]

I clean mine every other match. I've never had sludge build up in my rifles or pistols. I spray the actions well with brake or carb. cleaner through every opening when I begin to clean. After I finish I spray silicone in every opening.

[SGT John Chapman]

Mine get a weekly wipe down and a cleaning after every firing whether it's on or one hundred rounds,.............

[St. George]

With over three decades in Combat Arms - Weapons Maintenance is automatic after every use - detail stripping, lubing and reassembly takes little time, and is relaxing.

When I'm on the Range, I'll police up fired brass and any trash and used targets and in general - square away the area.
Then, I'll clean what was fired and wipe anything that wasn't.

During the year - un-fired guns will still get wiped down externally and a patch before firing.

Scouts Out!

[Boston John Doucette]

Despite my shooting only smokeless powder, each of my firearms receives a detail stripping and cleaning after each use... whether one round or a thousand has passed through it that day. Old habits die hard... and when you were trained that way-- and your life depended upon the flawless functioning of your weapon-- well, old habits die hard. 

I carry a concealed 1911 everywhere I go... and though it's not discharged often (practice), I strip it and lube it every couple of weeks... "just to make sure".

I get a real kick out of some of the threads asking "How do you make your guns look old/aged?"
Cripes! I do everything I can to keep mine looking NEW! 

BJD

[Matthew Duncan]

...So, do you have sludge in your rifle?  How often do you show your irons some love?

When the '66 started jamming was the first time I took of the side plates, yup sludge.  It was the IMR 4227 powder I was using.

Rifle and handguns are clean the same evening of the shoot.  Shotgun is wiped down only.

[Major Matt Lewis]

Well, I don't know if I will clean them every time, but it will be more often.  It did however give me the motivation to tear the rifle all the way down and give it a detailed cleaning.  I even got the firing pin out of the 73.  I even managed to get it all back together with no extra pieces

[Wes Virginian]

Wheather I'm shooting smokeless or BP, I clean my gun's after each practice, or match. If I'm shooting a 2 day match with BP, I wipe them down after the 1st day and then strip them down and clean them after the match is over. I had to let my BP gun's lay for 2 week's once because of a family emergency. I knew I was going to have a mess to try to clean up, but when I went to clean them, they looked like they did when I put them away! I consider myself lucky, and hopefully won't have to do that again!
Wes Virginian

[Triggerlock]

   I just found out about this board a few days ago,  and already I see you guys talking dirty (guns that is)

Personally I clean my BP guns within a week of firing.  With smokeless I let things go til midwinter when I might have some time on my hands.  With the exception of the double shotguns which seem to need the occasional bore snake through them to ensure the removal of spent hulls.

My grandson on the other hand has learned the hard way that the marlin rifle he shoots insists on being cleaned after every shoot!  It also likes to have it's screws tightened every couple of stages!  It's also picky about OAL of the ammo that goes into it.  If you treat it the way it demands though, it's a darn fine gun.

  That Marlin must be a female

[Frank Dalton]

Pistols and Rifle I clean the day after the match, 45 minutes tops. I use BP substitute and have seasoned the bores using Birchwood Casey Sheath. All are 44-40.

I sometimes use my rodeo in 45lc, but have only shot smokeless out of it. It takes as long to clean it as it does for both of my two pistols that I shoot bp out of.

The double has only shot smokeless and I clean it when it needs it. However, once I start loading the holy black myself into those shells, I guess I will be cleaning it when I do the others.

[Paper Chaser]

Well, since I shoot BP, I clean after every match.

[J.W.Neely]

I clean em up after every shoot.
A clean hooter is a happy hooter..I mean shooter.

[Zeb]

I clean after every shoot! My pappy tolt me ya clean yer guns everytime ya pull tha trigger! Ya see, I also shoots REAL gunpowder so I gots ta swab tha barrels and cylinder chambers! Clean 4 guns in less 'an 15 minutes!