By the time she learns a lesson, it'll be too late.
I just don't know how to put it to her any clearer that you cannot do this to a pistol and expect it to work. :banghead: I go thru this twice a month when I do a disassemble / clean on it. Pocket fuzz, enough to make 20 pairs of pants. She refuses to use a pocket holster, and carries this around full of trash betting her life on it. I almost want to take it away like you do to a little kid and say "You don't deserve it, if you're gonna treat it like that". UGH!!!!
Well, if you were going to apply
that sort of reasoning to a standard of whether or not someone should be
allowed to own and lawfully conceal carry a weapon ... I rather suspect lots of folks wouldn't qualify.
FWIW, as a LE firearms instructor & armorer, I've seen at least my fair share of issued & personally-owned weapons which weren't properly maintained. Lots of them had received what the issued users/owners
thought was proper maintenance, but their chosen practices resulted in functioning problems, sooner or later, which I had to resolve in order to restore normal functioning.
Let me say it this way ...
Over the course of not only having been a firearms instructor, but also having served as an armorer for a number of different firearms commonly seen in LE usage (as well as personal defensive for private citizens), I've had to diagnose and correct many, many more "gun problems" which were actually "user/owner induced maintenance problems", than actual problems occurring with the guns.
A couple thoughts.
Yes, using a pocket holster is pretty important. A properly designed and used pocket holster can help cover and protect the trigger, as well as keep foreign objects from becoming lodged in the barrel. These are fairly important potential safety considerations.
The lint? Just keep it cleaned out periodically, as you've tried to be doing.
FWIW, a Centennial-style J-frame is probably less susceptible to lint getting inside it, but it still deserves at least a basic "pocket" holster (I use Uncle Mike's, as they're handy and affordable to replace when damaged or worn out/thru). Naturally, it's still a good idea to check things to make sure nothing's gotten down inside the holster, lodged in the barrel or the front of the cylinder charge holes, etc.
The J-frames with the steel yokes (442/642) seem to retain lubrication on the yoke bearing points better than some of the models which have aluminum yokes (Sc/Ti/PD models, M&P 340/360's), and it's prudent to check freedom of cylinder rotation now and again. I've had a few guys bring me PD's they've carried for UC/secondary roles because the trigger pulls were getting too heavy during their qual courses, and it was just dry yokes causing them some difficulty.
One of the guys who brought me an Airlite for attention said he'd had to manually (by hand) turn the cylinder in order to complete the course-of-fire.
A couple drops of oil and things were light & spinning freely once again.
My pair of M&P 340's have occasionally exhibited some slowing of cylinder spin after a lot of carry and range use (blackened stainless steel cylinders, but still using aluminum yokes). More so than my 642's, 649, 37 & 36. Once I add a couple drops of lube to the yoke bearing points, the guns are back to normal.
Guns carried on the person can accumulate contamination. Things like lint from clothing; shed body cells & "fluff"; chemicals (deodorant); bits of leather, plastic or cloth from holster wear; and even some outside contaminants resulting from exposure to the environment (ankle holsters can be worse in this regard).
Does your wife like DA/DAO revolvers? The lightest of the Sc/Ti/PD J's can be almost as light as a LCP, but just as unpleasant to actually shoot, and the triggers are heavier. Read the ammunition warnings on the Sc/Ti/PD guns in the safety manual, though, to help prevent the potential for bullet pull (bullets jumping the crimps) for some particular shooter/gun/ammo combinations.
You probably check the air in her tires and motor oil, right? What's the big deal about helping her maintain her gun?
