Can storing a dirty gun damage it?

[jmace57]

For the first time in my life, I feel anal-retentive after reading this thread. I guess because of my Dad, I clean every gun after it's shot and comes home from the range - that day. I have just over 100 firearms, and inspect and re-apply rust preventative (RIG) 3-4 times per year on all of them. But I live in the Houston-area, which is synonymous with humidity.

 

[Walkalong]

I guess because of my Dad, I clean every gun after it's shot and comes home from the range - that day.

I used to, but don't any more.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Dad's aren't always right....

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Ya, my OCD won't let me put my guns away until they've been cleaned, even though I know its not really necessary. I may be paranoid (doesn't mean they aren't really after me!), but I'm REALLY picky about cleaning my car guns: I keep thinking of all those CSI episodes where a detective just smells a gun and says "This has been fired recently. Cuff him!"

 

[Jack B.]

Just don't like dirty guns. Nothing more embarrassing than pulling a gun out to show it to someone and it's filthy.

 

[Sauer Grapes]

I rarely clean them after a range trip or match. I wipe them down and put them away. THEN MY OCD KICKS IN!! Usually the next day I'm down in the cave cleaning them.....lol.
I do have some guns that are stored. If I haven't handled them, I'm not worried about them. I'll run an oil rag down the bore once a year.

 

[SteadyD]

I used to be really meticulous about cleaning but these days I just do a "good enough" cleaning and call it good. Only exception is whatever I'm carrying and even that would fail the white glove test. I recall spending hours cleaning rings off of stainless cylinders with a lead cloth but now I don't care. They all get wiped down with oil once a year or so.

 

[Danoobie]

I know not what others may do, (well, yeah, I do, you told me) but I clean mine after
every shooting. It's become part of the ritual. IMO, a good layer of oil in the barrel is
better, especially after a few shots, on a gun you're going to shoot again, soon.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I bet guys that clean after every shooting don't shoot as often as the dirty gun crowd.

I go to the range 3 to 5 days a week and shoot multiple guns. An oily rag wipe down when I get home is all they get.

 

[Deus Machina]

I always clean mine after a range trip. Mostly so I don't have to clean them before the next one.
As for damaging them? No, unless you're shooting corrosive ammunition. It may blow any oil out of the barrel and works, though. I at least get a little oil in them, and a patch down the barrel, before putting them away, but I'm in a terribly humid area.

 

[Fleetman]

As many said, a wipe-down after shooting a regular shooter is all thats really needed.

I'm surprised at how many folks clean their carry guns and don't fire them after cleaning and checking for function..........??

 

[Hokkmike]

I am greedy - guns cost me money. Keeping them clean and dry protects my investment. Storing a gun in a "wet" (humid) environment is asking for trouble.

There is simply NO REASON NOT to clean guns and store them in a dry place.

My thought is that if you enjoy owning, collecting, and/or shooting firearms then taking them apart and cleaning them should be a pleasurable experience.

 

[Sam1911]

My thought is that if you enjoy owning, collecting, and/or shooting firearms then taking them apart and cleaning them should be a pleasurable experience.

Some enjoy that. Some don't. I do, but only in small doses and on a limited schedule. I like servicing my cars, too, but I don't want to do it every time I drive.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I know not what others may do, (well, yeah, I do, you told me) but I clean mine after
every shooting. It's become part of the ritual. IMO, a good layer of oil in the barrel is
better, especially after a few shots, on a gun you're going to shoot again, soon.

Oil in the barrel!?! Good God son, no! I hope you meant ON the barrel!

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I am greedy - guns cost me money. Keeping them clean and dry protects my investment. Storing a gun in a "wet" (humid) environment is asking for trouble.

There is simply NO REASON NOT to clean guns and store them in a dry place.
.

I don't think anyone said they were putting their dirty guns in a wet place.

 

[John Joseph]

Good grief---accumulated debris is abrasive! You can find it in most actions after shooting, especially .22lrs, and pistols fed "range ammo" (UMC, WWB etc...)
lubing this gunk only permits it to migrate. I've seen not one, but two Pythons seize up from the action being full of crud.

 

[Sam1911]

Good grief---accumulated debris is abrasive! You can find it in most actions after shooting, especially .22lrs, and pistols fed "range ammo" (UMC, WWB etc...)
lubing this gunk only permits it to migrate.

Ok, sure, but there's reasonable work to mitigate that, and then there's needless wasted effort which doesn't actually do any good. Nobody's saying NEVER clean a gun.

Nobody's saying NEVER change your car's oil, either. Somewhere between "never" and "every time I drive" there's a reasonable service regimen.

I've seen not one, but two Pythons seize up from the action being full of crud.

Sure. How many years -- or decades even -- did that take? It surely wasn't because someone took that gun out twice or ten times and shot it without a thorough cleaning.

 

[Hokkmike]

I don't think anyone said they were putting their dirty guns in a wet place.

Nor did I say that they did. Peace!

 

[Riomouse911]

Your sweaty palms leave behind far more corrosive salt than the gunpowder. Wipe the parts you touch if nothing else.

Exactly! I recall a huge rusty fingerprint that marred the barrel of my Grandfathers old Win 1894...it was the only real mark on it even after decades of deer-blind style hunting. He used that spot in the bluing as a reference point to remind us to wipe guns down with an oiled rag every time we put away a gun we took out of the cabinet,

 

[Picher]

I've written this before, but it bears repeating. I've been using Turtle Wax Auto Polish on my guns for a while now and it actually prevents moisture from penetrating to the metal. It works better than any of the oils I've used over the years and it dries, so it doesn't attract dirt. I use it wherever I can on guns, except for bores/chambers. If it can protect a vehicle for a year, it's worth trying on guns, especially those exposed to moisture or acidic fingerprints.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

If Turtle Wax Auto Polish is labeled as a "polish", I feel certain it contains abrasives....I would rather use a pure wax, like Johnson's paste wax for wood that comes in a metal can or if you want a wax that can also be used on your cars, Collinite 845 Insulator Wax. It is some fantastic stuff on a car.

I have used both on bright polished stainless guns to keep fingerprints from showing.

 

[John Joseph]

Ok, sure, but there's reasonable work to mitigate that, and then there's needless wasted effort which doesn't actually do any good. Nobody's saying NEVER clean a gun.

Nobody's saying NEVER change your car's oil, either. Somewhere between "never" and "every time I drive" there's a reasonable service regimen.


Sure. How many years -- or decades even -- did that take? It surely wasn't because someone took that gun out twice or ten times and shot it without a thorough cleaning.

I agree about there being a reasonable service regimen for both cars and guns. It reliably comes from the designers and manufacturers who have studied the integrity of the product they are selling.
What do the owner's manuals say?

 

[Sam1911]

Picking out the xDM manual just because it's easy... "Keep clean at all times." Which isn't helpful, considering it's impossible to follow if you shoot it at all, ever, even once. If I've fired it it's "dirty." Better clean it. But I was going to fire a second shot. No, can't do that, the owner's manual says it must be clean at ALL TIMES. Hmmm.

I suppose I need to interpret what they really meant then, or whether the advice is actually helpful at all. So can I shoot five shots between cleanings? Or ten? A whole box of fifty? It would be good to get at least through an entire session at the range without having to stop and clean it ... but the manual says "...at ALL TIMES." Dang.

I don't know, but maybe I'll have to trust my own observations and experiences. I'm just not willing to follow the manual's advice. I'm going to let it be dirty between shots, over several magazines worth, maybe over several range days even!



Of course this is a manual that forcefully, and in red letters, tells me I must carry the gun with the chamber empty so it cannot be fired unintentionally. But an unloaded gun isn't useful for what I want a gun to do. Crap.

Oh...no! Now another bright red section tells me I can only use commercially loaded ammunition! Reloads are too dangerous! Holy cow...do I have to interpret and disregard this entire manual just to use my gun the way I want!?!?!

Oh the calamity!

 

[Salmoneye]

I feel the same about cleaning guns the way I feel about tumbling brass...

Purdy is, as purdy does...

Wipe it down, blow out the gunk, and go...

 

[John Joseph]

.


Sure. How many years -- or decades even -- did that take? It surely wasn't because someone took that gun out twice or ten times and shot it without a thorough cleaning.

About two years. Both Pythons belonged to Deputies who probably fancied themselves as Starsky & Hutch wannabees and only shot monthly quals and whatever training was required, which in those days was kind of scarce. The reloaded range ammo was on the dirty side though. Really dirty.