Do you clean new handgun before first firing?

[Mosin77]

Almost never. Unless it’s packed with cosmoline. I also make sure there’s no grease or oil in the chamber or obstructing the barrel even if they superficially appear clean.

 

[psyopspec]

The engineers who built the thing know what it needs better than I do, so I defer to them and the manual they wrote. Each one I own recommends cleaning. Sounds like a good opportunity to look for obvious manufacturing defects as well.

 

[JO JO]

I always do

 

[hkp2000]

I've bought a couple of 9mm handguns and I did clean and lube them before first firing, but honestly I couldn't visibly see a need to do this. That is, I didn't see any heavy oil that needed to be removed, or any spots lacking lube.

I purchase at the shop attached to the range where I shoot, so it's tempting to test fire a new handgun right after buying. What do you think? Is it okay to shoot 50-100 rounds through a new gun without first cleaning and lubing it?

Ok, my knowledge is over 10 years old. But back then, this was a question that pops up every now and then. I'm wondering if the answer has changed over the years. Back then, there were some people claiming (and I'll just use Glock as an example, because I still vaguely remember that) that Glock has some copper-colored lube that good for break-in, so you should shoot without cleaning it first. However, I've always cleaned all my new guns (I've never bought a used gun, but if I did, I'd definitely clean them first too) before shooting. Cleaning the gun allows me to at least check that is has all the parts in the right places and the basics are good. Besides, I don't think my lube is any worse than factory lube that may be sitting on the shelves for years (back then guns don't fly off the shelves like they seem to today).

Since the store you bought from has a range and you want to fire off a few rounds; it seems very simple to just clean the guns at the store and then use the range.