HD gun cleaning and ammo replacement

[czarjl]

How often do you clean your HD gun, and how often do you change out the ammo in it?

I was thinking about this last night when I re-hanging a smoke detector I had moved when running a wire in the basement.
I change the battery on my smoke detector every time I change the clock for daylight savings. I do something similar with my HD gun.

I keep a pump shotgun with 00 buck for HD. I take it out and shoot it every so often (3-6 months) and clean it when I’m done. Should I be cleaning it more often?
I also wonder about the ammo. I get new ammo for it about once a year. I know its probably fine but its more to use the older stuff for practice and have new stuff to replace it. Does this seem reasonable?

I’m curious to see what other people do.

 

[CWL]

Clean your gun when it gets dirty, try practicing more than every 3-6 months if you can. You should service that gun every year just to make sure that it is in working condition and without any problems, take it apart, clean it an re-lube it.

Use up SD/HD ammo from every quarter to year depending on your budget. While this will help prevent banged brass and bullet set-back from occurring in you defense ammo, the real reason is so that you are accustomed to the feel, recoil and muzzleblast of the SD/HD rounds. Just practicing with FMJ will not give you a 100% feel of how the SD/HD rounds of your choice will perform.

 

[Nautilus]

I have two guns ready for home defense. My Glock 17 loaded with Golden saber JHP in the night stand and a 12ga loaded with buckshot in the corner.

Both get taken out about once every couple months. I shoot them, then clean them and replace the ammo before putting them back in the bedroom.

 

[CoRoMo]

Ammo will last indefinitely under normal conditions. There isn't any real need to change it out.

Personally, I think that if you load your HDG with 00 and/or slugs, practice a few times with that so you know what to expect from those rounds (with regards to recoil, etc).
Afterward, it's alright to use birdshot or target rounds to practice with to keep your knowledge of the gun sharp.
You don't have to spend your good ammo every time you hit the range.

 

[MadMercS55]

I rotate my HD ammo probably twice a year or so in our shotguns. We have two Mossbergs dedicated for home defense, and load both with rifled slugs. My wife and I take them out, fire about 10rnds each through them, clean and inspect, reload and thats it. We run the same ammo for target practice to maintain handling and shot placement skills. I also have an HK94 on hand and keep 2 30rnd mags ready for it, and rotate them about 3 times a year. Our handguns get a weekly workout most months so they get very regular cleanings and such.

 

[Jeff White]

If you carry a semi auto and routinely load and unload it, you need to rotate the round that gets chambered. Repeated chambering and unloading will eventually cause the bullet to seat deeper then it should be seated which can create a malfunction or in the worst case a higher then spec pressure detonation which could damage you and your weapon.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Also, avoid getting clp on the brass, especially easy to do with the chambered round.

 

[YammyMonkey]

If you don't live in a humid environment I wouldn't bother cleaning it unless you shoot it. I also wouldn't worry about the ammo either. Humid areas may require more frequent maintenance.

 

[Titan6]

I guess at least once every three months I take it to the range, shoot my basic load to ensure that everything is okay and then clean it. More or less. But since I change guns every now and then it does not always happen that way.

 

[czarjl]

From what I gather sounds like I’m doing it right, just need to find more time to get out to the range and practice.

 

[The_Shootist]

Guns (and certainly my main CCW pieces - my 642 and G19) get cleaned after every range session (4-6 times a month). I fire off existing SD rounds and but fresh rounds ever quarter. But its more to stay familiar with how the SD rounds perform than fear of it going "stale".

 

[Jeff White]

If you are going to clean your carry weapon, do it at the range. That way you can test fire it after it is reassembled. Anyone can make a mistake in assembly and the time you need your weapon isn't the best time to discover an error.

 

[YammyMonkey]

If you're looking to use up your older ammo to maintain a fresh stock then shooting some of your carry ammo every once in a while is fine. However, I can't tell a difference between the practice & carry ammo in my guns unless I know which one I have & I'm paying attention to how the gun feels. If I'm running drills involving multiple targets, movement, etc. the last thing I'm concerned with is the minor difference in recoil. I seriously doubt that in a fight for your life scenario you'll fall apart or fail to shoot well because your defensive ammo has a little more umph to it.

Granted, I don't buy into the superiority of +P & +P+ ammo so that may have something to do with it. My normal practice ammo is std pressure 115gr UMC & carry is std pressure 147gr Gold Dots.

 

[maxxwilde]

If you carry a semi auto and routinely load and unload it, you need to rotate the round that gets chambered. Repeated chambering and unloading will eventually cause the bullet to seat deeper then it should be seated which can create a malfunction or in the worst case a higher then spec pressure detonation which could damage you and your weapon.

Is there a minimum/maximum ammount of setback that is safe? I ask because I have some .45 ACP +p hollowpoint that's starting to show this. Wondering if it's safe to shoot off at the range, or if i should just use the bullet puller on it and make it useless...
I could probably try and post a pic and/or take some measurements...


M

 

[J.R.W.]

My HD gun comes to the range every other week. It allows me to cycle some ammo through it, remain proficient, and as stated above...clean it at the range and perform a final function check. For me, this consists of one full mag, rapid fire @ 7 yards.

 

[Ben86]

Since you are using a pump shotgun cleaning/lubing it is really not neccesary unless you use it.

Right now my primary HD gun is a Glock 17. Since it is a semi-auto handgun, I make it a point to relubricate it and cycle the ammo/magazines once a week. It probably is not neccessary to cycle the ammo that often but I do it anyway. I also use a bore snake to take out any pocket/holster lent that may have found its way into the bore. I do the same routine for my car gun.

It sounds to me your practice is definitely adequate to keep your pump going. They don't need much.

 

[Hardtarget]

When I go to the range, I shoot my carry weapon. Then I clean/lube inspect...because I like to handle my guns. I buy new SD ammo once every couple of years. I shoot some of the "good stuff" sometimes just to say I have. I'm not anal or even consistent about the timing.

Mark.

 

[jbauch357]

My HD gun is also my favorite range gun - so it gets a workout every time I go shooting... That being said I may not clean it each and every time past running a bore snake down the barrel - GLOCK's don't need a lot of maintenance to keep running stong. Same tactic goes for my carry gun which is also a GLOCK.

I don't have any special procedures for the ammo...

 

[sm]

Jeff White's posts number 6 and 12, are what I was raised to do, and therefore have always practiced.

Meaning, I carry a dirty gun, and always have.

I guess the last time I "cleaned" a carry gun, was around Sept, or Oct of 2008.

I know the guns will run, as I have investigated and verified what these guns are capable of.

Hence the reason I go against the grain of those that clean a gun every time they shoot a gun , even with small round counts.

I especially go against the grain of those that clean "clean" guns, most often due to folks buying the latest wonder solvent, wonder lube, or cleaning kit.

I run the guns to learn when the gun is going to inform me, of needing inspecting, and maintaining.
Maybe even cleaning.

I never have worried about bores, and this before wil Shuemann shared his take, that he did not clean them either.
For new folks, he makes barrels.

The chamber, extraction, and with semis, the magazine, are what keep you alive, not a shiny bore.
There is no gurarntee that one will have serious show up on a nice sunshine day, with the temperature being 68* F and there will nice, soft grass around.

Nor, will one always be able to do a total break down and squeaky clean.

Evil shows up in dark, hot and humid, cold and rainy, dry and dusty, wet and muddy ...
Will your gun run?
Will it do so port up, port down, upside down and having to shoot back up and over your head?
Mine will.

Will your gun run during such times as tornado, hurricane, flooding, or other reasons, where one is limited as to means and ways to inspect, maintain and if need, clean?
Mine will.

Investigate & Verify.
This is the only way for you to know what your guns and ammo will do.
Hence the reason I really do not care for all teh Intraw3bz chest thumping, fanboy, wringin'-n-woein' , armchair quaterbacking and Netijits ..and whatever else nonsense is often posted.

Having been there and done that, my take is my take, I own it.
I earned being able to have my take.

You own what you choose to do.


I recently moved out of state, and before I moved, I did not have a cleaning kit at home, and most often no solvent or lube at home.
I borrowed while at the private range.

At home, I had/ have pipe cleaners, which being honest, will handle what I concern myself about, which is chamber, and extraction.
Toss in a cotton applicater, and I am in "hi cotton".

Since moving, and having belongings that include belongings that were in multiple off site locations, in one spot for about the first time in my life, since I was a kid, if I have a cleaning kit, I have yet to find it.

All I need is a old GI 3 pc section rod, with T handle, some RBC, or Hoppe's No. 9, and LSA.
Oh, and some STOS distributed through Ponsess Warren.
STOS is really that slick! I use it for hinge pins on shotguns, and other firearm uses.

I did find a partial can of Rem-oil from -who knows how long ago that was obtained, and itty bitty Tabasco bottle with LSA from around '88, '89, forget.

I just shoot the darn things and don't worry about it.

 

[JImbothefiveth]

I think I'm going to start cleaning my shotgun after I shoot it, evey time. I'll use a boresnake, and maybe a light amount of CLP. (Using too much will hurt reliability, in my experiance.)

If it's a pistol, it gets cleaned after every shooting.

I run the guns to learn when the gun is going to inform me, of needing inspecting, and maintaining.
Maybe even cleaning.

I'm going to have to disagree with you. You don't want to find out the gun needs cleaning every 505 rounds when that 505th rounds is fired in self-defense.

And although they're not really good self-defense guns, rimfires are the guns I shoot most, and I have seen noticeable improvements in reliability if I clean them, and they can turn in to jam-o-matics if I don't. I clean the bbl and sometimes use a bit of CLP on the action. Using too much will turn it in to a jam-o-matic.

 

[czarjl]

I was thinking about what I do after reading everyone’s response.
I clean the gun more to re-oil and protect it form rust and cobwebs (my HD gun a pump shot gun does not live in the nice climate controlled environment that my other guns do).
I change out my ammo because I clear the gun and toss the ammo in my range bag and take it too shoot and end up shooting that ammo for practice and just put new ammo in it when I get it home.

Now I wish I could get out to the range to shoot more.