Interesting point of view on gun cleaning.

[12 Volt Man]

I chatted the other day with a gentleman who builds custom guns, is a Glock Armorer, etc... etc...

He looked over one of my guns which I had just shot at the range. He noted the powder residue in my gun. He said that he believes guns stay cleaner if you don't use oils, lubricants, and cleaners. His thought was that when you coat it with a gun oil or other substance, you are just giving the powder a "glue" or something to stick to. He said that he leaves his guns alone, especially the barrels. That way the powder has nothing to stick to. He said he has done this for years. He also believes he gets better accuracy out of his rifles this way.

I have always cleaned my guns with CLP. They clean easily, but I do see where he has a point. There is definately places where the powder residue seems to stick or adhere to the oily places.

I wonder if anyone else subscribes to this theory????

 

[Technosavant]

Nope. Metal/metal tends to wear down both parts, leading to failures. I wonder if he puts oil in his car's engine, or if he just lets it go.

Too much lube can do exactly that, which is why I try not to do that.

 

[sturmruger]

I have been trying the minimalist aproach on my XD40. So far it has really been running well. I will usuaully clean it in hot soapy water and then apply a very small amount of rem oil and tetra grease to the rails. Some would say I should worry about rust, but the gun has been hard chromed so I am really not worried about it.

 

[m0ntels]

They may not visibly build up grime as fast, but it is definetly easier to clean off residue/fouling/etc that is suspended by a lubricant. Also, a weapon is a tool/machine like a power saw or engine, and IMO moving parts always deserve proper lubrication.

Randy

 

[BigFatKen]

Its said more .22lr firearms are worn out by wire cleaning brushes than lead bullets.

 

[Tommygunn]

It is a matter of how much is appropriate for the particular weapon.
It's true that oil will absorb dirt. It doesn't "attract" it, but if dirt gets smeared onto an oily surface, it sticks. Find out what's right for the gun. A .22 will need cleaning like others, but it's also true that more .22 barrels have been worn through cleaning than shooting. Be careful of the bore!

The primary purpose of lubricants is just that -- lubrication. It helps prevent wear. Appropriatly lubed weapons last longer!

 

[History Prof]

He said that he leaves his guns alone, especially the barrels.

Perhaps he doesn't do a lot of shooting. I used to do that as a kid, just out of ignorance. My old Remington bolt action target .22 doesn't appear too much the worse for wear, but the Charter Arms AR-7 that my dad got me as a kid has some serious wear problems due to years of firing without lubrication. OTOH, I put a VERY light coating on my firearms today (usually rubbing the lube on to the parts with a lube soaked rag). On some that have more metal-metal contact, I still use grease. It takes more cleaning in the end, but hey, I like cleaning my firearms almost as much as I like shooting them.

 

[bclark1]

I will usuaully clean it in hot soapy water and then apply a very small amount of rem oil and tetra grease to the rails.

Extreme tupperware for real! Probably better for your head than all the solvent fumes I eat in the garage though.

I've gotten lazier about cleaning guns - used to clean everything after every shoot, now I tend to let the shotguns and .22s chill a bit. But I think lube is always necessary, at least on a gun you're going to count on defensively. Even if I don't have time for any solvent or brushing, I swab everything with an oily patch. Yes, grime builds up in your lube, but that's why you wipe the old lube out and put new stuff on. Metal is most important, but I still put a light coat on my polymer frames too. I can't picture a firefight where you'd shoot enough to grime your lube up enough for it to risk failure, whereas we all know what happens when you've got tightly machined parts in motion getting very hot from friction without any kind of lubrication.

 

[Sylvan-Forge]

NP3 or Black-T type self-lubricating coatings are handy for those who don't wanna' lube up.

 

[orionengnr]

Eezox works as well as or better than any CLP I have found.

Provides great corrosion protection, "dries" so as not to attract dirt or fingerprints, but is slick as owl snot. After a few applications, all my mags feel like my Kim-Pro mag--slick and smooth.

Works on blue, stainless, polymer, wood...I am sold. Smells great too! Kind of hard to find but worth the effort (check fleabay).

 

[NoahFN]

Where does he think the powder residue goes then? It doesn't stick to the lube so it just magically floats away?

 

[JohnBT]

TW25B. The dirt, grit, dust and pocket lint almost falls off.

The thing I like about the CLPs is the way you can just add more to loosen things up when the sludge gets too thick on your gun.

John

 

[SAWBONES]

There's a happy medium to gun cleaning.

Although at least one authority on handgun barrels (Wil Schuemann) who shoots nothing but molybdenum-coated bullets believes in NOT ever cleaning handgun bores, most will agree that removal of the bulk of powder firing residue and leading from a rifle or handgun bore will improve accuracy and precision and prolong barrel life.

OTOH, I believe that more guns are damaged by too thorough (and perhaps too frequent) "cleaning" than by neglect. The bore needn't be absolutely devoid of residue in order to be acceptably "clean".

After all, many folks favor putting a "fouling shot" through a clean bore so as to avoid the "first-round flyer" problem, and unless you simply never clean your guns at all (in which case you may eventually promote the development of rust in the bore even after a single fouling shot), this much dirt is probably fine for long periods of time.

 

[SAWBONES]

FWIW, as a sort of experiment, I've let a couple of my Glocks, specifically one G30 and one G36, go for months to years with regular shooting but without cleaning.

The G30 actually went two years without being cleaned at all at one point.
When I did eventually detail strip and clean it, there was no rust at all, no profound amount of fouling internally, and no visible etching or other wear to the bore.

I live in a relatively dry climate, and YMMV if you live where it's humid, but there you have it.

 

[Mannlicher]

There are probably just as many opinions about cleaning guns as there are gun owners. I follow my own program.

 

[Jesse H]

For my carry guns I use little to no oil to help prevent dust/lint from sticking to it. When I do go to the range I will oil them up.

 

[WayneConrad]

I'm starting to think that the folks who can really tell us what matters in lubrication for hard use are all over in the sandbox. For those of us in a kindler, gentler world, it probably doesn't matter much what you use, which would explain why we have so many different methods of cleaning and lubing that all seem to work perfectly well.

 

[Roadwild17]

dry lubircants