How do you guys clean your pistols before putting them away

[daddySEAL]

I'm curious about the process and products other people use to clean and lube their semi-autos after firing (at the range or wherever), before storing them.

I know their are dozens of products out their.

Anyone use Tetra products also? or a bore conditioning product...if not, Which others and WHY, please?

Thanks

[CompVest]

There are several threads dealing with cleaning. Everything from how often to what oil to use.

I did a search of the General Gun, Shooting & Equipment subject to find them. If you don't want ot wait for responses.

[Paladin]

I use Breakfree CLP and Slip2000, but there are a variety of good products out there.

[mcub]

Most of the stuff out there works well, just make sure you have copper solvent for running jacketed bullets, and lead solvent for the others.


Personally I just go for what’s on sale.

I'd skip the gun cleaning kits, just buy for the weapon(s) you have.

[Rokyudai]

I use Hoppe's Elite Gun oil, Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber (safe on synthetics as well). For a kit, I like the field cleaning kits that Otis puts out. It consists of a breach to muzzle, plastic coated cable threaded at the ends (to switch out the different sized brass tips for cleaning patches depending on your calibre). You can run them through the barrel a few times with solvent/oil without necessarily taking the weapon down completely and get it reasonably cleaned. In addition, once I have more time, I will use a toothbrush to clean the slide grooves then place a thin oil coating of Shooter's Choice FP-10 on the moving parts. The kit itself is so compact you can wear it on your belt if you wanted to. I keep it in my range bag.

check them out, for the price they are pretty good:

http://www.otisgun.com

[isa268]

since getting my CHL a few years back and starting to shoot pistols, i've gone through a few stages in my cleaning ritual.

1) first i started out with hoppes on a few patches, then follow up with Mil-tec oil. that didn't last long as it got surface rust real easy.

2) i kept using hoppes, but switched to wiping down with a silicon rag, then following it up with CLP and Mil-tec grease on the slide rails. no rust but much longer time to clean, didn't care cause i'm one of the weird ones that likes cleaning, i find it peaceful.

3) just recently switched yet again to cleaning and lubing with eezox's. based on this review.
http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.html

4) now based on this thread over at the firing line http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/sho ... pon+shield
i just bought a bottle of weapon shield and it should be here in a few days.

the way i clean has stayed pretty much the same few patches down the barrel, till they are clean then wipe down the frame and slide, to get all the gunk off and a final wipe down with an oily patch to leave a film for lube and rust preventive, some grease on the slide rails and put her all back together.

[Doug.38PR]

Use soap, water, Clorox and a brush in the sink
That's how Sylvester Stallone's mother did it in "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot"

"This is the way we wash our gun, wash our gun, wash our gun." "Maaa, you ruined the bluing...what"

[daddySEAL]

Yeah.....right

[txinvestigator]

Handguns and Shotgun. Hoppes to clean, and Protec Gun oil in the syringe.

AR and other rifles I use the OTIS system.

Perhaps I should get a Glockenticker; They ARE dishwasher and Microwave safe.

[stevie_d_64]

Handguns and Shotgun. Hoppes to clean, and Protec Gun oil in the syringe.

AR and other rifles I use the OTIS system.

Perhaps I should get a Glockenticker; They ARE dishwasher and Microwave safe.

What??? You didn't hear RONCO is buying out Glock because of that???

You are sooooo behind the times...

BTW, I clean mine the same way whether I'm stowing them for a while or putting them right back into service...Takes all the guess work out of it...

Never had a problem...

[daddySEAL]

stevie_d_64,
I've stripped my pistols and cleaned and lubed then hundreds of times.

I'm just trying to get a consensus of which products people use for what.
What you you use?

Does anyone use a bore conditioner product as I do?

[stevie_d_64]

stevie_d_64,
I've stripped my pistols and cleaned and lubed then hundreds of times.

I'm just rying to get a concensise of which products people use for what.
What you you use?

Does anyone use a bore conditioner product as I do?

No, I just use Brake Free CLP...Scrub with a nylon tooth brush to get the embedded crud out of the nether-regions...Wipe it all down with a clean cloth...

Run swabs with Hoppes #9 through the barrel till it comes clean...Run a very slightly damp CLP swab to thinly coat the barrel, reassemble after lubing the 4 points where the slide and frame meet and greet, and thats about it...I use an orange bottle of Hoppes lite lube oil for that purpose...

I try to avoid creating an overly lubed and greased firearm that attracts all sorts of crud that really wear down a firearm before its time...

But thats just me...

I used to be able to say I never had a FTF or other failure till I went up with "jbirds" to a shoot up in Conroe a while back...

My Glock 23 had its first failure to feed in over 7-8 years and about 8000 rounds through it, IIRC, and all it took was about 5-6 seconds of gawking and a slap to put the gun into battery...I felt pretty stupid about it, but couldn't figure out why it did that...

"jbirds" will say I knelt there staring at it for about 8-10 seconds, but who's counting...

Thats about all I do for the issue...

[MoJo]

One shot or a thousand, field strip clean bore with Hoppes or other good bore solvent, scrub the rails etc with tooth brush dipped in solvent, dry with patches and thoroughly lube. About every 6 months or so I detail strip and soak everything in a 1:4 solution of Simple Green rinse in scalding water, blow everything dry with compressed air and re-lubricate.

I have used the Tetra Products and like them I'm using Corrosion X for guns as a CLP along with RIG for rust prevention and Shooter's Choice grease.

[jrosto]

While still at the range, with a warm barrel, I'll run a bore snake with Hoppes Field Cleaner through the bore two or three times.

At home I use Otis kits with Hoppes #9 for everything except my AR. For the AR I use CLP.

There is just something about #9, I can't seem to change over to anything else. Could be that after decades of use, I'm addicted to the smell or something.

After cleaning, I wipe down with Remington pre-oiled wipes, then with a lint free cloth. I lube what needs to be lubricated, and I am done.

Bore Snakes, Otis kits and lint free swabs are some of the best gun cleaning innovations around.

[HankB]

I field strip the pistol, and spray the heck out of everything with brake cleaner, trying to blast dirt out of all the nooks and crannies. (Brake cleaner works as well as Gun Scrubber for less than 1/4 the price.) Scrub with an old toothbrush, maybe use a plastic pick if there's some "grunge" that's a little tougher. Wipe everything off.

I then set the main components aside while I use a bronze brush and use something like Hoppe's to scrub out the bore.

Then several patches with solvent, followed by dry patches, complete the basic cleaning.

At this point, I lube everything with an appropriate amount of Break-Free CLP, and then rub all surfaces with a clean patch treated with CLP, just to get a very thin coating on to prevent rust. (Any excess I wipe off.) Then I reassemble and work the action a few times.

Done.