how often do you clean your carry gun

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

an off shoot of the thread about carry gun problems , it got me wondering how often do you clean your carry gun.

I haven't carried as long as many of you.

any way to the cleaning part , I have been cleaning ever week the lint and crud that gets in your gun in a week is amazing

it would seem that regular cleaning should go a long way to reliability. I may over do it but i would rather error on the side of caution. besides it helps with the nightmares that my gun won't go off when i need it ,is that common has any one else ever had a dream or nightmare that they had a FTF for one reason or another.

field strip , wipe down the surfaces , use a nylon brush to get the tight spots and run a patch down the barrel then oil with break free CLP and re assemble


whats your routine and how often are you doing it

[MtGun44]

Every two or three months seems fine for me. Blow and brush out the lint every week or so.

Bill

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Once each time to my very dusty mountain side range. Other than that just keep the dust and lint from accumulating. Once each 2 years remove the side cover and clean & lube the action parts (revolver).
Mike in Peru

[cajun shooter]

Your OP has a lot of variables that would lead to different answers. I'm not being a know it all but as a working Narcotics agent and firearms instructor I have a lot of experience in the field.
If your carry gun is blued and your area is high humidity then your gun should be checked ever few days. If in a more dry area like Arizona then that answer should be every few weeks or more. It also depends on how and where the gun is carried. If carried next to the body with no holster or in a holster warrant different care. A shoulder rig keeps the gun away from the sweat and debris that a inside the waist does not.
I have seen where some old time cops would not change the ammo out from the leather loops on the gun belt. One in particular is lucky to be alive as when he went to reload his ammo was so green that it would not chamber. The bravery of another officer saved him.
I once had to hit a drug dealer with my model 60 S&W as he had his hand on a gun. I hit him several times until he was out.
Being who I was I gave my revolver the once over and found the trigger had bent into the trigger and would not fire.
My point here is that a gun that is used may develop a problem and not only needs to be cleaned but function tested on a very often schedule.
What is the value of your life when it comes to just a few minutes a day.
Exchange out your ammo at least every 6 months, using the old for live fire practice.
If a semi-auto is carried then each magazine should also be stripped of ammo and cleaned and filled with fresh.
Good luck in your life and may you never have to use your weapon but if you do you will be ready. Take Care David

[Reload3006]

I try to practice with mine once a month minimum. I have always been anal about cleaning my arms after firing them So its at least once a month for me.

[sundog]

...and how many test fire after cleaning and reassembly? My carry gun is 'dirty', but I know it works. A clean gun that does not function is,... well, a nonfunctioning firearm.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

thanks cajun for your input ,i absolutely agree , that it needs to be function tested

when at the range ,I post my target then draw from concealment and empty the chamber and mag into the target , this works at my range it may not work at every ones range

i would rather know at the range that i have a problem and unloading and reloading before the range doesn't seem like a fair test of the way it is carried.

[MtGun44]

Yep. I regularly pull out the expensive carry ammo and shoot a few dozen rounds of practice
when at the range, then reload the 'good stuff' and reholster. Is it dirty? Slightly, but I
am certain that it is still working properly.

And my blued guns get more attention. My primary gun is SS.

Bill

[Blammer]

greencountypete, what did you have nightmares about before you carried?

[44deerslayer]

Every other day. but if it rains or snows every day

[firefly1957]

When it needs it I do check it visually before putting it on !

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

greencountypete, what did you have nightmares about before you carried?

A number of years ago , i had a a series of dreams / nightmares that i was in a situation in my home , with a similar failure to fire during home invasion. i think i had spent to much time away from regular shooting , so i got everything out cleaned and fired everything and with my confidence back up the dream was gone.

then after a aunt and uncle were the victims of arson i had a series of dreams where like their house the porch was set on fire and i saw the guy running away and had to resist the urge to shoot , and concentrate on getting the fire out before it spread.

and when my back was hurt and i was on pain meds , well those were just plain violent nasty stuff not related at all , but when you tear up your back ,it is a necessary evil

i can't imagine how people hooked on oxy aren't just a ball of rage , i suspect many are. now that doesn't make you feel better about your fellow man at least not the many who are addicts.

before we had carry , a significant portion of the population just broke the law , most didn't out right carry a gun in a holster every were they went , but when i was a mechanic at least a 1/3 of the cars i worked on, on the east side of Madison
had a club, short bat ,large knife , tire iron , large wrench or something else that would serve as a weapon , many women carried pepper spray, and i even saw the occasional gun tucked in between the seats and that's just what i saw.

since we got carry , I have had more people tell me they were relived , that they could finally do what they had been doing for in some cases decades legaly , one fella from the next town over told me he was talking with one of their local shop keepers who was thinking she might post her store , he told her why he had been carrying in her store for years as had many others he knew and that she know and both considered friends.

we don't live in a particularly dangerous area by it's self , we often say we get 2 kinds of crime local drunks who usually they apologize when they sober up and imported crime from the cities 30-40 minutes away.
we are just far enough out that this is where they dump the bodies, a year or two ago one of our friends was very upset that they found a young woman murdered about 600 yards down the road from their house. it turned out to be a domestic from almost a hundred miles a way and this is where they chose to dump the body.