how soon do you clean your guns/rifle after the range? I usually clean right after but today I didn't have the time, family visiting and stuff, is it ok to leave fire arms dirty like that after a session? and if it is what's the longest amount of time you could leave a gun/rifle dirty?

I usually wipe them down after a match or range time, and clean them "later".

I usually clean mine right away, but have had life happen and then forgotten. I've had my XD shoot 500 rounds and then sit for over a week, without problems. As long as your not using corrosive ammo or storing your guns in high humidity areas you will be fine. Powder residue attracts moisture, since the relative humidity is fairly low this shouldn't be an issue.

I have 1200 rounds through my new 1911 and haven't touched it once. I like to see how many rounds a new gun can handle before it has a malfunction though, my own personal torture test if you will. After that I clean them even sometime when I haven't even shot them. Is is recommended (even by me) to go long with out cleaning them? Nope. Can you be okay waiting a while? Yup.

Unless shooting corrosive, you can go quite awhile before cleaning your guns. If shooting precision rifles, dirty bores will affect accuracy. Otherwise it will not hurt the gun to leave it dirty.

 

I'm a bit fanatical about it and clean when I get home or the next day or two after. Plus I enjoy the activity.

I like to clean my guns when the malfunction, or start oozing crap out of various locations. Leave em dirty. As long as you're not shooting corrosive, there's no reason to clean them.

I like to clean my guns when the malfunction, or start oozing crap out of various locations. Leave em dirty. As long as you're not shooting corrosive, there's no reason to clean them.

 

+1

I'll wait till I have a couple hundred rounds or so fired. Sometimes I just wipe off pistol rails and oil to keep wear down on the slides and keep the action cycling good.

Throw mine in the dishwasher the night after a range day or match. Unless it's raining on the way home, then I strap them to the roof with the barrels pointed forward. Scours the barrels nicely.

I like to clean my guns when the malfunction, or start oozing crap out of various locations. Leave em dirty. As long as you're not shooting corrosive, there's no reason to clean them.

 

+1

My pistol.. um. I don't remember cleaning that from last fall...

 

My AR's I go and shoot and come home.. every other range trip I clean them just to check the BCG parts..

 

I run a boresnake and call it done..

 

My new build had 160 rounds of mix brass and Wolf ammo.. I just wiped the BCG and Q-tip'd the chamber..

 

I'll clean that AFTER the next range trip..

 

My Saiga AK's I use to have were rarely cleaned unless I was running corrosive surplus ammo..

 

Most issues were in the piston tube near the gas block where the crud would sit.. (bottle brush helps)..

 

So.. every other outing for most of mine.. but its a wipe, Q-Tip, and boresnake..

how soon do you clean your guns/rifle after the range? I usually clean right after but today I didn't have the time, family visiting and stuff, is it ok to leave fire arms dirty like that after a session? and if it is what's the longest amount of time you could leave a gun/rifle dirty?

 

 

Mine gets the exterior wiped down at the end of the range stay and broken down and cleaned whenever I think about it. I'm sure it's no where near as often as you guys clean yours. When it starts misbehaving, it then gets broken down and cleaned well.

I usually do it when I get home. This gives me a chance to inspect the parts for wear or cracks.

 

This actually proved its worth once, when I noticed cracks in the plastic of the ejection port of my CX4. I was able to prevent the cracks from getting any worse by doing a small repair that I found on the Beretta Forum.

 

I leave my Beretta 92 and 1911 dirty, but like I say in my signature, my PX4 is a very high-maintenance girl. She will pout if she isn't pampered.

 

If you have a gun with a rotating bolt, you have to keep it cleaned and oiled.

I always have intentions of cleaning them when I get home, but then life happens..

I've started to take a basic cleaning kit to the range and clean my guns before i come home.

I usually clean my M&P every case of 1,000 rounds, but I think I missed the last one. It's fine. The only gun I keep always clean is my home defense piece.

how soon do you clean your guns/rifle after the range? I usually clean right after but today I didn't have the time, family visiting and stuff, is it ok to leave fire arms dirty like that after a session? and if it is what's the longest amount of time you could leave a gun/rifle dirty?

 

I know people who never clean their guns. Maybe a wipe down on the outside before putting them away at best.

 

Me? When I shoot smokeless, I never clean them unless there is a problem.

 

Hell, even when I shoot real black I've gone weeks, and even a few months before cleaning them, with NO damage.

The only gun I clean religiously is my Mosin. Only becuaseI shoot corrosive surplus.

 

my saiga I've yet to clean ever...probably 1500 rounds through it. almost all steel cased.

 

my S&W has to be cleaned every 2-300 rounds or else the cylinder will bind. and thats no fun.

 

my shotgun hasn't been cleaner for periods of years.

 

everything else gets cleaned every few months or so

The PPK gets cleaned after every range trip. The 1911 every other range trip. Shotgun never. AR rarely, mostly just CLP for lube.

I pull a boresnake through each of my guns before I pack them up after a range session.

That way, the crud doesn't accumulate.