how often should you clean your guns?

Answer 1

any time it rains while I am hunting I clean,
in shot gun I clean after about 4 boxes I clean,
in pistols and rifles that I don't shoot as much, I clean after each use.
Cleaning and oiling guns is one of the most important things you can do to ensure longevity, My shotgun is over 15 years old and still does a great job despite having fired thousands of rounds.

Answer 2

I always clean them after every hunt or target practice. But I also clean them a couple of times a year just to be able to inspect them as much as anything and while I am inspecting them I run a patch through and renew the oil coating on the outside. Some friends of mine say to clean them twice after hunting. Once when you get home and again a week later. And that makes sense as sometimes the powder residue will be deep and will come out from the cleaner application later on.

Answer 3

A lot depends on what you are dong with them. If you are taking a shotgun into the marshes to hunt ducks, then you'd better clean it as soon as you get home to prevent rust. If you are target shooting or deer hunting and using a modern rifle or handgun, then it is not critical. Still, I clean mine as soon as I get home and then put them into the gun safe. If you are shooting a .22 rimfire, I'd clean it right away because they are notoriously dirty rounds. You get a lot of unburned powder and lead fragments in the action that need to be removed or they will build up and jam the action. If you are going to be storing them for any significant period of time, they should be thoroughly cleaned before you store them. As a certifiable "gun nut" I perfer to always keep my guns in as clean a condition as I can. I really prefer that they always look like they did the day that I brought them home from the store. It's just a matter of pride with me.

Answer 4

I was just talking to a friend about this while hunting this weekend. He said his precision was falling off and I asked him when he cleaned the gun, how often and with what. The answer nearly caused me to be ill...Once a year with a coat hanger he straightened out and a t-shirt cut in little squares soaked with WD-40!

I set him straight. I told him to clean the gun after every use, and occasionally while being stored, with a bore snake and good patches, a brush in his caliber with light gun oil and solvent. I then told him after the patches came out clean he should run a dry one through and make sure it was dry, dry, dry. I told him to get a good rust preventing oil and wipe down the exterior then dry it off with a chamois cloth. After that I recommended that he take the WD-40 and throw it in the trash or use it to lubricate squeaky doors.

Answer 5

Generally after every shooting plus you want to check on stored guns for rust every month or so (more often in very humid climates) and wipe them with rust protection.

I clean my carry pistol weekly, including a pull through of the boresnake and taking off the slide and a wipedown with an oiled cloth to protect against damage body oils and moisture. (I carry a steel, blued pistol most often)

Answer 6

I wipe them with oil everytime I use them. I do a spray cleaning a couple times a year. Thats it. My guns work perfectly, and look flawless. I don't think it is necessary to break them down and detail them as much as some folks do.

Answer 7

I like to wipe mine down after I get thru hunting or shooting it and really give it a good cleaning before I put it away for the year

Answer 8

all guns of mine I use I clean every time after I shoot them. Otherwise if i dont shoot them very much, I clean and inspect them every 2 months.

Answer 9

I oil the outside everytime I take it out whether I shot it or not, But clean the internals everytime after I have shot it

Answer 10

After each use and annually if not used(cleaned and oiled)