I took a rifle/Pistol/shotgun course last summer.
We shot 600 AR round and 600 Pistol rounds without cleaning our weapons. My Sig and my sons Sig were problem free.

Our ARs were trouble free as well.

Most of the others in our group of 16 were trouble free as well.

I clean and lube after every range trip, or every month or so, whichever comes first.

How long is it taking you to clean your gun? I can field strip, clean, lube, and reassemble my Beretta 92FS in probably 15-20 minutes, maybe 30 minutes if I'm taking my time.

Having said all that, as long as you keep your gun lubed properly, you should be fine cleaning your gun after every other range session. I would probably at least do a quick wipe down, maybe run a bore snake through the barrel, and add some lube after a range session.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
I thought that the right time to clean your guns is when the daughter brings her boyfriend home.

+1

I clean my firearms each time I shoot, when able (there are times when it's not practical, but I clean them as soon as possible).

Dirt and debris is corrosive and draws moisture, and any debris acts as an abrasive, even suspended in grease. Cleaning rails and internals allows me to inspect them closely. If it's a firearm that I carry, I won't carry it dirty.

If not shot in the last few weeks, I remove existing lubricant, run a snake or patch through the bore, and re-lube. It ensures that dirt or lint or grit isn't building up anywhere inside and it gives me the peace of mind that it's clean and prepared.

Cleaning can be a pain sometimes, but I usually do it while watching a TV show, and after cleaning revolvers or so many years, any auto is a snap (by comparison).

These days I use TW25B on the rails, but in times past I had a rod/reel lube that worked well on firearms...but which got sticky and built resistance if let sit for extended periods. It was never a problem when carrying, but I found it gumming up slides for weapons in the safe.

Cleaning won't hurt a thing.

With P22x Sigs, I tend to clean after every time I shoot. The exception, after Jerry’s advice to the class at MOAC this last time was every other night I would just strip the grease off of the rails (frame & slide) and the outside of the barrel and reapply fresh grease, not bothering to clean the inside of the barrel. Those long, full contact aluminum alloy rails like to be clean and lubed. With a P320 (that is a range gun only), I am a little less religious, but I still don’t like to let it go too long before cleaning.

On the other hand - I have several older 22 target rifles, Winchester 52’s.

After reading some in the 22 forums it appears that they often receive more wear and tear by cleaning than by shooting. Steel cleaning rods especially in the bores.

While I am more careful now with these, I’ll use a pull through bore swab rather than a steel rod or else I’ll use a coated rod (Dewey if I recall).

Thanks for opinions. I went ahead and cleaned it after finding some time. Going to do it after every trip. I used Breakfee clp for cleaning and lube and I used the Brian Enos slide guide lite for the rails. There is already a little wear under one of the rails, but I figured that is normal. It takes me about 45 minutes because I am anal, which was the reason behind this post.

quote:

Originally posted by TxAg2007:
Thanks for opinions. I went ahead and cleaned it after finding some time. Going to do it after every trip. I used Breakfee clp for cleaning and lube and I used the Brian Enos slide guide lite for the rails. There is already a little wear under one of the rails, but I figured that is normal. It takes me about 45 minutes because I am anal, which was the reason behind this post.

45 minutes is not considered to long to clean a pistol IMHO. I spend 90 minutes cleaning my Les Baer wadcutter that I shoot in Precision Pistol competition. Of course I reload for it using Bullseye powder which is an extremely dirty powder, leaving a lot of soot.