So I read something recently that got me thinking and scratching my head. I read that it is recommended to clean all your guns (even those in the safe untouched) periodically every few months or so. Now I clean all my guns after shooting them and lube and oil them well with CLP in and out, but if they have been sitting in the safe in a pretty much climate controlled environment for even years without issue, then why would I have to get them out to clean them?

I have re-LUBED them before shooting for sure, like for instance the rails on a 1911 or the bolt on an AR-15, but full stage cleaning? Nope. I have guns in the safe that haven’t been shot for over a decade and they look just fine. I’ll glance at them, once in a while work the action and look it over, but they go back in the safe and I’ve had no issues. I have bought guns that were new in box, but sat in the back of a gun shop for years untouched, and they were fine—sometimes without any protective lube from the factory at all, go figure!

The guns from the last 20-30 years have pretty good finishes on them from the get go and I have found they need less TLC than what I give them. I have not seen guns go bad from letting them “rest” in the safe for long periods though I have seen people “overclean” and actually do damage so there’s that.

What say you Sigforum? Are you guys going into your safe and cleaning guns just for the heck of it? Do you really feel the need or just like doing it?

What is this “gun cleaning” you speak?

I cleaned a Glock the other day. It had 1500 rounds through it since the last cleaning. That is about my interval. The exception is my precision rifle, it gets cleaned every 4-10 rounds.

If the gun is stored under conditions that leave it covered in dust bunnies, or you use lubrication products that dry out and/or congeal, you should clean it periodically. Otherwise, no. Those conditions aside, guns don't get dirty if they aren't shot.

I might give a wipe down now and then. If I am pulling something out that hasn’t been shot in years I might give it a clean and lube before I take it out but I generally don’t clean them unless they have been shot unless I get a bug up ass and I am bored

25 years ago I cleaned my guns then stored them in cases locked in a safe for 13 years while I roamed the country in an RV. They were fine when set free.

If I am going to store a gun for a long period, like a year or more, it gets a coat of Rig gun grease on the outer surfaces. Otherwise there is no reason to clean a gun that is in a climate controlled environment. After cleaning a gun that I have fired, I hit it with a little spritz of Remoil as a rust inhibitor and don't worry about it until the next time I shoot it-it has worked for me in Florida for more than 40 years

I’d only agree that they should be cleaned regularly as they ought in a perfect world, to be shot regularly. Sadly, I live in an imperfect world where some guns might go a good long time between adventures outside the safe. In a climate controlled, dehumidified world, I clean, wipe down with a silicone cloth, then stow in the safe until next use. If it has been a long time when they come out, the lube may get refreshed before shooting, though that is rarely necessary.

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For long term storage, I do three things.

1) Coat the entire weapon, including wooden stocks in RIG which is now owned by Birch Casey. Rig stands for Rust Inhibiting Grease and its been in production long before my Dad showed me how to use in in the early 1970s. I have one last tin of the original which I bought when the company announced they were shutting down. I was happy to see Birch buy them out instead.

2) Use of a quality Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor (VCI) bag which creates a thin invisible layer of VCI molecules on the surface of metal.

The VCI layer inhibits the corrosion process caused by oxygen, water and contaminants.

These bags have a "use-life" you can store them in a metal free container for many years but once they begin to release their molecules to form a layer around metal, they begin to loose their mojo.

3) Store the weapon barrel down to ensure lubricate travels away from and not into the weapon's action. If the weapon has a gas system, I may break down the rifle.

I've stored a Winchester M97 Trenchgun for 30 years using RIG and barrel down then added the VCI bags about 12 years ago.

For about 5 1/2 years, I have a bolt action rifle stored in just a VCI bag up in Montana. It is completely dry, no grease or oil of anykind as a testbed.

I replaced the VCI 3 years in and I will replace it when I get back there this Summer or Winter 2020.

No issues with the 1st bag change but I do use a micro cloth to whipe it down to ensure I'm not leaving any oily fingerprints on the surface.

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When I was in the service we had a system called “PMS” periodic maintenance system. It included what was to be done, how to do it and what to use for:
After use
Daily
Monthly,
Quarterly.
semi-annual
Annual,
bi annual
And
Lay-up

I tend to follow those instilled by my training.
But it also don’t clean a gun after each use unless it got wet
If it’s a gun in a safe, it gets cleaned and then it’s covered in grease or heavy oil...but I use most of my guns so they get cleaned when they need it or accuracy suffers

The only ones that need more regular cleaning after not too much use is the .22's. Reason being that .22 ammo is so
dirty.

Seems like some are more about the interval cleaning vs others. I just looked at a couple guns that I have not shot, or even handled for a few years and they looked like when I put them away, proving my point I guess that one could store away a cleaned gun in a climate controlled safe pretty much indefinitely without any cause for concern. Sure the rails may benefit from some fresh lube before shooting though it appears they would not need a cleaning every X amount of time to mitigate rust or any other issues. Unless of course after 5 or 10 or 20 years a coating of CLP will have no protective properties.

Even then if the gun was not handled with oily hands and then left alone it should be fine for a long time I’d think. I can think of a lot of metal items I have other than guns that A) don’t have protective finishes from the manufacturer, B) aren’t wiped down in a gun oil or CLP, and C) aren’t in a safe or climate controlled environment, and none have rusted other than some crappy pliers that live in a tool bag in the garage.

just reporting a little test I ran on a Ruger Mk II circa 1985. Bought used, got into extended discussion with a couple buddies, one of whom was compulsive, one was less stringent, and myself, as the interested 'lets find out' guy.

Since it was somewhat cosmetically challenged already,my determination was to shoot it without cleaning until malfunctions became PIA.

I used it for a variety of informal target practice & plinking for nearly an entire decade. While it was still 'working normally' it finally got a bit slugglish in slide action, along with a late appearing failure to extract. Finally called the test completed at just short of a decade. More or less monthly use to some degree with thousands of rounds downrange.

Yet it was filthy inside. Bore remained shiny. What was actually causing extraction issue, according to the gunsmith, was a broken extractor claw. He cleaned & repaired it, chewed my butt out, and was not too surprised with the length of non-maintenance the Ruger endured.

Yes, I clean them all with far greater regularity these days. Mostly stainless revolvers. And yes, they can and will get gummed up too, eventually. And I don't have any gas-piston models.

I hang upside down and clean 'em Major Payne style just for the heck of it.

Not sure I'll clean 'em in '20. Just oil/grease the actions before shooting.

I found out about froglube after letting a gun sit in my safe for 18 months. It was locked up tight with "goo". Threw that shit in the trash, and went back to a proper lubricant, made from decomposing dinosaurs.

The Python, Cobra and Browning 380 are covered in Break Free CO. It's a long term storage oil and I haven't had any problems.
My few carry pistols get a wipe down of oil every 2-3 months if I'm not carrying them. Carry pistol is inspected every month if I don't shoot it. I tend to see lint build up and the like from carry use. If I do shoot it, I'm usually good for 100-150 rounds. It gets cleaned and oiled before going back to carry duty.

I keep my guns in a safe with a golden rod. It seems after a few months that the oil has disappeared. They don't need to be cleaned persay but they do need to be lubed/oiled

Cleaning is for those who don’t shoot often. I used to hit the range for 2 hours and clean for 4. Phooey on that. Now I just shoot, lube and repeat.

I have duplicates of my carry guns so I lube my carry guns once a year mainly just to refresh the grease.