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 How often do you clean your carry gun? 
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 Post subject: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 10:41 am 
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I had the whole cleaning kit out last night to clean my shotguns after shooting some clays and decided to take a look at my daily carry gun XD9 SC. I usually only clean it after I shoot which is about once a week, but I have been really busy lately and it has been at least 3-4 weeks since I have shot it.

When I took it out of the holster I was shocked buy all the lint and even more shocked when I took it apart and found tons of lint inside. This really got me thinking and raised a few questions.

Would this effect the guns ability to fire?
How often should a non fired gun be cleaned?
Has anyone else had this problem?
Does any one have any tips to reduce the lint build up?


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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 10:52 am 
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Well it's just like you wash your clothes even if you haven't rolled in the mud with them. Just by virtue of being out in the world, especially against your body, your firearm can pick up all sorts of debris. Add in the sweat and moisture from your body. It doesn't need to be fired to get dirty.

A little lint or dirt shouldn't foul up most firearms, but buildup over time possibly could. Depends on the weapon, and their tolerances for such things. Think of a AK47, you could bury it at the bottom of a lake, take it out, run it over with a tank and pick it up and it would fire. Meanwhile an M16, if you hold it next to a picture of a sandbox, promptly jams.

Clean it every once in awhile and you should be fine. Clean it after you shoot or once a month, whichever is less, and you should be fine I'd think.

Tips to reduce lint?? I dunno, go naked?? But then I'm not sure where you stash your extra ammunition.... :lol:

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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 10:59 am 
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no hints on keeping the lint out.

Take it to the range and fire it WITHOUT cleaning it.

One thing I recommend to ANYONE is that if you have a question about a certain situation, if you can safely and comfortably test a given scenario, by all means DO IT.

This is a real world situation that you would likely gain serious and eye opening enlightenment on.

Personally, we cleaned our sidearms at least 2-3 times a week when I was deployed. They were never fired in 11 months overseas or 4 months of being armed on border security.

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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 3:42 pm 
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realtor_packing_heat wrote:
Has anyone else had this problem?


Unless you're using too much lube, the lint shouldn't be sticking to the gun. You don't need to clean it, you just need to blow the lint off.

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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 10:17 pm 
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Here is advice I was given by an instructor.

Question: How often should I clean my weapon?
Answer: How often can you afford to have it jam when you need it because it was too dirty?

Question: What is the best way to keep dust and lint out the barrel?
Answer: Lead propelled at high velocity usually keeps it from accumulating.

Finally advice, if you don't remember the last time you fired or cleaned your weapon then it is probably time to do it.
If you carry, you must practice - if you practice, you must clean. If you can not then you must not.

Always seemed like good advice to me.


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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 10:33 pm 
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when i carry my micro eagle in my pocket with a pocket holster i first turn my pockets inside out and take a lint roller to them. i find that helps with a pocket gun. otherwise i dont know what to do. i generally look at my weapon and if it looks a bit crusty i clean it.

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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 10:37 pm 
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I clean my guns when they get dirty. How about that? If you don't overlube your carry gun it will stay cleaner longer, and a great quicky between cleanings is a quick blow down with the air hose to get the lint off/out.

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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:00 pm 
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I typically clean my carry guns after every range session.

I also try to get to them monthly to make sure the lint is out from behind the trigger, that the moving parts are properly lubed; and I also run a bore snake through the barrel. Doesn't take long, and I feel better. :D

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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 1:11 am 
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jdege wrote:
realtor_packing_heat wrote:
Has anyone else had this problem?


Unless you're using too much lube, the lint shouldn't be sticking to the gun. You don't need to clean it, you just need to blow the lint off.



I blow the lint off mine every once in a while . .. and strongly agree with Jdege. I over lubed when a noob & have grown to think of that as something that should be grown out of.

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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:37 am 
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My experience has been:

pocket carry = Lint.

IWB conealed carry = less lint.

OWB / Paddle carry = little to no lint (depending on cover garment).

I clean gun after every shooting session and inspect for dirt, lint, etc... every time I unholster in evening. Try to clean monthly whether fired or not.


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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 8:26 am 
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Yes to all of the above...

But then, there is this: http://springfield-armory.primediaoutdoors.com/SPstory11.php

I too own a XD-SC9 used for daily carry. I don't worry about it after reading the above. I do "blow out the barrel" once in awhile to get the lint out. :D


MM


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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:10 am 
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a911scanner wrote:
Yes to all of the above...

But then, there is this: http://springfield-armory.primediaoutdoors.com/SPstory11.php

I too own a XD-SC9 used for daily carry. I don't worry about it after reading the above. I do "blow out the barrel" once in awhile to get the lint out. :D


MM



That was a great article. Thanks :!:


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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 8:04 am 
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I carry a XDSC 9 daily in a Don Hume IWB. 1x month (regardless of fired or not) I disassmble and give a quick clean. Doesn't take long and puts my mind at ease knowing that if I ever NEED it to go 'Bang', it will.


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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 12:38 pm 
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The gun you are carrying should be clean.

This is so as not to confuse the post-shooting ballistic testing that the police lab may do to the gun if you have to use it. If you say you shot three rounds of Winchester silvertip ammo from your S&W 342, you want them to find three fired Winchester cases (with the proper headstamp and powder residue) in the cylinder and two unfired rounds of the same ammo and to find Winchester powder residue in the barrel. And only that. Everything should be consistent with your story. If it's not, you can always explain but why open yourself to needing to do so?

So, clean it after every use and, in any event, annually. Unload it and check its condition visually and manually on a quarterly basis. You can do this more often if you can remember.

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 Post subject: Re: How often do you clean your carry gun?
PostPosted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 1:09 pm 
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Good point Kimberman.

To be clear, with my post above, I wasn't saying "don't clean your gun". On the contrary, I was just trying to say "stop worrying about it".

Thanks for all of your time...



MM


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