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Carry Gun Cleaning Question

Forty-five

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2007
Messages
223
Location
, Virginia, USA
Some say after your normal periodic cleaning to run a lightly oiled patch down the barrel. Others say that before shooting you should run a dry patch through to remove any oil. So what do you do for your carry gun?
 

sultan62

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Jul 2, 2010
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Location
Clayton, NC
Dry patch, though I'll typically spray the moving parts with a tiny bit of RemOil and work the slide a few times, then soak up the excess with another patch.
 

t33j

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
Messages
1,384
Location
King George, VA
Last two patches through all of my barrels are:
1) Heavily Oiled folded twice
2) Dry folded once

That leaves a thin film of oil in the barrel but I have salt air to contend with around where I live. I have not noticed any adverse effects other than perhaps a discoloration of the chambered round.

I don't do anything before I shoot.

From my understanding the oil is for rust protection, and its removal is to prevent excess pressure buildup in the barrel.
 
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Doug Huffman

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Joined
Jun 9, 2006
Messages
9,180
Location
Washington Island, across Death's Door, Wisconsin,
A carry gun and especially a concealed carry gun should be kept 'dry' lest the lubricant collect lint and dirt. I wiped my CCW daily and a boresnake short of the bristle. A shooter or your carry gun that you know is going to be shot - taken to the range - should be lubricated IAW the mfgr's instructions. The major wear on a modern gun is improper and too frequent cleaning.

I CCW'd in Charleston, SC with no notable rust.
 
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USMC1986

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2010
Messages
78
Location
USA
I use CLP and will send down a slightly wet patch to keep the metal inside the barrel protected. I also rub the CLP on the moving parts and exterior of gun, let soak for about 5 min, then I wipe dry with a rag.

Of course after firing, the cleaning techniques change a bit by using wire brushes, q-tips, and scrapers for removal of carbon build up.
 

daddy4count

Regular Member
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
513
Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
I clean and oil everything... inside and out of the barrel... but I wipe off excess so no "visible" residue remains. Thin, protective layer but nothing to gum up the works.
 

Sig229

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2006
Messages
926
Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
I use synthetic grease (not OIL!) for the slide rails and other metal on metal parts.

I then use synthetic oil for a few of the barrel/slide contact points.

I do not oil the inside of the barrel because as a daily OC gun (Sig 229), its surprising how much gunk that can somehow find its way in your barrel.
 

nny420

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2012
Messages
84
Location
lincoln city
barricade

I use barricade wipes. They are in individual sealed pouches. "Rust protection for firearms. A take along gun cloth"
i wipe the outside with a dry cloth b4 reholstering
 

Sig229

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Dec 14, 2006
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Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
I use barricade wipes. They are in individual sealed pouches. "Rust protection for firearms. A take along gun cloth"
i wipe the outside with a dry cloth b4 reholstering

I hear those are nice.
However, I have crossed rivers chest deep , been in salt water, snow and mud puddles with my Sig's and Glocks and not one speck of rust.

I cant imagine rust being that much of an issue wearing a gun on your hip throughout the regular day.
 

SovereignAxe

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2011
Messages
791
Location
Elizabethton, TN
So running a 100% cotton patch through the barrel a few times at less than 1 foot per second causes more wear than 40,000 psi accelerating copper-jacketed lead to over 1,000 fps?

Yeah...

I can see the argument for someone that improperly uses a collapsible steel cleaning rod (the joints wearing away at the muzzle throat if you let them rub), but yeah, properly cleaning a gun shouldn't cause any wear at all.
 

nny420

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2012
Messages
84
Location
lincoln city
rust

I hear those are nice.
However, I have crossed rivers chest deep , been in salt water, snow and mud puddles with my Sig's and Glocks and not one speck of rust.

I cant imagine rust being that much of an issue wearing a gun on your hip throughout the regular day.

It usually starts on the guns sittin not getting used. I live a couple blocks from the pacific ocean so my thought is preventitive maintenance. I try to shoot every weekend and and use barracade to clean with after... i dont care for rem oil too much but it has its place. Sig, how do you clean your gun you said you use synthetic lube but what about for getting carbon buildup off?
 

MamaLiberty

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Messages
894
Location
Newcastle, Wyoming, USA
Heavy duty lead and carbon build up or copper sludge in the barrel require specialized solvents. Ordinary cleaning after a day's shooting is always a good idea. Light cleaning can be done with things like "Gunzilla," a new favorite of mine. After any kind of cleaning, a light coat of EEZoX prevents rust and provides a good, dry lubrication that does not attract lint or gunk. I carry a stainless steel .357M openly all the time. It gets wiped down at least once a week. It's fairly dry here, but I've worn this gun all day in the field, even in the rain with no problems.

But no, I would not stop to run a dry patch down the barrel before I shoot.

The mugger might get away...
 

Sig229

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Dec 14, 2006
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Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Sig, how do you clean your gun you said you use synthetic lube but what about for getting carbon buildup off?

For cleaning the barrel I just use either gun scrubber or hoppes copper solvent for the barrel.
And after running dry patches when Im done cleaning the barrel, I leave it dry. I dont use lube in the barrel.

People all too often over use lube on guns.

I too used to live two blocs from teh Atlantic ocean and also the Chesapeake bay (which is also salty) and never had any rust from the salty air.

Now, if you spent most of your days on an open air boat out in the sea, I could see some specs of rust becoming a problem.
 

TechnoWeenie

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Joined
Jul 17, 2007
Messages
2,084
Location
, ,
I use synthetic grease (not OIL!) for the slide rails and other metal on metal parts.

I then use synthetic oil for a few of the barrel/slide contact points.

I do not oil the inside of the barrel because as a daily OC gun (Sig 229), its surprising how much gunk that can somehow find its way in your barrel.

Easy to remember,


If it slides, use grease. If it rotates, use oil.
 

since9

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
6,964
Location
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
All the rounds I put through are copper jacketed, so I do three things with my firearm each and every time I shoot:

1. Disassemble it into all parts which do not require gunsmithing tools.

2. Liberally soak all parts with Hoppes #9 to remove powder, metal fouling, and rust.

3. Meanwhile, hand-wash the plastic grips in luke-warm dishwashing soap, rinse well, and dry.

4. Scrub/wipe/patch all parts parts as per step 2.

5. Spray the hard-to-reach parts like the trigger/hammer mechanism with a spray solvent like Birchwood Casey Bore Scrubber. I find it best to use short bursts while working the mechanism between shots and allowing the solvent to drip away. Saves on a LOT of solvent.

6. Spray with Hoppes Blast & Shine, which removes all traces (particularly the odor) of any solvents and lubes. Alternatively, I've found plain old brake cleaner to be exceptionally adept at this task, if not far cheaper. It's pretty good at removing the painted dots on your sights and safety position, too... Again, quick shots while allowing most of it to drip away, along with any residue, does a more thorough job while saving on solvent.

7. Liberally spray Remington Gun Oil on all parts of firearm.

8. Wipe as clean-free as possible with a clean, dry, 100% cotton cloth. An old t-shirt works best. Please note - be sure to ask your significant other NOT to use dryer towels with these... You want them clean, not filled with various residues that might interact with any of the solvents to form a gunky residue (yes, it happened to me one time).

Elapsed time: 20 minutes.

Note 1: For annual cleaning, I do much the same, only far more thoroughly, and I also apply a thin layer of waterproof synthetic grease to all completely clean and dry surfaces before re-cleaning everything with a spray solvent then spraying with Rem oil. Elapsed time: 1 hour.

Note 2: I've also known folks who simply soak the parts in Varsol (used in automotive/mechanic's shops) and wipe clean before reassembly, but I wouldn't recommend doing so without cleaning off the Varsol with a solvent then lubricating normally. While Varsol winds up containing a lot of oils and greases from the car parts it cleans, it also winds up containing a lot of corrosive combustion products, as well, which is why good mechanics always do a final pure solvent parts cleaning followed by drying, then lubricating with light machine oil such as Helmar's Super-Lube.

Note 3: I've also known folks to substitute expensive Rem oil with far less expensive motor oil (5W-50, 10W-30, whatever). That'll work, but machine oil is formulated to collect a minimal amount of dust. Being in an enclosed space, motor oil doesn't have a dust problem, but on your hip it will gunk up.

Bottom line: If all you do is thoroughly soak/scrub/wipe/bore patch your disassembled firearm after each shooting and once or twice a year if you're not shooting with Hoppes #9 before wiping it as clean as possible, you can hardly go wrong.
 
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