How much time to clean your handguns?

H

Hoplites1234

New member
My sons and friends kid me about how I take 1.5 to 2 hours to clean each handgun before putting it back in storage. I have more then a few and I practice weekly on the range and like to cycle through them so it may be three or four months before I'll shoot a particular handgun again. They're spotless and look almost new by the time I get done. Am I normal????
 
Well, Hoplites1234, I'm not going to comment on the "normal" questions, but in my personal experience, if I spend 1/2 hour on a handgun, that's more than normal.

I'd say 15 minutes allows a great cleaning and lubing for me.

But.........that said, if you ever have one for sale, please let me know!!! :D
 
I take about 30 minutes to clean a handgun and about 20 minutes to clean a rifle. If my life depended on the rifle like it does the handgun the times would be reversed. I just ordered a bore snake for my 9mm. Maybe that will speed up my cleaning time alittle.
 
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I guess it depends on what I have done with the handgun. If I am cleaning my carry gun and have not fired it since last cleaning, just getting the lint bunnies out only requires about 5-10 minutes with compressed air and a little lube.

If I am cleaning them post firing, I like to spend about 30 minutes to clean them. I also like the boresnake and refuse to use a cleaning rod (with all the damage that it can do to a barrel). The boresnake is small and can be stored in a small ziploc or run through the dishwasher to clean. I also use Q-tips, a toothbrush, and a small plastic blade tool (doesn't scratch metal finishes).

I think a couple hours is excessive, but then again it's hard to tell proficiency levels and how far the gun is broken down. I also notice that it takes me a lot longer to clean my guns when I am watching a movie at the same time :D
 
CLEAN them? You're supposed to CLEAN them?
I thought the bullets kept the chamber clean!!!

:p
 
For pistols I'll probably spend a good 45 minutes. I get razzed for taking so long by my friends. Whether it one round or one hundred rounds - same thing to me. But yes when we compare pistols that we've had for a couple years, you will really appreciate the effort put in.
My rifles are another thing! Most of mine are competition or precision and a
1 1/2 hour cleaning job is my normal time. I know some High Master Class High Power Rifle shooters that baby their rifles even more that I do. :D
 
Depends on the gun.
Some have many more parts than others.
A revolver doesn't take as long.
Got a Remington 1100 that I just bought and so far it is in day five of cleaning, of course that includes cleaning the stock down to bare wood, and the action down to bare metal.
Woops got carried away that's refinishing not cleaning.:D
However long it takes, my wife thinks it to be too long.:D
 
I spend 15 to 20 minutes per. What exactly are you doing Hoplites1234? Are you detail stripping them each time or just scrubbing really thoroughly?
 
I'm usually doing in front of the TV so I take my time. I'd saw about 20-30 mins. But then again, I just bought a Glock so I don't have to clean anymore right? haha, just joking
 
Good maintenance tip

And many of you will know it. If you have an air compressor, they're great for blowing out cleaning solution and oil after you get done. I'v found it's the best way to clean a firearm. Just make sure you wear eye protection. As for me, I spend 30 minutes on pistols and 45 to 60 minutes on long arms. I once had a buddy that told me that too much cleaning is not good for a firearm. I think it depends on how much oil you use (use sparingly!) and how careful you are with the cleaning rod. I too have the boresnakes and they're excellent. I also wear disposable gloves when cleaning my firearms due to the cleaning solution. Sigarms states that a pistol is not clean until you clean the magazine. While I enjoy field stripping all my guns, the Sig P239's magazine is under a fair amount of pressure and while re-assembling the magazine, the bottom plate slipped and the spring went shooting across the garage. Luckily I found it and now I don't take those magazines apart!
 
Like most of the others that have posted the time it takes me to clean one of my handguns is around 30 min. more or less.
 
me,too

i spend about 30 minutes per weapon. except for the time i had a brainfart and couldn't remember how to reassemble the weapon. my wife had watched me do it before and she had it put back together and operational in about 10 seconds. me? i was proud of her for that. i just wanted to shoot myself....!! hahaha!!
 
I would say for a regular cleaning I would spend 10 to 20 minutes. Now I will do a complete stripdown after a couple of regular cleanings. This strip down can take up to 2 hours depending on the weapon.
 
For handguns, I can spend $5 and the local gun shop will put them in their ultrasonic cleaner... takes a few minutes. If I do it myself, it doesn't cost much less (considerng the price of cleaning supplies), and it takes about 20 minutes per handgun.

Semi-auto rifles can take 30-40min, especially after shooting corrosive ammo.

Bolt & Lever action guns are pretty quick, anything more than 10 minutes (even after shooting corrosive ammo) is just wasting time.

My pump shotgun (Mossy M590-A1) is a beater, it goes in the dish-washer with a light coat of Simple-Green and then sprayed down afterwards with WD-40 (swabbing out the mag-tube, of course, to prevent it from deactivating the ammo)... and that's only if it needs to be cleaned (muddy, etc). Most of the time just a pass with a Bore-Snake will do.

I love Bore-Snakes, btw.
 
lukemccoy said:
Is there any interest in a Gun Maintenance forum?
Click to expand...


That may be a good idea. While I know how to clean my personal firearms, I am sure there are some tricks to be taught/learned by the community. I have been procrastinating for years about the boresnake, but talking w/ people recently, and reading these posts, I may have to breakdown and get some.

Oh, btw - depending on what I am doing, about 1/2 hour or so for my pistols. That's after firing of course.

One of my buddies who is a SWAT cop, and a comp tactical shooter and I were talking tonight at work, and he said as far as his comp .22's go, he never cleans them until like 1000 rounds of ammo has been blown thru them. Don states that for some reason the .22's seem to get more accurate the dirtier the barrel gets. He states there is talk either way about that, but that's how he rolls. As far as his largebore comp guns - he is meticulous. But, those are different creatures alltogether. It would be interesting to see people's thoughts on that issue - (the .22.)
 
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