How clean is your carry pistol?

[RevolverRob]

I admit, that I like clean guns, in general, but I'm not fanatical about it*.

My carry gun gets shot to the point where I'm confident with my given load and ability to shoot it. Then it gets lubed generously and then all the excess is wiped off. I generally rub the schmut off the feed ramp and barrel hood too, but I don't break it down any farther. I'll inspect it monthly and if I think it looks like it needs cleaning, I'll plan to clean it immediately before my next range session (to confirm function at the range).

My training gun gets cleaned after every 500 or so rounds. Partly, so I can inspect the gun and maintain it, and when using a new platform, learn about how it works. And also to satisfy some latent OCD. *This is the part where I point out that I lied at the beginning. I don't mind a slightly dirty gun, but guns that get smudgy are no go. And the problem is, once I start cleaning a gun, I can't stop. I have a whole dental pick set, for the express purpose of cleaning nooks and crannies in my guns. You guys realize how much crud there is embedded against the edges of cocking serrations? Run a sharp dental pick along one and you might be surprised.

NO you do not need a gun that clean. Yes I have a problem. I'm okay with it.

[NH Shooter]

In general I clean & lube after every use, regardless of number of rounds fired. Ditto my carry pistol, which also gets inspected and wiped down every time it goes back in the safe even if it was not fired.

Also my thinking is that a clean carry gun is a good indictor that it has not been recently discharged, which might save me some grief under the right circumstances (not sure if there is any real merit to this).

[Bucky]

Carry gun typically gets cleaned after every range trip. If it was a light session, I may skip a cleaning, depending when the last cleaning was. Time is a factor as well. If 6 months were to go by without shooting, I’d do a clean and lube as well. Never happens, though.

[APS-PF]

Once vetted, the carry gun gets shot infrequently and always cleaned after shooting. Once a month or so it gets field stripped and re-lubed if necessary. My duplicate practice gun gets cleaned every few months or so and lubed occasionally in between.

[Robinson]

My carry gun is usually pretty clean because I don't shoot it much. Whenever I inspect and lube it I'll clean it if I think it needs it -- which is almost never. Same for my house gun. My training guns get lubed often, cleaned when I feel like it or they look really filthy -- whichever comes first.

[Hambo]

I shoot my full size carry pistol when I replace ammo. Then I clean it and carry it til next time. I should note that clean is a relative, meaning that it's clean enough to work, but I'm not trying to get it so the cleaning patches come out white. The spare versions get cleaned when lube alone will not keep them running.

BUG/pocket pistol get shot and cleaned more frequently because I don't have a bunch of extras. In between I use canned air to blow the lint off the pocket pistol from time to time.

[baddean]

I actually don’t like carrying a clean gun. Pencil tests are nice, but if I’ve shot it, I know I put it back together right.

I thought I might be the only one here to think like this. My carry gun is my practice gun. Gets cleaned prior to a range session. Once done and holstered I know I have a functioning gun. I don’t feel comfortable taking a perfectly functioning gun apart to clean a little bit of residue and then betting my life that I assembled it correctly.

[Redhat]

I thought I might be the only one here to think like this. My carry gun is my practice gun. Gets cleaned prior to a range session. Once done and holstered I know I have a functioning gun. I don’t feel comfortable taking a perfectly functioning gun apart to clean a little bit of residue and then betting my life that I assembled it correctly.

That's why I perform a function check of the weapon after cleaning, inspection and assembly

[flyrodr]

My grandparents raised four girls during the Depression, and had to stretch every dollar. Thus my Grandfather, although using his tools hard, took good care of them. In the case of his couple of shotguns and .22 rifle, that included cleaning after every use. He ingrained that habit into me as well. So I rarely put a gun away, or into use, without it being clean. Else I think that my Grandfather is looking down on me, shaking his head in disapproval.

Which raises a question about the idea of not cleaning a carry gun without a test firing, because it might not function properly after being cleaned and reassembled. Has anyone ever fired a carry gun at the range, disassembled the properly working gun, cleaned and reassembled it, and then had it NOT function properly? I've had plenty of guns that had various functioning issues, but can't recall any that resulted from cleaning and reassembling one.

[41magfan]

I don't understand the logic in test-firing after performing simple maintenance functions. Unless you change some of the parts, the gun is functionally the same gun. Now, changing parts a different matter and I always test-fire following such a modification.

Guns malfunction a lot more often than they fail and most malfunctions can be mitigated by keeping the gun clean and feeding it quality ammo. Any gun can fail at any time and firing just one more time doesn't alter that reality in the least.

The most predictable round fired out of any gun is the last one you fired from it, so have a plan for failure just as you would with a parachute. You cannot predict failure with some things until it actually happens. That's why cleaning and PM is fairly important.