I truly hate cleaning guns. Is the worst part of guns.

Shotguns are okay. O/u and single shots.

Rifles - bolts and single shots and doubles are okay. Blaser are super easy like shotguns.

Pistols and semi autos suck.

I hate everything about gun cleaning. Wish there was a drive to the home and clean the guns van like there is for dog grooming.

Did I say I hate gun cleaning

Mike

+1....all my pistols and semiautos are full of soot and gunk...

Don't we all?

Dave

Hornady One Shot

I like cleaning them and would never put one away dirty.

Get a good air compressor, a parts washer, and untrasonic tank set and it isn’t much work at all (used a LEO armorers set up once.) while it took an hour, actual work time (excluding the ultrasonic run) was 10 minutes for an AR and a couple semiauto handguns.

I priced the set up. $8k at that time. Less now.

If you have more money than time...

"Saying that he hates cleaning guns but enjoys shooting is like saying he hates going to the toilet but enjoys eating!"

Words of wisdom from someone here!

I cannot imagine not cleaning my tools or my dishes or my clothing. Don't "enjoy" any of that but it needs doing.

As for my firearms I really do enjoy cleaning them. They provide me hours of enjoyment and, for the most part, are finely made mechanisms that are worth maintaining. I admire the cleverness of the designs and the workmanship involved and I like knowing they are ready for the next trip to the range or the woods. I like blue steel and fine wood and it needs attention.

If you don't like cleaning that's ok too as long as you understand the consequences and accept that or clean it anyway. That's what plastic and stainless steel is for.

Where I live in NZ humidity is constantly and relatively high. Corrosion of rifle bores and blued steel is very likely if left unprotected. I learnt the hard way that bore corrosion from lack of proper cleaning causes accuracy loss and in a couple of cases to barrel replacement. Also our hunting areas are often wet and ex factory wooden stocks have a hard time resisting warping over time. My favourite domestic hunting rifles are now stainless with either plastic or carbon fibre stocks. Regular cleaning and protectant application keeps you out of trouble. As a younger man I did not enjoy having to do the maintenance but with maturity ( age ! ) this has changed and I now enjoy the work and time involved in maintaining my modest collection.

Handguns are the worst cause they are not uniform to take apart or put together. Glocks being the exception.

An ultrasonic might make sense if I shoot my cz a lot - hate messing around with cz pistols.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Jerry Liles:
I cannot imagine not cleaning my tools or my dishes or my clothing. Don't "enjoy" any of that but it needs doing.

As for my firearms I really do enjoy cleaning them. They provide me hours of enjoyment and, for the most part, are finely made mechanisms that are worth maintaining. I admire the cleverness of the designs and the workmanship involved and I like knowing they are ready for the next trip to the range or the woods. I like blue steel and fine wood and it needs attention.

If you don't like cleaning that's ok too as long as you understand the consequences and accept that or clean it anyway. That's what plastic and stainless steel is for.

Reloading, load development, range time, hunting, cleaning - all very enjoyable uses of my time. Can't say that I like one less than the other.

I was weaned on Hoppe's No.9 and the smell still takes me back to my earliest days of shooting and hunting and spending time with my father.

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:
I truly hate cleaning guns. Is the worst part of guns.

Shotguns are okay. O/u and single shots.

Rifles - bolts and single shots and doubles are okay. Blaser are super easy like shotguns.

Pistols and semi autos suck.

I hate everything about gun cleaning. Wish there was a drive to the home and clean the guns van like there is for dog grooming.

Did I say I hate gun cleaning



Mike

There is such a service but I think it's in Texas. Saw it on a Ted Nugent program.

I had a buddy in the Guard,that during simulated battle + on the range would just act like he was shooting + thus releave himself from that chore.

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:
I truly hate cleaning guns. Is the worst part of guns.

Shotguns are okay. O/u and single shots.

Rifles - bolts and single shots and doubles are okay. Blaser are super easy like shotguns.

Pistols and semi autos suck.

I hate everything about gun cleaning. Wish there was a drive to the home and clean the guns van like there is for dog grooming.

Did I say I hate gun cleaning

Mike

Here you go

Mobilegun cleaning service

One day I picked out 5 rifles and took them to the gun shop. Said, here, clean 'em.
The guy asked if I wanted a quote. I said no, just need to know when to pick them up.
I don't like cleaning them either.

Oh, fwiw, I picked up a WW2 era German 9mm Luger. Thing must have a gazillion parts.

Yep,you had better know what you're doing before trying to field strip one.Like a buddy of mine who was a VW mechanic in a shop here in town. Numerous cases of guys who thought they could rebuilt their engine themselves then showed up at the shop with a box full of parts + wanted them to put it all back together;+ then wanted a discount because they had done all the hard work.

No doubt that on this thread, gun cleaning is overdone IMO, I don't clean my rifles during my extended hunting seasons, but I do clean them pretty well once a year, and for storage. Do I enjoy it, no I don't but its part of the game..

I use a bore snake if accuracy opens up the groups or when I think its needed..One pass with a boresnake with the brush lightly oiled or dry, whatever, That one pass is equal to 190 patches..that cleans a bore dry or with solvent..Varmint shooters can burn up maybe a 1000 rounds a day in some P dog flats, I,ve used several rifles and boresnakes during a day like that, but Ive never shot more than a couple of hundred in a best day, Im just as happy with 25.

I personally shoot maybe a 100 or so times and go home, but I have some compradres that live on the hill when the chucks and pin heads show up. They are on a mission to destroy the furry beasts..

My preference for varmint hunting is walking up Jack Rabbits and taking running shots off hand and at all guesstimated ranges, with an ocassional coyote or two tossed in, and an escaped varmint is of no world shaking trama with me..I don't even need to wipe the bore on a rabbit day..A boresnake at home does it for me..

A bore snake is equal to 190 patches?

If cleaning is that much of a problem, then I'd suggest some clean burning powders and aftermarket lapped stainless barrels. It's been probably 500 rounds since I cleaned my match rifle, and that was mostly because the can was starting to get heavy. Some of the new powders advertise clean burning like CFE. With Wipe Out overnight my nice stainless barrels are clean with just a few patches in the morning.

The only things I have to scrub are rough factory barrels or certain types of powder that build up in the bore. If it still shoots good then why bother cleaning it? All of the modern primers are non-corrosive. Perhaps if you live near the ocean an oiled patch and wipe down is in order...

2¢

This is what Hoppe's says on their website:

"Hoppe’s BoreSnake is the fastest bore cleaner on the planet. One pass loosens large particles, scrubs out the remaining residue with a bronze brush, then swabs it all spotless with a cleaning area 160x larger than a standard patch."

quote:

sonic

A few here posted about the sonic cleaners. My buddy loves his.

Remove grips.
Dunk pistol.
remove pistol
oil
replace grips

For the CZ I don't have a sonic but I do have a spray can of non-chloro brake clean AKA acetone.

Remove grips.
spray
oil
replace grips

Hoppes #9 I will never stop useing it. As a tiny tot I remember the smell and standing at dads knee as he assembled his old wooden cleaning rod for the shot gun. Telling me all the suff every kid should learn about gun saftey.

Today the smell of Hoppes takes me back to that time.
I really miss dads words of wisdom and tell me about why he was cleaning his shot gun and why he cleaned all his tools after use.

I owned one auto loader in my life and as a reloader decided it wasn't my idea of fun policeing spend brass from grass, snow and dirt.
it also was not a joy to clean either.

Today I have pump and OU shot guns cleaned after use except the trigger group that gets done about every two years or if I am rained into the house for days.

My rifles are bolts & pumps and they are also easy to clean, do the trigger group about the same as the shot guns.

My pistols are all wheel guns and they also are easy to clean and only trigger group I clean regular is the S&W model 29 the cylinder release is a bear if it doesn't get cleaned good soon after use. It is a 38sp so I don't shoot it that much.

Now the real dirty cleaning chore is the muzzle loaders and do not neglect them at all even the triger groups of the inlines. But I enjoy it as I am fondling a gun.

Al

I (would) hate bad groups more. Also, Hoppe's 9 stinks too bad IMHO. Butch's Bore Shine is better smelling, and I was shown how to use it. No need for messy foams now...

quote:

Originally posted by rlabom:
A bore snake is equal to 190 patches?

Sounds about right and it's also equivalent to 190 strokes with the cleaning rod from the muzzle end with no bore guide.

I also totally agree that most guys over-clean their bores mostly because of an incorrect and destructive manner but I'm sure this doesn't apply to any of the stalwarts on this site.

We all have our gun cleaning religion! Well, except the non-believers and we know where they're going.

Zeke

If you don't like cleaning and its something you dwell on, don't clean the damn thing, it will still be accurate enough to hunt with..My dad never cleaned his gun, the bore after many years looks bad, but it shoots 2 to 2.5 inch groups, that will stick a bullet in a deer or big mouse for that matter..Its a 25-35 carbine..He was a cowboy,not a hunter, but he never failed to kill his elk or deer every year of his life and he wasn't even and very good shot

I also remember and like the smell of Hoppes Gun Oil, every kid I know cleaned his Win 30-30 or 25-35 dozens of times with Hoppes, just to pass the time of day..Lord knows how many barrels the ruined and never noticed!