Question of the Day: When Was the Last Time You Cleaned Your Carry Gun?

By
Dan Zimmerman
-
30

IMG_1839

(ED: I first ran this years ago and stumbled across it over the weekend and shook my head at that photo. These days my carry gun is a Springfield Hellcat. I still have that trusty G43 and it’s still a great gun. I’ve been meaning to pick up a couple of Shield magazines for it to up the on board round count, but haven’t gotten around to it. As for the Hellcat, I’ve foolishly let it go as long as six months between cleanings without it ever accumulating anything approaching what you see in the photo above. Go figure.)

So there I was minding my own business Friday afternoon, enjoying a brief lull in the usual roar when I realized it had been a while since I’d last cleaned my carry gun, the trusty GLOCK 43. Drop the mag, clear the chamber, slip the slide and…well, you can see what I found above. That represents two months worth of accumulated dust bunnies and schmutz (with one 50-round shooting session thrown in the mix last week).

Before you ask, the gun is carried every single day. Ninety percent of the time, it’s inside the waistband in a simple Kydex holster. No, it’s never pocket carried. Yes, I’m sure I didn’t use too much Rem Oil last time I swabbed her down. That’s just what happens to an everyday carry gun in normal, everyday situations.

Rest easy…the gun’s now spic and span, back on my hip, and as clean as they day she came off the line. I don’t usually let ‘er go so long without a wash and wax and pledge to do better. Fortunately, it’s a GLOCK so…you know…perfection and all.

How often do you clean your carry gun?

 

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30 COMMENTS

  1. I clean all my gats regularly whether I shoot them or not. Rem oil is ok for door hinges.For lubricating I generally use Hoppes. Overall cleaning Ballistol because I appreciate Non-toxic stuff on my old pre-cancerous skin😀

    • Same here. Spent last Sunday cleaning several, after going to the range Saturday. Much fun was had by all.

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  2. Cleaned? Right after I killed that dog that attacked me a few weeks ago.
    Blown out? Bout once a week
    Ammo is a full change annually. I shoot it when I qual
    Might replace a round or 5 In-between when things need taken care of

    • Had to kill?,,,,,,oh, I ferget, you probably dont eatem like I do.
      I always figured I “Git tah kill.”
      I use a 1903 bayonet. They come a charging and foaming slobbers. The minute I see ‘the look’ I role on my side, shit myself, and play dead.
      “Easy Peasy Dog Mauling”
      I’ve found it works best for me if yah job the bayonet up through the middle of their throat and spinem up. If yer lucky you can get the point stabbed in the ground or pavement deep enough to hold the dog soes it dont run off. It’ll squirm around awhile which helps it to bleed out, and they dont Yelp much with the bayonet jobbed through there throat.
      Yelping attracts the humans.
      That ain’t good.
      Hous’e cum the Cops and the meat wagon gets everything?

      • ( some of the misspelled words are in honor of the way my grandparents pronounced words , jab was pronounced job, or maybe jawb would be closer.

      • Actually tried a blade first but arm wasn’t working right after the initial attack. Smart phones don’t work great with bloody hands neither.
        Pretty much back to normal except my love life. Them scars are so ugly I gotta turn the lights off to be with myself now lol

  4. Do a search for the Video from Military Arms Channel called Makarov Torture Test and then ask yourself if you need to regularly clean your carry piece if it is reliable enough to trust your life to.

    I’ll carry something that I can drop in the mud and run over it with my jeep before digging it out and knowing it will fire the whole magazine without a worry.

    • If it’s equipped with a laser, dust accumulation can obscure the beam long before it affects the function of the gun itself.

  6. dust down, about every few days. Full strip down cleaning once a week after shooting/training session. Same with the house guns etc. If the gun isn’t in the safe or locked up in storage, as in exposed to the usual humid conditions and not in storage condition, it gets stripped and cleaned once a month, or else right after a shooting session. Take care of your tools and they’ll take care of you when needed. I’m in the habit of cleaning most tools when putting them away after use. Even things like hammers and wrenches. Even the horse harnesses get cleaned weekly.

  7. I drag my gunm behind me with a string. It gets oiled when I walk underneath an F150 or close to a Harley.

  8. after every time i shoot it
    so every couple months or so
    theres usually some crap in there
    but not enough to get my underpants in a wad over

    • I’ve outlived all of my drill instructors. They can all go pound sand in hell for I care at this point.

  12. “That’s just what happens to an everyday carry gun in normal, everyday situations.”

    Ummm…no. No its not.

  13. just a quick psa, ahem, micro dagger mags are g43x compatible, and their mag catch hole is filled so no malfunction issues to worry about

  14. I clean my carry gun after each range trip. Which is at least every other week, sometimes every week. After I shoot a gun, I clean it. There are two big reasons …. 1. Cleaning the gun is one of the things I can control with the gun and 2. Cleaning the gun also includes inspecting it and looking for damage, wear, and tear. My current EDC gun has about 5000 rounds through it. I need to ensure that the gun and magazines remain in good shape.

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