Do I Need To Clean My Pistol After Every Use

As a new gun owner, you might take firearm cleaning lightly. What damage can some grit do? This is how you can justify all the times that you kept postponing your gun cleaning sessions. To respond to this rhetorical question: it can really do A LOT!

In lodge to maintain your firearm's reliability and accuracy, y'all demand to nourish to information technology from time to fourth dimension and ensure it'southward clean and functional. Also, by neglecting your gun, you're speeding up its vesture and tear.

Naturally, the next question that pops to listen is how often should it be cleaned then? This time effectually, the answer isn't as straightforward. Your firearm's type, purpose, and armament all share in determining the best cleaning practices. Let'south explore these differences and help you settle on the most appropriate gun cleaning routine.

Otis Technology | Gun Cleaning Products Blog

Why Clean Your Guns

We already touched on how accurateness and reliability might be impacted if you don't clean your guns regularly, but why is this the example? With every shot fired, the propellant combustion leaves backside some carbon particles that build upwards in the shooting chambers over time.

That's not all; as the bullet travels through the butt, microscopic metal fragments are chipped off, adding more residues with each shot and bringing yous closer to the bespeak where you'll detect a downgrade of your gun's performance.

Furthermore, rust is another big concern equally your firearms come with many metal pieces. If moisture finds its style to your gun compartment, you might come across serious rust-related issues that are expensive to prepare.

So, why add pricey maintenance expenses to your monthly bills when all you lot demand to exercise is merely clean your firearms from fourth dimension to time?

Stored Guns

Fifty-fifty if yous don't apply your guns that often, and they spend most of their time in their storage cases, they need proper maintenance. Sure, y'all won't have to clean them as oft as the firearms you actually use, only you still need to keep an eye on them.

Yous can lift the curtains off your gun storage compartment twice a year and continue a cleaning spree. This should be enough to ensure your guns remain equally good as new and never present with any hiccups one time you offset using them over again.

Even with proper storage, moisture and dust can notice their way to your firearms and lead to rust germination. Furthermore, whatever residues or particles left behind from your last session on the range will start posing a threat over time. Such corrosive chemicals might brainstorm eating their way through the metal parts and consequently damage your guns.

For all these reasons, it becomes a necessity to clean your stored guns to ensure your investment retains its value for years to come up. Otis offers a solution to ensure all your bases are covered - the Rust Stopper™ Long Term Storage Kit .

Otis Long Term Gun Storage Kit

No Time to Waste

In some situations, it'll be a good thought to start cleaning your gun immediately as information technology has been exposed to some serious conditions that tin silently work in the background and cause real-time harm.

For instance, shooting corrosive armament is 1 of those situations. Such ammo uses a corrosive primer that goes all over the firing chamber once a round is discharged. Since these cartridges are very affordable, you lot might find yourself opting to utilize them on your practice sessions, simply beware of their drawbacks.

Furthermore, if your firearm is directly exposed to damaging elements like common salt, dirt, or water, you need to clean it right away. You lot don't want these particles to overstay their welcome and lead to article of clothing, corrosion, or rust.

Rust shouldn't exist a meaning issue for firearms made of stainless steel. Still, the cloth option makes them less durable and more likely to be damaged by dust or dirt particles. Instead of guessing whether your specific gun fabric volition fare well against different conditions, information technology'south easier to just clean it. Otis offers some options – quickly and easily protect your firearm exposed to the elements with OtisO85^® wipes or hit it with some Dry Lube. . If you're running corrosive ammo, effort an Otis Ripcord^® for a quick make clean subsequently shooting.

Otis Dry Lube for firearms

Different Purposes, Different Cleaning Routines

Not all guns crave the same cleaning routine. Your usage and shooting frequency are key in determining how often you need to clean them. Hither are some of the most common purposes for which you become a firearm.

Hunting

When in the wild chasing game, strategy is critical. Yous won't exist frequently firing your hunting rifle, equally all that yous demand is one good shot to become the job done. All the same, dirt tin can easily pile up inside your rifle as you're hiding in the bushes, waiting to make the right motility.

Furthermore, early dusk is a perfect time to get after some animals but beware of the morning moisture that can damage your rifle. Too, some atmospheric condition conditions like rain and snow are unforgiving, and so you demand to clean your firearms immediately in one case water finds its way to information technology. Otis offers many compact cleaning kits in a variety of calibers. Hunters tin toss i of these small and lightweight kits in their hunting pack to be sure they have what they need while in the field.

So, even though yous won't be firing as many shots on your hunting trips, other factors necessitate taking a moment to attend to your gun and ensure the harsh environmental conditions won't be its detriment.

Target Do

The shooting range is a whole different story. Here, y'all won't exist facing as many dissentious particles like dust and wet, but you'll, of form, be shooting way more. Rounds chop-chop fly on the range, and yous might detect yourself shooting as many rounds every bit x hunting trips in a matter of minutes on the range.

More often than not speaking, a quick cleaning process subsequently 250-300 rounds can prevent carbon particles from building upwards forth the barrel and assistance you keep your firearm in good shape.

On the other paw, when striking the 3000 rounds mark, you need to consider a more in-depth cleaning. This is when you accept to take your firearm apart and clean every component separately. The Otis Elite Kit, or Elite Range Box universal gun cleaning kits provide proper Breech-to-Muzzle® cleaning for all rifles, pistols, shotguns and inline muzzleloaders and includes everything needed to intendance for you guns. Y'all tin as well add lubricating oils and rust protectors to form extra protective layers on your firearm. Need specific AR tools to clean the BCG, star chamber and more than? Otis has plenty of tools geared for the AR platform.

Competitions

When it comes to shooting competitions, y'all want to command every bit many variables every bit possible and focus all your attention on landing the perfect shot. Soot and combustion particles left behind in your gun'southward shooting chambers can touch on your accuracy. That's why information technology's best to clean your gun after each lucifer to get a fresh start on the next.

It would assistance if you develop your ain firearm cleaning routine, so the process becomes a no-brainer. Having your Otis 3 Gun Competition Cleaning Kit ready on a bench is some other way to speed upwards the process, allowing you to get back in the game in no time. Better nonetheless, toss a cleaning kit in your range bag in case you have malfunctions or maintenance issues during the lucifer that require your attention.

If you clean your guns regularly, your seasonal, comprehensive cleaning session will be a walk in the park. You won't have as many tightly adherent particles that need much scrubbing to fall off. Also, past post-obit frequent cleaning cycles, yous're preventing any premature wear and tear to your trusty competition firearm.

Carry Firearms

Simply like practice guns, carry guns won't be every bit susceptible to rust and corrosion as they aren't usually exposed to harsh conditions. Also, if y'all're lucky enough, you won't need to draw your curtained firearm from its holster that oft, and it'll remain at that place, ready to defend yous if anything goes south.

Due to the fact that concealed firearms tin literally mean the divergence between life and death in certain situations, yous don't desire to take any chances. Your gun should e'er be clean to give y'all confidence in its reliability.

Nosotros recommend you lot clean your carry gun at a 2-calendar week interval and ensure that whenever you hit the shooting range with information technology, you would have cleaned information technology by the time you slip it back in its holster and comport it around.

You also need to meticulously inspect your gun once a month, then prepare your disassembly tools. Equally you accept your firearm autonomously, you lot must carefully examine every part and ensure there are no cracks, breaks, rust, or corrosion. Otis recently introduced a Professional person Pistol Cleaning Kit for Glocks that is packed full of cleaning and maintenance gear including Ripcord®, 8-in-1 Pistol T-Tool, magazine plate disassembly tool and fifty-fifty a dorsum plate for customizing your Glock.

Professional Pistol Cleaning Kit for Glocks

In Decision

By now, you should have a solid idea nigh the factors that speed up your firearm'due south wear and tear. Once you keep such factors in listen, y'all'll have a better judgment of when it's time to requite your gun a make-over to prevent corrosive particles from edifice upwardly.

Author bio:

Kevin Cadet is the founder & editor of Thegunplanet.com. He has been working as a content creator for half dozen years. He is passionate about researching gun products to inform and empower consumers to make better decisions. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys hunting, reloading, and keeping up to date with current events.