Why clean a new gun before shooting it?

[Greg]

Why not just field strip it, lube it and have at it?

If it's not covered with cosomoline, I don't get the standard recommendation to 'give it a thorough cleaning first'.

If it's dry when you take it out the the box, put a little CLP on the slide rails, lightly oil the barrel exterior and typical wear areas, and shoot it. If the mags are clean, you're good to go.

That's what I think.

What do you think?

[Mosin44az]

At least make sure there is no gunk in there. Sometimes there is.

Frankly, though, with a brand new one I lube a little and then run a cloth down the barrel to make sure it's clear, and that's it.

[rburch]

I clean mine pretty good, but then I mostly buy CZ's.

I'm pretty sure the shipping instructions at the CZ factory reads:

Step 1: Dump 1 gallon of oil into a plastic bag.
Step 2: Insert Pistol
Step 3: Seal the bag

[gyvel]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

LOL LOL!!!!

[sigxder]

Companies don't know how long the guns might sit in a dispaly or a safe. Most companies put some kind of rust inhibitor on their new guns. The gun will ofter not function properly with the rust inhibitor. It is normally not a lubricant. So a cleaning is a good is idea beore firing. The rust inhibitor is a good idea. Lots of folks have complained about rust on new Kimbers right from the gunshops shelves.

[Uncle Malice]

What do you think?

I think you're looking for an excuse to be lazy.


Clean the anti-rust thick crap off the gun, lube it, and go shoot it.

You probably won't "damage" the gun by not doing this... but you may get failures to function properly. Then you'll come here and complain about it, trying to find a solution.

It's just good preventative maintenance.

Do it.

[kozak6]

There may still be metal shavings in the gun from manufacture.

Also, rust inhibitor isn't necessarily a lubricant.

And if we are talking milsurp, cosmoline is something else entirely. It could melt and make a mess while shooting. Or, it could cause the firing pin to stick in the forward position and slamfire off a whole magazine.

[Kreyzhorse]

There may still be metal shavings in the gun from manufacture.

+1. Their may also be other gunk in there as well. Let's face it, you don't know where that gun came from before it landed in your hands. Also let's consider that you likely just dropped some decent cash on that gun so take care of it. Clean it, lube it and then take it the range.

Everyone on here will give you good reasons to run a patch down the barrel before shooting it the first time.

No one on here will give you a good reason not to clean it before shooting it.

[Greg]

In years past I've noticed some of the thicker stuff on new guns but not in a long while. Just bought a USP a few days ago and it looks like I just cleaned it.

Uncle Malice, yes...I certainly admit that I have more things to do than use Q-tips dipped in Hoppe's on my brand new guns...YMMV...some folks like cleaning guns and do it for fun, some folks do it only when necessary, some folks don't do it as often as they should...I fall admittedly into the 3rd group at times...now take a deep breath before you reply.

That post about the CZ was terrific.

Krayzhorse...must admit that I never considered the metal shavings issue...and yes of course you're right that it's better to clean than not to clean...but I find cleaning my weapons mind-numbing after all these years and so I avoid it when reasonably possible.

[Leejack]

Clean it, shoot it, repeat often.

I clean mine every time.

[Greg]

Leejack,

I love the smell of HOPPE'S NO.9 in the morning!

Now see, this is what I mean...some folks like to clean guns...I guess some find it relaxing like mowing the lawn...I get that, I understand.

Yet others...

[hboy828]

yes i agree
clean it every time

[Uncle Malice]

HK's do seem to come from the factory with a pretty light amount of oil on it them. I noticed this with both my USPc and P2k. I still cleaned them before use, of course, out of habit. I know what lubes I like, so that's what I use.

Sigs DO tend to come with some thicker crap on them. There's not necessarily a "lot" of it... but what's there seems to be very low viscosity stuff. It's almost to the point of being 'sticky'.

I admit to not cleaning my P229 E2 before shooting it. I was picking it up on lunch, and really wanted to shoot it, so I took it from the register to the range.

I had several failures.

After taking it home and cleaning and lubing it properly, it has been flawless through another 400 rounds so far.

One of my best friends had almost the exact same thing happen with his P226 .40S&W. Took it to the range and had multiple failures... I told him to clean his damn gun. He did, and has not had even 1 more failure in over 5,000 rounds at this point.

Glocks probably don't need it. Many guns, probably don't need it.... but some certainly do. It's just a good habit to get into.

No one can give you a valid reason to NOT clean them... but the world won't end if you don't.... or if you do.

[Uncle Malice]

I guess some find it relaxing like mowing the lawn

I hate mowing the lawn. That's why I moved to Arizona.

[Greg]

Comments were as I expected, and of course you're right...as Hamlet said, 'To clean or not to clean, that is the question...' but by all intelligent accounts the answer is a resounding yes.

Guess I should just suck it up and do it.

[Greg]

Uncle Malice...in mid 90's spent some time in Phoenix on the way to Gunsite...beautiful area...interesting to me how seemingly all homes had a tile roof and front lawns were river rock or some other kind of stone...buddy and I floated down the Salt River, the Sajuaros are amazing...such a nice area.

[Jimmy10mm]

I clean new semi autos first because I want to eliminate any chance of not cleaning it causing problems when I first take it to the range. A few minutes of basic maintenance may eliminate the chance of a pleasurable day becoming an annoying one.

[Kreyzhorse]

but I find cleaning my weapons mind-numbing after all these years and so I avoid it when reasonably possible.

It can be boring so I try to watch TV or listen to the radio and after all these years.

Plus, cleaning a gun before you fire it really allows you to become familiar with it before taking it to the range.

[Daryl]

Guns are oiled, or coated with rust inhibitors at the fectory, and then sit in display cases for who-knows-how-long collecting dust that clings to the oil and/or rust inhibitors.

So it's a good idea to clean them before shooting them.

My wife and/or I don't really enjoy washing dishes, but we wash new dishes before using them. Same concept applies.

Since we don't know what such things have been exposed to before we got them, it's a good idea to clean them before use. Guns are no exception. I've found metal shavings in the actions of some handguns left there from machining at the factory. They don't help function or reliability, so it pays to clean the gun.

Daryl

[midlandwalther]

I don't. I field strip, lube it a bit, and go shoot. I've never had any problems doing it this way, even with my 1911's.

[whippoorwill]

If it's dry when you take it out the the box, put a little CLP on the slide rails, lightly oil the barrel exterior and typical wear areas, and shoot it. If the mags are clean, you're good to go.

That's what I think.

What do you think?

Greg, I think what you are suggesting sounds entirely reasonable. I also think that half the complaints we hear on this forum come from folks taking the advice to "tear it down and give it a complete cleaning before shooting." I have little doubt that this causes all sorts of problems for newbies.

Seriously, I typically do what you suggest, and in over 35 years of shooting I've never had problems with any firearms caused by not tearing them apart first. But then, I never rack my 1911 slides 500+ times before taking them to the range. Back to cleaning... is it possible that there's a metal flake inside that I've missed? Sure! But none that could cause any problems. I'm more worried about the subliminal messages printed inside my guns that tell me to buy more.

This is just my opinion. I realize that some of the ideas mentioned earlier are sacred cows to some of our members, and I don't mean to belittle another person's opinion.

[L_Killkenny]

Frankly I think some folks are over the top when it comes to gun cleaning. My guns may see a complete cleaning twice a year and there is a 10 to 1 chance that they are put away with only a wipe down after shooting. That being said, some of the dirtiest guns I've ever seen were brand spanking new and I clean new guns up good before shooting.

LK

[Daryl]

Greg, I think what you are suggesting sounds entirely reasonable. I also think that half the complaints we hear on this forum come from folks taking the advice to "tear it down and give it a complete cleaning before shooting." I have little doubt that this causes all sorts of problems for newbies.

By that logic, a newbie should never field strip their gun and clean it? I don't advocate "tearing them down", nor do manufacturers, but I do field strip mine and clean them now and then. I've never had a problem from doing this...as a newbie, or with many years of experience. It's just not that hard or complicated.

This is just my opinion. I realize that some of the ideas mentioned earlier are sacred cows to some of our members, and I don't mean to belittle another person's opinion.

No sacred cows. Just the way I do things. I'm certainly not guilty of over-cleaning, but most of the few problems I've had were fixed with a good cleaning. I'm not afraid to get dirty, but afterwards I like a shower to clean up a bit. Likewise, I don't mind using my guns, and they get dirty. It's not that big of a deal to clean a gun once in a while.

Daryl

[Andrmgic]

Just force of habit... I like starting with a clean slate with a new firearm..

I didn't clean my used sig p226 before taking it to the range... but I did field strip it and lube it before I took it out.

[overkill0084]

Good to "get to know" it. i.e. My new toy, leave me alone!
Helpful in discovering any possible issues (had a Taurus full of blast media once.)
How long ago did they fire that one round at the manufacturer.