I'm in the "keep the gun very clean camp" because I was in the Army. Partly because a clean weapon isn't so effected by rust, grit, etc. But also because I consider my stuff a reflection of me.
I'd like to mention I started using Clenzoil after RU-vidr _Project Farm_ did a video testing CLPs. It did quite well for cleaning and protecting, but for lubricity it absolutely BLEW AWAY the competition. I can't believe how slippery this stuff is.
We over cleaned our weapons in the Marines. We were not initially taught correctly and would damage the finish by cleaning to aggressively. Later we got more training and just had usual wear and tear.
My dad's Montgomery Ward .22 7rnd magazine fed semi auto riffle went through two teenage boys on a farm in the late 70's early 80's, thousands of rounds of ammo and I think the first time it was ever cleaned was after y2k. Still cycles and shoots perfect.
I inherited a Mossberg 151m from my grandfather. My great grandfather bought it, he shot it, my granddad grew up shooting it, so did my dad, and finally me. Never cleaned, not once. When it quit working reliably, they simply dripped 3 in 1 oil inside the action. It finally quit working by the time I inherited it. She was so fouled, that when the bolt was pulled back it took a solid minute for it to return to battery XD lol, now that was bad.. gramps thought the gun was shot. I cleaned it, and still have it to this day :) it functions flawlessly
I grew up shooting at grandpa's, with his Remington Targetmaster single shot .22 from the 50s, and his Ruger 10/22 from the 70s. He straight up told me they had never been cleaned in the entire time he had them, despite they were working hunting and farm guns, on top of me plinking with them for 10 or so years every other weekend. I was the first one to actually clean them after the Targetmaster started keyholing and the Ruger jamming. It took about 4 hours, to remove 90% of the gunk built up in those guns. Most of the time was spent on the Ruger of course.
On the note of new guns, it drives me absolutely bonkers how there’s several “influencers” who as part of their “testing” they’ll pull a brand new gun out of the box and run 1,000 rounds thru it as if it’s some type of badge of honor or legitimate statement of reliability. Packing oil is not a lubricant, it’s a preservative.
Tim over at the Military Arms Channel had a series a while back where he took a BCM AR right from the box, without lube, and started running 1000 round strings, as an experiment to see how long it would go before choking. After each run, he would wrap the receiver with tape (with date) to seal it until the next session. At last count, it was at 7000. It's been a few years--hopefully he will soon resume.
BTW. For those who don't like cleaning I advise: never put your gun away wet. ESPECIALLY, never put your wet gun into a tightly closed case. In these cases a hair dryer (or heat gun) is your friend. Heat it up good enough to drive water out of tiny crevices (like between a wood stock and receiver).
Something important i learned from the Sons Of Liberty Gun Works amorers course: Don't mix different kinds/brands of lubes in your guns and stick with your own chosen kind (unless it's a true emergency). The lubes all have very different detergents, blends and chemical properties that can actually harm your guns if mixed together and left on for a period of time. Even if they don't hurt, they may mix so poorly that they cause each other to slide and drip off the metal which defeats the purpose of using lubrication in the first place.
I'm honestly sorry, but this sounds like absolutely absurd advice. It reminds me of the people who to this day scream about how you shouldn't mix conventional and synthetic motor oils together, or you'll ruin your engine.
@@censored7881If you understood the stuff that are in certain solvents/lubricants you would very much understand it’s not the best idea to mix them. It’s not difficult to use a good solvent or degreaser to completely remove the old crap before you start using another product if you’re unsure. If you don’t mind mixing a bunch of random chemicals on whatever firearms you have then by all means go for it. To each their own.
I have been cleaning guns since I was 9yrs old. My dad taught me how to clean them with good ol Hoppes No 9, still using it 60 yrs later. It can be relaxing cleaning guns and it benefits your firearms.
Defensive carry and home defense guns should always be kept clean and lubed. Weapons intended for practice only require periodic maintenance. I clean mine every few trips to the range and don't worry about it too much.
For me when come to handguns in general they get toss into 50 cal cans and each can has their own Eva Dry(e-333) in it so i don't have worry too much about "moisture or/and humidity". My XD9, M92 FS, RIA 38 Super and LC380 are not my defense guns. They are range toys so they go inside the 50 cal cans along with the mags or other accessories. The only time I give these guys a full clean is after a range trip otherwise they stay inside the 50 cal cans. ONCE in a while I take them out, give them a quick oil cloth rub and toss them back inside. My G19 is my defense gun. I give it a FULL CLEAN as in 15mins to 30mins after I hit the range. Lets say that this week I carry but I haven't been to the range at all or something in this after..say..maybe a week or month? Depending. I will just give it a quick oil cloth rub, quick bore cleaning, run a dry patch through the bore and be done within 3mins.
Excellent advice. The only thing I would add is that in my case I keep my home defense pistol in a safe by the bed and I decided to add a small pack of dehumidifying chemical to the safe after watching this video.
Love these videos. I have a CCMG 22LR conversion kit for 5.56 and it's really dirty...but worth the cost and time to clean. I use high temp synthetic motor oil and high temp synthetic grease from the same company with a mixture consistency with honey...works extremely well.
Ever since I discovered Boretech, I found that cleaning guns is very fun and very fast. I use the Boretech everywhere, including inside the BCG and bolt. It takes literally 30 minutes for me to clean the bore, the bcg, the bolt, and everything with it. It comes out so spotless that I could take a dry patch, put it inside the carrier and spin it around at any angle, and find it come out completely white still. Usually I blast it with solvent afterwards to get everything off, and then apply my favorite lube. Literally 1 hour at most and it used to make me multiple hours to get it clean.
Unless you just enjoy cleaning it, and absolutely have to get it spotless it really shouldn’t take more than like 10 mins for you to get a filthy rifle cleaned and ready to go again. But to each their own.
@@John5.56 yeah during a class session once I just used a bore snake and wiped everything down with a rag. But once I get home it’s going to get cleaned deep.
This is not a joke. I bought a black powder cap and ball revolver years ago. The manual actually suggested doing just that. Remove the barrel and cylinder and clean them on the pots and pans cycle.
I only obsessed over cleaning my weapons after use. It was always about the next mission. I wasn't going to be caught lacking wishing I had maintained my weapons with my last breaths.
If lint or a little bit of gunpowder residue is what keeps your gun from functioning then you need to choose a better carry gun. Sorry to say but it's true
Its not true. Any gun will start malfunctioning with with fouling and foreign debris, especially browning auto designs like the Glock. Just a little sand on the top of the barrel where it locks into the slide is enough to keep it out of battery.
@@waholoopesorry74if you have really fine dust and a lot of it that can make most firearms pretty unreliable pretty fast, might not even get into your gun but into the mags in your ammo pouches etc. And from there into your gun. If your shooting on any normal range you usually won't get your gun very dirty unless you drop it, not even close to driving in a open truck or heli though a desert. Often you won't notice that dirt unless you clean your weapons - sure most of the time it won't matter but for most people outside military service the chance of your survival depending on proper weapon function is also extremely small. (combining both its probabilites its probably fine to just buy a new kel-tec all 10ish years and never ever clean it. Even if my army enduced cleaning ocd revolts against it) Also it's really difficult to get a firearm so dirty it won't fire the first shot...
@@kunicrossgamingThat first shot often threw the dust of the deserts off of my weapons. Subsequent shots weren't a problem because of post mission maintenance.
The episode you guys did on Brass vs Steel Case Ammo was an eye opener for me on how little cleaning an AR needs to operate efficiently. Showed it to a buddy who was a die-hard piston AR guy, and now he buys DI like a normal person.
I do both. If I'm taking a class or instruction I aim to always clean or at least lube what I'm gonna run with so that I can focus on the curriculum. But then, when training with my life and liberty setup outside of class I'm personally trying to learn its limits. I don't dump grit in it but I do tend to not lube it or clean it for normal range trips. I then note what kind if any malfunctions I get on different weapons with different munitions. Learning I can run my block 2 fairly dirty and dry with most standard 556 loads but 223 can give me real trouble on rifles that aren't better maintained has been good to know. Also learning the benefits (on an AR) of different recoil springs or buffer weights to address these same concerns. How the gas system (carbine, mid, rifle) effect the reliability or how that varies across barrel lengths. Digest, for reliability on an AR, 556 on a 14.5 or 16 inch carbine or mid length system with an H2 buffer is pretty darn reliable. Any 18 or 20 inch rifle length gas can run pretty excellently on a far lighter rifle buffer but can have a harder time seating a round dry as a bone, so the forward assist is a must on say a mk12 style spr setup, because I think the increased buffer weight hurts the core function more than it helps the reliability. Being able to RIP off 3 shots on a reduce sized A zone target at 400 meters thanks in part to the recoil reduction is I think the more important thing than being able to neglect a setup that already requires a tad more attention than your normal battle rifle.
Next up: oil vs. grease! 😂 I carry mine after every shooting session as it’s a holdover from my blackpowder days. Plus I enjoy field stripping and cleaning my firearms, well, except for my Dad’d Ruger MkII 22/45. What a nightmare to assemble.
I only clean most of my guns because I love playing with and disassembling guns, and I don’t like having to do a full surgical scrub after each time doing so.
Lubrication recomendation that is AMAZING! Take Mobile 1 full synthetic grease (red grease, silver and blue can) and cut it with Mobile 1 full synthetic motor oil. What youre shooting for is the consistency of molasses. Itll be thick enough to not run, even when its hotter than heck. But equally not so thick that it impedes function if its colder than frosties buttcrack. It makes guns so silky smooth cycling that its got to be experienced to be believed. Its also very very long lived. I can edc a gun for months without a cleaning, and itll be well lubed when disassembled. Likewise it stays put on rifles stored vertically in the safe. No more oil pooling to the buffer tube of your ars. Give it a try! Its awesome!
Having gone through both a Mosin Nagant and 5.45x39 chambered AR as primary rifles (shooting corrosive surplus out of both), I can tell you thankfully the process is not difficult, but as Chris says it really MUST be done after every range trip. The main key is HOT water. I had a link saved to an old webpage about "Perpetuation of Corrosive Ammo Cleaning Mythology" but it is now unfortunately dead-linked. The author posted solubility charts of different cleaning methods and solvents, and by more than an order of magnitude the greatest solvent was hot water. You do not need Ballistol, Windex, or other ammonia-based solvent. Simply hose every part of the weapon that comes into contact with the gas of the cartridge with very hot, not boiling, water and then clean as usual. As a cautionary tale, even though I was aware of the dangers of letting corrosive salts remain behind, in my 5.45 AR, it did not occur to me to clean out the carrier gas key and gas tube portion in the upper receiver (as that's not really a concern with non-corrosive 5.56). I cleaned the bolt, the rest of the carrier, the fire control group, and the bore, but simply leaving the carrier and gas tube together allowed such a rust to form, that I had to mortar the charging handle to cycle the action.
On the topic of gun lube, I got my own witches' brew I throw together that's a one-and-done application that you never really need to worry about again once applied. Specifically, it's a combination of Lithium Grease, Moly Greese, Teflon Powder, Graphite Powder, and a water displacer (I use WD40 because it's cheap and available, but any displacer would work). I usually do a ratio of 5:5:1:1:1 - though you don't have to be super precise. Once mixed properly, you should have a medium-gray paste-like substance that won't want to run, will stick to/stain your fingers, and feels not oily but "glassy" if rubbed between your fingers. Once applied (thinly) to a metal surface, it wants to stick to that surface and will leave a decent amount of lubrication behind even if wiped away. I've used the same mixture on all my centerfire, non-revolver firearms for over 15 years and I've never once needed to re-apply lube, even after cleaning. ARs, AK's, pump action shotguns, bolt action rifles, semi-auto shotguns, etc. The shit is like magic.
Here's another maintenance tip. If you do a plus one in your carry piece (and you probably should do a plus one), and you drop the mag and rack that round out when showing clear, it's a good idea to drop that round in a jar for range use later, or at the very least, cycling it lower in the stack, rather than loading it up again as the first round. May not be an issue with your particular chamber design and/or ammo of choice, but it's not uncommon for the bullet to be set back a wee bit in the case every time it's cycled into the chamber with the weight and spring pressure of the slide behind it. Do that enough, you're going to have issues as the projectile gets pushed further and further back inside the case. I like the "range jar" method because it sort of forces me to build a supply of my carry ammo that gets burned up on the range, rather than just using ball ammo that may or may not shoot exactly like my carry ammo of choice. And for God's sake, don't get in the habit of dropping a single in the chamber from the ejection port as a way to mitigate this!
My routine is to keep two boxes of ammo, since I usually carry an obsessive amount of ammo (52 rounds of .45ACP). Because I use more than one box of ammo, I keep one empty box and cycle the remaining ammo from the other box, placing the already cycled ammo into the original empty box (and marking it). That way I know which rounds I’ve already cycled through my gun. Then I may swap the rounds back to the previous box since the rounds are generally rated for 3 or so chamberings, then once I reach that, I switch my ammo from my carry mags and repeat the process. Does let the ammo last a looooong time if done properly.
One potential caveat. Some carry ammo like critical defense has a cannelure that works to keep the bullet seated after multiple ejections and charges. Maybe it’s trustworthy, maybe not. But it’s a feature to consider.
@@markjohnson206 All rounds can get setback eventually even with that cannelure, though the cannelure does help immensely in letting you chamber it more often.
There's actually a method of dropping it in the chamber. I've done it for years now with zero issue. Once you drop the round in the chamber what you do is SLOWLY let the slide home with retention all the way up to the point where the extractor is almost touching the cartridge.... Now, this is where gravity comes into place. Orient the muzzle at about 45° or just enough where the cartridge would drop free on its own from the chamber but ease the slide back slowly, not allowing the bullet to just fall through the magwell.... You'll get to a point where the rim of the cartridge will drop on its own underneath the extractor. At this exact point you can now ride the slide all the way home and you'll have a perfectly chambered round with zero fear of any kind of setback OR fear of slamming the extractor overtop the rim of the cartridge. This works on litteraly ALL striker fired pistols.... It's hard to properly explain through text how to do it exactly but it's extremely easy to do once you figure it out and you'll never have to worry about setback ever again or having to cycle the round into a jar or bottom of a mag somewhere.... I used to have a video of the process on my older channel showing the process but that's been lost in time. If anyone can't figure this out and is curious of the process I wouldn't mind taking another video of the process.... I even have a nifty trick to keep your extractor from damaging the rim of a casing if for whatever reason you need to remove the chambered round!
My friend inherited a walther ppk .22 from his dad that hadn’t been cleaned for twenty years. Now this gun had been fired hundreds of times and we just assumed the dad cleaned it with everything else. . . Nope. The only issue was that the slide was slower when dropping the slide release. Genuinely blew me away as I cleaned two decades of carbon off that thing and it worked just the same 😂
My CCW is a S&W 686+. I carry daily, and use it as my backpacking/woods gun. I fire it in a range type situation maybe 6-8 times a year. I clean/lube it once a year, usually around christmas. This has been my habit for over 10 years now, and I have never had any issues with it. I also lube my non-used firearms (which is most of my firearms) at the same time.
There are notably places you do not want to lube. In the case of my shield that’s the firing pin, as it can encourage dust buildup that leads to increased friction and light primer strikes.
Avoid getting lubrication in the chamber as well. You can essentially triple or quadruple the bolt thrust. That's how the British army used to proof the rifles.
Had a glock 19 I bought from the pawnstore as non functioning once. I did a full dissassembly and found the firing pin channel was so fouled that it didnt allow a solid primer strike. Turns out it was oil and powder residue sludge buildup. Once cleaned, it worked like a top. The previous owner would lube by pulling the gun appart and soaking with remoil aerosol, and wiped down with a rag. Enough oil got in that it created that sludge. Its why I absolutely HATE that lary vickers video where they submerge a glock in oil, fire a few shots, then call the myth busted. Like no, my guys, youve missed the entire point.
Pretty much nailed all of my cases for cleaning. Anything outside of that just gets a couple patches through the bore and a quick wipe of the feed ramp and breech face before I toss it back in the safe
Another reason to clean guns and that is to reduce the lead dust that you bring into your home. Just a rough wipe down and new lubricant can get the worst of the lead contamination off but if you're going to be carrying it 24/7 the exposure is far higher so more thorough cleaning after shooting though reapplication of lubricant will also trap the microscopic lead particles and keep them from being continually emitted. The lead contamination is not only from the lead bullets it is from the primer which uses a lead compound and is atomized upon ignition so it is a problem even with fully-jacketed or non-lead projectiles. This is worse with rimfire as they use relatively more primer compound.
I clean them when they need it, like if they get full of sand or something. If I look at one and think "Eww, time to clean that", then it gets cleaned too (this rarely happens). I use grease for most lubing, not oil, so I don't have to replace it as often. Mags also get cleaned (never lubed) when they seem gritty.
I find that cleaning is a good opportunity to look for wear and other damage. There have been several times when I discovered a problem developing in a gun when I cleaned it. For guns I shoot often, I clean them about every third time I shoot them. If it is a gun I shoot only a few times a year, I clean it every time so that it goes back into storage clean. I am a bit suspicious about the idea of adding lube without cleaning. First, the lube is going to do some cleaning even if that is not your intent. Second, though, if there is any grit in the residue then it could end up causing excessive wear even with lube (it would be like an abrasive slurry). This is less likely to affect steel parts but aluminum would be at risk.
I sure wish this mentality would make it's way into the military. I remember the ridiculous level of cleanliness would have to do. There's a difference between a weapon being clean, and an officer's idea of being inspection-ready. The amount of cleaning that's done literally makes these weapons unservicable.
I wonder if the idea there is to set an excessively high bar so that once you're under less supervision you'll still do it sometimes? Maybe also as a means of forcing people with no gun experience to become familiar with the parts and functions and maintenance procedures.
My guess is that cleanliness obsession seeped into military culture after the nightmare issues they had when they first introduced the M16 and shipped them without cleaning kits and told the rank and file they were "self-cleaning." There were lots of other problems with those early rifles, but I think anyone who was there probably developed an obsessive attitude about keeping service guns clean. That, and making guys clean guns is an easy way to kill time.
clean and lube go together for me. After every shooting session, first clean then lube. Ditto for any firearm I haven't fired for the prior six months. I enjoy the process - it's good therapy for me.
I clean with every use because I never know when I'm going to use them again. It could be years sitting with oxidizing residue. Its also way easier cleaning instead of waiting for a massive buildup.
Cleaning is also preventative maintenance. I clean after each use not only to make sure that they are ready for the next outing / use but also to check the status of components.
Im fastidious about clean firearms, however I worked for the largest government LE agency in the country, we had range M-4s that we qualified on that were never cleaned and averaged about 750K rounds through them they were condemned military rifles.
It absolutely depends on the gun. My stainless Ruger MKII goes years and many thousands of rounds between cleanings and runs like a top. My Winchester 63 gets cleaned after every every shooting session or it starts getting fussy. I have an old .222 bolt gun with a barrel that's near end of life that needs a thorough bore cleaning after maybe 40 rounds or accuracy goes away, while ARs go years between bore cleanings.
I don't really "clean" my guns very often at all, I mostly do "oil changes" (plus run a boresnake after shooting while the fouling is still hot and soft). I try to keep a thin film of synthetic oil like Slip2000 EWL30 on all steel surfaces and almost any kind of filth gets suspended in the oil instead of adhering to the surface. Wipe the dirty oil off, wipe fresh oil on, done.
I think it depends on the gun. I knew a old swap rat. He had a 1894 in 32 spc. He sprayed it down with brake cleaner before every bear season and then sprayed it with wd40 But he would squit a bit of 3 in 1 oil on the action every time he picked it up. Told me he had been doing that since the gun was new and hell that was in the early 80's.
It took me years to come to the realization that someone wouldn’t do mean things to me if I didn’t immediately clean a gun that I used. That said, every pistol I have, I carry so they get cleaned almost immediately but that can be done in minutes with note rem wipe. Rifles, I’ll clean the BCG with a wipe and maybe the buffer spring if I feel like it or it sounds gritty.
I clean mine about every 3 times i take em out. Oil my carry piece once a week to keep rust down. And i only use a metal brush in the bore of my precision rifle lightly since i learned in sniper 101 that keeping some copper fowling keeps point of impact consistent.
I went about 6 months without cleaning my daily carry. The amount of lint that had gathered INSIDE my holster was shocking. I could have knitted a sock.
My cousin once didn’t clean his BCM BCG and asked me to clean it for him and he would let me borrow his truck to bring a desk my GF let me have. He didn’t clean it for 3+ years, the rust ate through his carrier and bolts the pitting was so bad. Idk that it would have been safe to shoot. 20-1hr would have saved him $200. The military made me Obsessive about cleanliness so luckily this never happened to me. Luckily his upper was good and no pitting in the barrel so that was lucky, this happened like 6 months ago. He now cleans every range trip
I usually clean every other range trip unless I go through a case of ammo. For me it's kind of gun specific. I have two PSA daggers I use for range toys. The original plan Jane one I can go 1000 rounds probably if I wanted no problem. The dagger with ported barrel especially if using white box I have to clean after 150 -200 rounds or it stove pipes or get failures to feed.
If it gets really dirty i clean it. I quickly clean the bore (one or two rounds with a bore snake, also some oil) either every dozen or so rounds (on my hunting guns) or after every range trip. Deep clean with soapy water and everything once or twice a year
I clean and lube every 300 rounds. It just makes the range experience a lot more fun. P. S. Lube does matter. When I switched to clenzoil my guns felt like they were on ball bearings
Not sure if you're referring to the clips of the ARs in the video, but that was from a match just after the competitors had water dumped on them as part of the stage
ARs function better wet. There are many guns like Glocks that function best with light lubrication. Spray some CLP in the action of an AR and it will make it run better. Spray some CLP in the action of a Glock and it will hurt reliability
I wasn’t referring to that I meant my experience on ranges and seeing other peoples AR look like they pulled it out of an oil drum. @@LuckyGunner just an example of excess
I think there's "levels of cleaning". .22 rim fires do get dirty, I clean well. My glocks, spot cleaning and oil. AR's, spot cleaning and oil. Bolt actions, generally leave the barrel alone, but a dry cloth after shooting, action always clean. Levers--I clean a lot, more temperamental. In most cases, excluding bolt actions, cleaning is fine, especially if the weapon if really dirty. Bolt actions, lots of debate about barrel cleaning unless it's starting to shoot off zero.
I use regular engine oil, it works just. If it's good enough for a high revving engine that gets really hot and is under a lot of stress, it's good enough for a little pistol.
I'll add assuming all Russian/Soviet ammo is corrosive unless otherwise confirmed may be a good practice. There's been rumors of new non-corrosive ammo being made that doesn't have any differentiation in markings from old corrosive ammo.
I use a 2020 Colt Python for ICORE and Steel Challenge. I can ignore the cylinder and bore and the general black that will coat the gun from hard use. The face of the cylinder and the forcing cone have to be addressed, sometimes mid-match because of the tight cylinder gap. Beyond that any cleaning is purely to make it look nice again. I find 1911s can be similarly neglected as long as the feed ramp is cleaned once in a while.
There's not a huge difference in how most popular gun oils perform. If you're cleaning regularly, it probably doesn't matter if it can last much longer. The distinguishing factors are weather it still works at very cold temperatures (if this is a concern for you), if it will last a long time while your gun is in the safe or holster (not gumming up over time like FrogLube can), and whether it's non-toxic. Since solvents and lubricants have contradictory jobs, separate solvents and lubricants perform better than all-in-one CLPs. Clean with the solvent, lube with the lubricant. You probably don't need a dedicated rust preventative since most gun oils do function as a rust preventative. I would use a specialized oil specifically to prevent rust only for long term storage, especially if I can't guarantee a dry environment. Think cosmoline. Crating up rifles for a warehouse, underground swamp burials, etc. You'd want to clean it off and relube before firing, so lubricant is enough for regular duty in a gun safe. Choose if you want thick or thin lubricant. Thin lube is often sold as lubricating "oil", thick lube as lubricating "grease". The main difference is whether is stays in place or slides around. If you have multiple guns, you probably want to have both. Grease stays in place, so it's ideal somewhere like a slide rail. It will only be exactly where you apply it. Oil that moves around is what you'd want to squirt into an action or trigger mechanism, where you dont have to work it into every crevice, it will move as a liquid and get all over complex mechanisms. Those are the main points I learned when I did a deep research dive into gun oils earlier this year. There's no magic oil, any decent one will work, so I pick ones without toxic fumes that are OK to get on my bare skin. Much more important than the solvent or lube are your cleaning tools and good cleaning technique. I'd rather use a crappy CLP and good cleaning tools and technique than the best oils and bad tools and technique. If you use bad tools or bad technique, you can possibly damage your firearm. The right tools and/or some knowledge make this extremely unlikely. You might want to buy an applicator bottles with the needle tip that lets you carefully apply drops. Also be careful not to put things down your barrel that can mess up the rifling and crown. This is easy if you avoid materials that can damage steel. Technique can also make a difference. Advice on how to clean your barrel is beyond the scope of this comment. But regular maintenance for most firearms can be done with some rags, solvent and lube, and maybe some cotton swabs and gloves if you like. Wiping things down, cleaning them off with solvent or CLP, and lubricating the spots that should be lubed (learn them) with lubricant or CLP. I don't think CLP is worth it since two bottles is hardly less convenient and solvent and lube work better, for easier cleaning and superior lubrication. Finally, I'll recommend brands my research led me to that meet my requirements. ALG Defense (Geissele) makes thick and thin lubricants. They're non-toxic, perform well, prevent rust, are slow to degrade over time so they should still work if the gun hasn't bern touched in years, the thick one stays in place like a grease, and they don't gum up in extremely cold temperatures. I saw them tested to -4°F and functioning fine. I'd trust them anywhere in the continental US, but I haven't seen arctic temperature testing. Another good choice is Lubriplate. This brand has been around, it was the standard M1 Garand lubricant. The company continued to make excellent non-toxic lubes, but shifted their focus to the food industry as a food-safe lube for machines. Enthusiasts would buy buckets and resell small quantities. Recently they company started selling small bottles of oil and grease again, marketed toward firearms owners. The product performs well, is non-toxic, and the grease is rated to -50°F. The oil only to -5°F, which may be a problem if you shoot in a cold climate. A third company is Breakthrough Clean, who make a full line of gun oils and related products that are non-toxic and appear to perform well, including solvent and CLP. Those are three good brands. Other famous non-toxic brands are Ballistol and FrogLube. Ballistol does not perform as well as the more modern lubricants I mentioned above. But as with most lubricants, it can do the job well enough for most and it does have some unusual properties: it's safe for leather and wood stocks, and it neutralizes corrosive ammo residue. It can be a good match for a black powder firearm. FrogLube become popular maybe a decade ago as non-toxic vegetable-based grease and oil lubricants. Marketing implied that they were food safe (the manufacturer would consume it during demonstrations), although not labeled as such. I bought a container of grease to use as a rust presentative on knives. More effective than food-grade mineral oil, I figured. But after a couple of years, the reputation of the brand soured when the product was discovered to eventually oxidize and thicken after a few years in the gun safe. This eventually induces malfunctions as the lubricant no longer lubricates, but becomes gummy and sticky. FrogLube works fine for regular use, but I wouldn't trust it for long-term storage of guns. Other lubes won't impair function of the gun after some years in the safe or sock drawer. I'd still use my FrogLube grease to prevent rust on blades, but not in mechanical parts like on folding knives where it could be a problem if they thicken. But if cleaning off the lube regularly, long-term performance may not matter. For anyone who read this and would like to read more, I'll recommended two online resources. Grant Cunningham has an excellent "101" article on firearm lubricants on his website. He was a champion of Lubriplate and I believe the company employed him as a spokesperson as he's a reason they've returned to marketing their products in small quantities for firearms. But he writes about desirable properties of gun oils and considerations. Also the excellent writer who goes by Dyspeptic Gunsmith has written on the blog The Truth About Guns some excellent information about gun oils and cleaning you can find if you search for it. I trust him. He's a very experienced Wyoming gunsmith and former engineer, and his opinions are informed. He's very respected by the gun nerds who read him. I'm aware I overdid this comment. RU-vid comments are not the right forum for this level of detail. I'll save a copy of this for my own reference.
I always clean afterwards but I suppose even if you don't want to clean, it's best to do so. It's a great way to know the function of your weapon and also if anything is wearing or needs attention. At the very least, just wipe everything down with a oily rag or something, ya know.
I don't really clean my polymer guns that much, but I sure do clean my metal ones right after I shoot them, or else I can expect to see rust spots on them after a few weeks. I don't know if it's just the carbon attracting dirt and turning a weird orange color or what, but I'm definitely not going to let it sit around to find out! I also have a container of Hoppe's pre-oiled wipes that I picked up awhile back and maybe once a month I get one of those out and run it over the whole collection, just on the surface. One rag will handle over 50 guns it seems, and it only takes like 20 minutes or so.
Carry guns, bedside gun, I keep routinely clean and lubed. Range guns, fun guns, exc, clean here and there, or just add some lube and a quick wipe down.
I'm about to "insult" a few folks here, but too bad... Thirty years as a professional gunsmith and police armourer. 75% of all "repairs" brought to me were due to a total lack of maintenance. Filthy, non-functional weapons, said to be "broken" by the owner, were just NEVER cleaned or lubed. That's just flat out lazy, or stupid. Even seen pistols so trashed or ignored by officers, that the cylinder would not rotate, or slides stuck in place. That's redicioulious! Clean your weapons and equipment regularly. Lubricate them properly. And you'll live to see another day. Ignore this, and we'll wear a piece of black tape across our badges....
The only gun I frequently shoot is my IPSC competition pistol, and I clean it every time I shoot it if possible, I’m not willing to ruin a match I spent money and time on just because I was too lazy to clean my gun. To be fair, it’s a custom 2011 and it needs more care than your average polymer pistol. And if I don’t have time and need to skip a cleaning session, a little lube is enough on a gun that’s still fairly clean
By the way, I understand your analogy, but if you think your Honda or Toyota will be fine with nothing but fuel, motor oil, and tires...allow me to introduce you to brake pads, windshield wipers, eventually brake rotors, and if you live anywhere humid, brake fluid. I don't know how much dust and debris you'd have to drive through to clog your engine air filter so bad it can't run, but it's at least going to make it run like the throttle pedal won't go all the way down. And if you have copper spark plugs instead of iridium, those will wear out and your engine WILL stop. Oh and if you drive on road salt in the winter...yeah, cleaning actually is the only way to keep it from dissolving into a pile of rust.
