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Am I the only one who doesn't enjoy cleaning my guns?

12K views 94 replies 79 participants last post by  GH 
#1 ·
So I have finally had to admit to myself that I do not actually enjoy cleaning my guns. I do it, I do it well and often . . . but I don't enjoy it.
Am I the only gun owner who is this way?

I always read about everybody saying they "enjoy it" and all, guess I just don't have that feeling about it. I do like cleaning a NEW gun. Learning it inside and out, getting to see it all and how it works but once I've done it twice, its pretty much a chore to me every time after that. I think sometimes I am probably getting a little anal and too detailed about it. I have laid off a little lately on cleaning every surface to a shine. I have gotten to where I time myself and make it a goal to clean them as fast as possible, lol. Usually I try not to shoot more than two guns per outing so I don't have to spend an hour or two cleaning when I get home. Also I have decided to only clean my EDC everytime after shooting, all the others will get cleaned every other outing, unless it'll be sitting for weeks until shot again.

So thats me. Any others like me out there?
 
#58 ·
Glad you said that! Every time my wifes or my EDC or Bug is broken down and put back together it is fired. Fortunatley in NH I was able to do that and here in Texas we can also. I would never carry something that I put back together without test firing. Call it no trust in myself LOL. If I had to I would stay at the range and clean it then test fire it.
 
#59 ·
I don't "enjoy" cleaning my guns. I don't "enjoy" laundry, washing dishes (cooking for that matter), dusting, sweeping.....sure don't like cleaning the bathroom (stool) ect., but I just do it....all of it. There are just some things you HAVE to do. So just put on a happy face and try to convince yourself that you are happy to do it. :elefant: :dancing: Works for me. My best advice. :girl:
 
#60 ·
I guess I'm a weirdo. I love cleaning my guns. I love the smell of Nitro in the morning.
 
#61 ·
This whole thread TL;DR.

To answer the OP's question: I don't enjoy it either. I am borderline obsessive when I clean my firearms (Among other things), so depending on how "dirty" the ammo I shoot tends to be, it can take a while to get them "just right". Cleaning guns just goes with the territory of being a responsible gun owner.


"Gotta pay to play!"
 
#64 ·
I still clean my guns. I'm just not as OCD as some on this thread.

Case in point - a few years ago I carried my G19 to an advanced handgun class. We shot 800+ rounds in a bit over 8 hours. When it was over did I:

A. Break my gun down and clean it spotless before the trip home

B. Load a spare gun for the trip home

C. Reload my carry ammo back in the gun I had just trained with all day and have complete confidence it would go bang if needed

"C" is the correct answer
 
#65 ·
I have a friend who has a G17 and a G34. He's prob had them 2 years, shoots them about once of month at least and has never cleaned them. He told me "its a glock, you don't have to clean it". I wouldn't have believed him until i locked the slide back and looked inside. I took em to the range, both ran flawless, no suprise to me. Kinda makes me want to have one gun that I never clean.
 
#67 ·
I don't doubt the friend can get by with that, for awhile anyway. The question I would ask is; Why? Glocks are the easiest guns in the world to clean and maintain. Neglecting Glock maintenance would seem to me to be taking laziness to new levels and at the risk of having a malfunctioning gun.
 
#66 ·
I actually enjoy cleaning my guns, but I am not obsessive about it. I find it relaxing and peaceful. Plus, I feel some sense of accomplishment when I put a clean gun back in the safe or my holster.
 
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#68 ·
Same here. I take my time and give the internals a good once over. Its really relaxing.

Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk 2
 
#73 ·
I clean my gun after every use but I don't enjoy it either. To me there is nothing relaxing about it with the grime, and the chemical smell of the cleaning agents.
 
#74 ·
While I don't actually enjoy cleaning my pistol it's so easy that I don't really mind. I had a Glock 23 which I gave to my son unfortunately, now have a S&W clone, the Sigma which cleans identically. Five minutes & the gun is as clean as new. I know that a bit of residue isn't going to screw something up. With my Glock & now my Sigma I experimented with not cleaning them for a looong time. I had no problems whatsoever. All I did was add just a touch of oil on the slide rails. Not even sure if that was necessary. I certainly don't want to make a habit of it, though. In my military career I've seen what can happen to inadequately cleaned weapons, early M16s as an example.

I use CLP Break Free & found that it does a good job in both cleaning & lubricating.
 
#77 ·
I don't mind it to like it for the piece and quite. No one botthers me when I am cleaning my guns. However, my wife make me do it outside since the Hoppes #9 smell makes it hard to breathe for her (asthma). I live in Houston, TX, so in the summer, when I clean my guns on the back porch, my hands get so sweaty, that I can't I can barely hold on to the parts I am trying to clean let alone constantly getting the cleaned parts wet with my sweat.
 
#93 ·
Yup, that's when I clean my guns too. Whether they need it or not. The one that steps up and asks to help will be the keeper. Lol.

When my sister was growing up and my dad thought she was dating someone not quite right, he'd answer the door in uniform. Given he was huge and the uniform I'd say 90% of the time the guy dropped out. My sister would be furious. Fast forward and she married the perfect guy and has 5 kids. She learned from dad.
 
#82 ·
I hate it - but I think that's because I'm new to it all. I've only had my current gun a couple months and yesterday was the first time I disassembled it without looking at the downloaded manual in ibooks. With time and practice I'm sure I'll get better at it, but I don't think I'll like it any more. Then again - I hate cleaning ANYTHING lol so it's not suprising I don't enjoy this either.
 
#85 ·
If I don't break them down I do run a patch thru the barrel and give the works a quick swab. I haven't gotten up the nerve to break down my P89 yet. Scared I won't be able to get it back together.
A quick solution to cleaning semi's and wheelguns is to drop the barrel and cylinder into the ultrasonic for a bit and loosen the junk before you start. The powder residue on the heel of the cylinder sucks getting clean. I do enjoy cleaning my guns. My life might very well depend on it.
 
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