The most neglected part.....

[Sheldon J]

Of almost any semi auto.....
Short version I am anal about my CC gun being clean, I pull a full take down weekly with daily inspection and mag checks..... So I am up in the gun room doing my weekly and I decide to unload the mag for a round check... As I slide out the rounds, Humm kind of sticky feeling....
So I take apart my mag for a closer look.... heaps of fine dust have coated the spring and the inside walls, so I clean it and do a wipe down of everything with a very light oil, works like new....
Had I needed the gun that could have easily been a FTF..... now averted.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Hiram25]

Any idea where the sticky or the dust came from?

[orangevol]

YES...after every range trip.

[peckman28]

I put never, only because I think about 1,000 rounds on the mag is reasonable, and none of my mags has hit that count yet. When one does I will take it apart and clean it. I do wipe down the outside of them after trips though.

[Guardian]

I'm the "1" on the wheel gun, I didn't want it to sit by itself there.

[CopperKnight]

Yep. If they come apart, I take them apart and clean them out. If they are welded, I have been known to push the follower down with a pencil eraser and run an oiled patch down the sides.

[razor02097]

What box magazines aren't consumable?

j/k

Actually I think the military considers M4/16 magazines consumable...

[120mm]

Now, if only they would throw them out...

Sore subject, there. It seems like the same broken mags would find their way back to our guys, so in the units I've been in, we crush them to stop that.

Oddly enough, while I pay little attention to my guns, I am fairly fastidious about my magazines. When I enlisted, I was an M60 gunner, and my tired and worn out gun had an awful feedtray, so I needed to OCD on my belted ammo.

Since that time I always check and clean my mags. Much more so than my gun itself.

[OldVet]

It's amazing how much powder residue builds up inside mags. So I usually clean after 5-6 trips to the range (about 500+ rds total).

Break them down, scrub the insides (a baby bottle brush works well) and parts with Hoppes, wipe dry, a light spray of dry lube on the inside of mag, reassemble and good to go. Never use wet lube; it will really gum up the works.

[ron8903]

I voted Occasionally,
Because I dont clean them every time I shoot, some times I just wipe down the pistols when Im done too!

Truthfully I clean my magazines three or four times a year and that it.

[OldVet]

What box magazines aren't consumable?

j/k

Actually I think the military considers M4/16 magazines consumable...

Back in my day, just after the military graduated from rocks, we were taught to save the mags (stuffing them inside our jackets) because the ammo came in strip clips. Discarded mags meant a single-shot M-16.

But that was in the Air Force and it needed to save the money meant for mags on more important things--like the new swimming pool and NCO Clubs.

[sigmanluke]

Every time I clean the gun, the mags get disassembled and cleaned.

There should have been another option on the poll for those of us who do it regularly, since none of those answers fit, I didn't vote.

[Brady]

Occasionally, but inspect regularly. Acquired some used AK mags a while back. They were sticky and smelly. Upon disassembly I found that a wet lube coupled with the lacquer dust from thousands of coated steel casings had produced a nice thick paste throughout the insides of the mags. Cleaned them with an old toothbrush and non-clorinated brake cleaner. They work great now.

[Tubby45]

My mags have a welded base plate (1911) so I just toss them in the ultrasonic cleaner every 2-3 months, then dry them well.

[NCW Ray]

Every time I clean the gun, the mags get disassembled and cleaned.

There should have been another option on the poll for those of us who do it regularly, since none of those answers fit, I didn't vote.

Same here; No vote, I clean the magazines every time I clean the pistol.