Should you clean your gun after every use? Manuals & Opinions

This is the question that everyone has an answer to, and yet, everyone has a different opinion. Somehow, they all seem to be right and all seem to be wrong at the same time. Truthfully, it highly depends on the application and the gun; however, we will try to apply it generally across guns and specify where appropriate.

So, should you clean your gun after every use? Generally speaking, guns do not need to be cleaned after every use. Some should be cleaned much more often than others such as defensive guns, competition guns and when using corrosive ammunition. Others, like range guns and hunting guns don’t need as much cleaning to keep functioning properly.

To answer this question in more depth, we look at user manuals of the most popular manufacturers as well as YouTube videos from industry experts. We also offer our own opinions after shooting hundreds of thousands of rounds through many guns—over the course of many years.

Detailed Explanation of gun cleaning frequency

There is never a shortage of people that tell you that you need to clean your gun after every use—even if you only shot 1 round through it since the last cleaning. While cleaning that often probably won’t do any harm to the gun, it is also unnecessary. Most guns can shoot far more rounds than that and still function perfectly fine. In fact, most guns can shoot thousands of rounds without a cleaning and without any damage to the gun.

Obviously, cleaning your gun as much as reasonably possible is the best practice; however, that doesn’t mean cleaning after every 10 rounds, or even 100 rounds. In most applications, that’s more a waste of cleaning supplies than it is helping the gun function. Most guns can easily shoot hundreds of rounds before a cleaning is necessary. Clearly, certain scenarios call for more cleaning, more often. Some of those scenarios are when using defensive guns, competition guns and any guns when using corrosive ammunition.

When looking much more broadly and conceptually at whether guns need to be cleaned after every use, we need to look at the gun manufacturers themselves. They all attempt to make guns that can withstand harsh conditions and still function properly. These guns are often used by the military, law enforcement and citizens to protect their lives. While cleaning a gun regularly gives the carrier every chance of having it function properly, designing the gun to function no matter what aids the manufacturer in selling a gun that people can rely on. It’s in their best interest to make it work under the harshest conditions possible.

Reasons to clean your gun

There really are only a few reasons that cause you to need to clean your guns; which isn’t to say that the reasons to clean your guns aren’t important. All the reasons, though, fall into a few main categories. The first is that buildup and junk in the gun can cause reliability issues, which can be catastrophic in certain scenarios. Another is to prevent rust and corrosion. The last real reason to clean your guns to inspect and ensure that they are functioning properly and that they will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Let’s look at each of these in more detail below.

Buildup can cause failures

This is one of the most controversial reasons that triggers (pun kind of intended…) the need to clean a gun. It’s not that anyone argues that enough carbon and other junk in the gun won’t cause problems eventually. What is debated is how much of an impact the various types of fouling will make—and how fast they will make an impact. One side of the debate says that even with one round through the gun there is enough carbon and other debris that a gun should be cleaned right away, and that the gun is potentially breaking down and is no longer reliable.

Proponents that reside in the other camp argue that several hundred rounds (or more) can be sent through the gun without the need to clean it. They state that guns now have been manufactured so efficiently that they are designed to handle the junk in the gun—within reason anyway. Some on this side even argue that there is no point in cleaning the guns until thousands of rounds have gone through the gun, when it has gotten very dirty.

As far as Bullet Basics is concerned, we reside more in the camp of not needing to clean a gun as often—acknowledging the efficiencies of the gun; however, we do think it highly depends on the situation. We’ll discuss later what situations call for more religious cleaning; but generally speaking, guns can function for more than a few rounds without needing to rush home and get them cleaned.

Preventing rust and corrosion

Preventing rust and corrosion is another situation for which guns definitely should be cleaned. There is less debate over this topic. If there is potential for your gun to corrode, then most people agree that your gun should be cleaned fairly regularly or fairly quickly after shooting. Generally, there are a few types of primers used in ammo that are either corrosive or not; Berdan primers and boxer primers. This is the main reason for corrosion in guns.

Berdan Primed ammo

Berdan-primed ammo can be corrosive but isn’t necessarily corrosive; however, all corrosive ammo is when berdan primers are used. In other words, not all berdan primed ammo is corrosive but all corrosive ammo is from berdan primers.

We’re not going to get deep into the science of it all, but the general idea is that certain berdan primed ammo releases chemicals that leave residue of corrosive salts in the barrel that attract water in the air. As you can imagine, these corrosive salts can quickly begin the process of corroding the barrel and other metal parts of the gun. A simple way to ensure that your gun doesn’t fall prey to this problem is to use hot soapy water after shooting corrosive ammo. This will wash away the corrosive salts. Then make sure the gun is dried off, cleaned with any desired solvents and lubed. The other easy way to avoid this issue is to not shoot berdan primed ammo at all. Then you don’t run the risk of forgetting to clean your gun immediately, or missing something when cleaning.

The major ammo manufacturer that uses berdan primed ammo is TulAmmo. Right on the box they claim that their berdan primed ammo is non-corrosive. I’ve shot quite a bit of TulAmmo in the past without religiously cleaning my guns and have seen no corrosion or problems from it.I don’t use it much any more, though, after seeing other stoppage issues with it.

There are certainly other types of corrosive ammo, though it is more rare to find today. Using large american-brand ammo is a good way to avoid the corrosive stuff.

Boxer Primed ammo

Boxer-primed ammo is non-corrosive. Some note that boxer-primed ammo from decades ago is corrosive; but for all intents and purposes this can be ignored. All modern ammo that you would buy at the store today is non-corrosive. You should be pretty safe to use this ammo without worrying about corrosion.

This would be the type of ammo to use if you don’t want to clean your gun after every single use. Carbon and other buildup will still happen, but it won’t cause harm like some primers and other corrosive elements.

TIP: If you are planning to store your gun away for a while (or after touching) wiping it down to make sure any corrosive oils from fingers and other places is a good practice. This is especially useful with metal guns that are more prone to rusting and corroding.

Close inspection of parts and wear

Another reason to clean your gun is that the very nature of the cleaning process requires you to hold each piece and examine it. It exposes any abnormalities or unusual wear on the gun that you would want to be aware of. Cleaning your gun will also remove the carbon and other buildup so that you can actually see those abnormalities that may be just developing. Without removing the buildup, you may not notice those problems for a while.

You should take your gun apart and inspect it often, even if you don’t clean it very often. It’ll allow you to identify any obstructions in the barrel, or other areas of the gun. It’ll also help you see if anything doesn’t look right before you pick it up again to shoot it. This is one way around cleaning it as often, but still maintaining awareness of any potential problems.

How often to clean—according to owner’s manuals

Initially, we went searching in gun owner’s manuals attempting to come up with more evidence that supports our view that most guns don’t need to be cleaned after every use. But then we sat back and wondered why we even cared. We realized we just don’t care which way the manuals lean. We know what good gun care is and how to maintain them properly.

After looking at so many manuals, most made no mention of cleaning after every use, while others explicitly stated to clean guns after every use. We’ll discuss them below.

Many of the manuals we have referenced here are pistol manuals. We have noted a few others as well. Some of the others are for the Ruger LCR (revolver), Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 (AR-15 rifle), Remington 700 (bolt action rifle), and Mossberg 500 (shotgun).

The Smith and Wesson M&P Shield manual states

“Cleaning is essential to proper functioning of your firearm. Your firearm is a precision instrument. To ensure reliable function it is necessary to follow a routine maintenance procedure. After firing your firearm, be sure to unload it following the procedure outlined in the section entitled “Inspecting Your Firearm” before performing any cleaning or maintenance procedure. ”

The Sig Sauer P320 Manual states

“The following instructions are for normal environmental conditions. Clean and lube before or after every day the pistol is fired or at a minimum of every 500 rounds.”

The Canik TP9 Manual states

This manual makes no mention of cleaning frequency

The Glock Manual states

“Your GLOCK pistol should be cleaned and lubricated as follows:

1. when brand new, before the first time it is fired, plus

2. after each time it is fired, plus

3. as required. This will be determined by your pistol’s exposure to adverse conditions during storage or use such as rain, snow, perspiration, salt water, dirt, dust, lint, etc. Additionally, your pistol should be cleaned and inspected if it has been dropped or if any broken parts are suspected or malfunctions experienced, plus NOTICE 28 27

4. at least once a year.”

Springfield XDM Manual states

This manual makes no mention of cleaning frequency

Walther PPQ Manual states

“In order to keep the firearm functional and to extend its service life, the firearm should be cleaned and maintained at regular intervals.”

Beretta APX Manual states

“The firearm should be cleaned as soon as possible after firing.”

Ruger LCR

“Despite their many highly desirable features, Ruger revolvers – as with all firearms – must at all times be handled with strict attention to correct safety practices, and be inspected frequently to assure the gun is working properly.”

Smith and Wesson Model 686

“Whenever your firearm has been exposed to sand, dust, extreme humidity, water or other adverse conditions, it must be cleaned and lubricated.

Your firearm is a precision instrument. To ensure reliable function it is necessary to follow a routine maintenance procedure. After firing your firearm, be sure to unload it following the procedure outlined in the section entitled “Inspecting Your Firearm” before performing any cleaning or maintenance procedure.”

Daniel Defense DDM4 V7

“WHEN TO CLEAN BEFORE FIRING, make sure that the barrel and the chamber are clean and dry. After firing, clean your firearm as soon as possible so that the job will be easier and there will be less opportunity for corrosion to start.

PERIODICALLY, when your firearm has not been fired, we suggest you clean it when necessary and at least once or twice a year in a temperate climate, or as often as once a week in a tropical climate.

IF YOU CARRY A LOADED FIREARM, UNLOAD it and clean when necessary and at least once a month. If you get your firearm wet, clean it as soon as possible.”

Remington 700 Manual

“Cleaning Frequency

1. Before and after long term storage.

2. When the rifle has been subjected to adverse conditions such as shooting in the rain, snow, sleet or saltwater areas.

3. When the rifle is exposed to dirty conditions such as lying on the ground outdoors, being dropped in mud, etc.

NOTE: While the Model 700™ and Model Seven™ Stainless Synthetic Rifle have been designed and manufactured to provide improved corrosion protection, only proper care will keep your firearm in good operating condition and maintain its appearance. After extensive use, the protective coating on plated parts may be worn sufficiently to reduce corrosion protection. Such worn parts should be replaced to assure the integrity of the corrosion protection.”

The Mossberg 500 Manual states

“With proper maintenance and care, your Mossberg® firearm will provide you with years of dependable service. Your firearm should be inspected and cleaned periodically to ensure that it remains in good condition. Clean your firearm as soon as possible after use. This is especially important if your firearm has been exposed to moisture. For maximum performance and continued satisfaction with your firearm, periodic cleaning and lubrication are essential.”

Our analysis of the owner’s manuals

After looking at many owner’s manuals—from many different types of guns—we see evidence that both supports our conclusion as well as evidence that doesn’t. Where the evidence doesn’t support our conclusions explicitly, we think it supports our conclusions generally anyway.

Supporting evidence

The manuals for Smith and Wesson M&P Shield, Sig Sauer P320, Canik TP9, Springfield XDS, Walther PPQ, Ruger LCR, Smith and Wesson Model 686, Daniel Defense DDM4 V7, and Remington 700 all support our claim that most guns don’t need to be cleaned after every use.

Some of these manuals make absolutely no mention of cleaning frequency or cleaning timing. They mention guns should be cleaned to prolong their lives, but nothing else. Others make mention, such as the Sig P320, that they should be cleaned after every use OR every 500 rounds. In other words, don’t just neglect cleaning altogether, but you don’t have to be anal about it. A few others simply say to clean the guns at regular intervals to ensure they are functioning properly. But they don’t mention what those regular intervals are.

Daniel Defense was placed in the supporting evidence for a few reasons. The manual states that guns should be cleaned right after use. The first reason for cleaning immediately is so the cleaning job will be easier. The second reason is to reduce the chance of potential corrosion. Nowhere does it say that the gun will cease to work if you’ve shot a few rounds without cleaning it. And if you’re using non-corrosive ammunition, waiting a bit longer between cleanings is no big deal.

Getting real for a minute: Of course these gun companies say to clean the guns… can you imagine the liability if they didn’t say that and something bad did happen? I would love to know what they would say if they couldn’t get sued for “misuse”. Maybe they would say the same thing. Maybe not.

Non-supporting evidence

The manuals for Glock, Mossberg 500 and Beretta APX tell us a different story. Each of these manuals say to clean guns immediately after shooting AND and at other times. Glock’s manual, for example, says to clean the gun when first purchased, after each use, when exposed to harsh conditions, AND once a year. Holy crap! No thanks! The other manuals state the cleaning should occur after each time you shoot, without going into the reasons cleaning is necessary.

Take what you will from each of the manuals we’ve noted above. If you are someone that wants to clean your gun after every range visit, then do it. If not, you’re just fine.

Note: Most of the reasoning for cleaning these guns is to prolong the life of the guns and ensure they will last for years to come.

How often to clean according to online experts

After watching many videos from Mrgunsngear, Hickok45, Sootch00, Military Arms Channel, Honest Outlaw, Parker Fawbush and MANY others, there are split opinions on whether these guys think guns need to be cleaned after every use. Some argue that every gun should be cleaned every time you go shooting. Others argue that guns don’t need to be cleaned very often. What we did learn from all of them (even those that believe guns should constantly be cleaned) is the following

1) They enjoy cleaning

For those that believe in cleaning all their guns religiously, most said at one point or another, that they just love cleaning guns. They also made mention of other reasons why cleaning guns is important (reasons we’ve already noted in this article), but many of the YouTubers mentioned they enjoy it. They said things like, “It’s part of the experience” or “it just helps me sleep at night” or “I just like knowing my guns are clean”.

Those that don’t believe that guns need to be cleaned after every use also made mention of enjoying the process of cleaning their guns. Apparently, they just don’t enjoy it as much as the others.

2) They often don’t clean the gun during the review

Another very common occurrence, with both the gun cleaners and the non-gun cleaners, is for the reviewer to not clean the gun throughout the review process. Often they would do a review after 500 or 1,000 rounds (often even more rounds than that) without having cleaned the guns at all. Many of them didn’t even clean the guns after purchasing them. They wanted to see how they performed under suboptimal conditions.

Most guns in these reviews had no malfunctions (or no more than ordinary) and no abnormal wear on the guns. The guns performed spectacularly, just as they would have if they had cleaned the guns after every use. There was no real difference between those that cleaned the guns constantly and those that didn’t.

3) Some put guns through a “torture test”

This was probably the most important point on this list. In these videos, the reviewers put the guns through a series of tests to evaluate each gun’s performance under extremely severe circumstances. The main Youtubers that did these types of tests were Military Arms Channel, Honest Outlaw and Parker Fawbush.

Military Arms Channel puts the guns through two specific tests. The first is just a normal test (with no name) and the second is called the gauntlet. In the first test, the gun is loaded and submerged in water. Then ten rounds are fired until the magazine is empty. Then MAC (Military Arms Channel) loads another ten rounds in the gun, and puts each side of the gun in sand so that it is flush with the sand; and fires those ten rounds.

He goes back to the water, washes off the sand and loads another magazine with ten rounds. He pushes the gun flush with the dirt on both sides, pulls it out and shoots ten rounds. One last time, he washes the gun off in the water, loads it and puts it in mud; then fires until empty. The majority of the guns put through this test pass it. And these conditions are far worse than what most people will ever see.

For the gauntlet test MAC uses the same buckets of water, sand, dirt and mud—with no changes to their consistency. This time, however, he shoots a magazine after submerging the gun in water—then he reloads and goes straight to the sand. He doesn’t wash the gun off in water between these steps. After that, he reloads and goes straight for the dirt. He finishes the test by going straight to the mud without washing the dirt off. Most guns fail at some point during this test. The conditions of this test are much worse than even the first test because the junk isn’t washed off before introducing more junk into the guns.

After taking these guns to their breaking points, MAC usually runs the guns under water to get the junk out—especially when the guns had a hard time with the tests. Then he attempts to fire them again without putting any lube or oil in the gun. Many of them return to proper function.

Both Honest Outlaw and Parker fawbush do similar tests. Honest Outlaw’s tests match Military Arms Channel’s tests almost exactly. Parker Fawbush does a similar test, but when submerging the gun in water he calls the baptism test (he’s a pastor). When he does a similar sand portion of the test, he throws it on the ground and kicks sand/dirt on top of it, before shooting it. Most of the guns that Honest Outlaw and Parker Fawbush test pass with very few to no problems at all.

Opinion—From Bullet Basics

Ultimately, how often you clean your gun comes down to how comfortable you feel when you don’t clean it. We don’t have a dog in this fight, so we don’t care what you decide to do. It’s about whether it is needed or preferred. We think in a lot of applications religious cleaning usually isn’t needed; it’s mostly just preferred by the individual shooter.

Our conclusion is that it just isn’t necessary in most applications to clean your guns so much. Guns can handle the junk and debris in them without any problems for several hundred rounds. After about 400-600 rounds we think it is wise to break your gun down and give it a cleaning. Though we don’t even blink if our guns have gone far beyond that without finally getting to it.

With that said, we do think it is important to keep certain guns, with certain purposes as clean as possible. Let’s take a look at when that is appropriate.

Guns that need religious cleaning

Though we don’t think that guns need to be cleaned after every use to reliably function indefinitely, we concede that there are situations that it makes more sense to keep your guns constantly clean, rather than risk any problems down the road. In these guns, it is important to remove any potential for dangerous jams or malfunctions—because your life could depend on those guns working when you need them to.

Defensive guns

Clearly the most important guns to keep in peak condition are guns you might be using to defend your life. These guns are usually used in split-second, life-threatening situations; and by lowering the chances of them malfunctioning (through keeping them clean) you can give yourself the highest chance of living. Skipping cleaning to save a few minutes isn’t worth the potential cost of losing your life when the gun doesn’t go bang when it’s supposed to.

So we definitely recommend cleaning these guns after using them at the range. There is no reason to keep them dirty, when dirty guns can be more prone to malfunctions. Again, they are made to reliably function anyway, but it comes down to the simple concept of debris being in the guns vs debris not being in the guns. They are more likely (even a very small likelihood) to malfunction with the debris in there, so cleaning them is worth it.

Tip: The best course of action would be to clean these guns before putting them back in a holster for use. Cleaning them at the range would be best. That way you can reassemble them and fire a round or two to ensure proper function after a disassembly. .

Corrosive ammunition

Obviously, as mentioned before, it is essential to keep your gun clean when using corrosive ammunition. Corrosive ammo can cause serious and irreparable damage to the gun if left uncleaned on the gun. It can be even worse if you aren’t aware of the damage that has been done when going shooting again at a later time; however, most ammo these days isn’t corrosive so this isn’t as much of a problem as it used to be.

If using corrosive ammunition, make sure to clean your gun as soon as you can after shooting it. It will significantly reduce the chances of harm to your gun.

Competition guns

Competition guns is another category of guns that should be kept very clean. Usually they are shot a lot; but more importantly speed is usually essential. Having a malfunction while the timer is going will almost certainly take you out of the running. So making sure that there is no carbon fouling (and other fouling) in the gun is the best way to ensure that it will function properly when it needs to. So with these guns, make sure to clean them fairly often to keep them in peak condition.

Guns that need occasional cleaning

Now we’re into the category of guns that really doesn’t need to be cleaned as often. That’s not to say they shouldn’t be cleaned at all; it simply means you can go hundreds of rounds, or more, without worrying about them. Most of the guns in the “Guns that need religious cleaning” section could also go more rounds between cleaning than suggested. It just probably isn’t worth the risk. These guns are a different case.

Range guns

Range guns are any guns that you really just use to shoot for fun and to plink around with. For those that really enjoy guns, this constitutes the majority of our collections. They’re guns that could be used for home defense or concealed carry, but aren’t regularly used for that purpose; they may just be a gun you liked to shoot and wanted to own.

As long as you aren’t shooting corrosive ammo through these guns, they can go hundreds or thousands of rounds without cleaning. I have a few range guns that I clean every couple hundred rounds and they never have malfunctions. I also own a few range guns that I only clean every couple thousand rounds. They also never have any malfunctions or any abnormal wear.

While I don’t clean these guns very often, I do field strip them and inspect them regularly. You should know the state that you guns are in and the only way to know that is to inspect them—even if it is a quick inspection.

Hunting guns

Hunting guns is another category that needs to be mentioned; it really could have been placed in either section. Generally, these guns just don’t need to be cleaned religiously to maintain proper function. The primary reason for that is a lot of these guns are bolt action. Bolt action guns don’t rely on a lot of moving parts—and the parts to do move are manually operated. Obviously, this doesn’t cover every gun in this category and it’s overgeneralized; but for those guns where this applies, they can go longer between cleanings.

Obviously, it does depend on what you’re hunting and what you’re willing to risk though. If you’re hunting something that could be hunting you back, you may want to keep your gun cleaner.

Other Guns

Some other guns that don’t usually need lots of maintenance are revolvers and shotguns. These would obviously fit into one of the categories already mentioned, but they are worth noting because of their specific design.

Shotguns- Most shotguns are pump (though obviously some aren’t) and aren’t “precision” instruments that other rifles are. The fouling is even less likely to cause problems than it is in semi automatic guns. They just tend to function consistently without issues.

Revolvers- Revolvers just don’t have a lot of places that problems can happen. The problems usually arise with semi-automatic or automatic guns and all their moving parts. Though revolvers have moving parts, those parts just don’t have many ways they can malfunction. They tend to just work. Like any other guns they should be inspected for wear and debris. But cleaning these guns can be much less often—though it still must happen.

Tip: Though shotguns and revolvers don’t need to be cleaned as often as some other guns, they should be wiped down with preservative oils to prevent rust and preserve the metal.