Why is Proper Firearm Cleaning Important?

How often do you perform routine firearm cleaning and mainteince using a solvent trap? Some firearm owners clean after each use, while others set a regular schedule.

It is important to consider the length between each firearm cleaning session, and how you clean your firearm. Should you clean without a solvent trap, or move away from the traditional methods by using a solvent trap?

How you clean your firearm really comes down to preference. Generally, there are no rules except for the obvious safety protocols such as ensuring your firearm is unloaded prior to cleaning.

Poor firearm maintenance poses a plethora of risks, which is why consistent maintenance is necessary. Your firearm is like any machine that accumulates dirt over time. Rust buildup is also expected since most firearms are made of corrosive metals.

Rust and corrosion can cause your firearm damage and can lead to malfunction. Failure to fire and failure to feed, fouling, and other malfunctions can cause harm or even death, but these risks can be reduced by properly and regularly cleaning your firearm.

Proper maintenance is a basic and general rule to prolong the life of anything, guns included. Anything that operates in a friction-based fashion needs to be maintained and cleaned, many times oiled rigorously. A clean firearm is a reliable and functioning firearm. Regular firearm cleaning keeps dirt, rust, and corrosion away, saving your firearm from damage, which would eventually affect its performance.

There is no such thing as ‘cleaning your firearm too much’. Excessive cleaning will not cause major issues or damage to your firearm. much cleaning will not cause any major damage to your gun. If you are unfamiliar with firearm cleaning, it is important to understand several factors that help gun owners with their frequency cleaning, such as: shooting frequency, weather, moisture of the environment, ammunition used, type of use, type of firearm and more…

Moisture buildup can happen if you live in a region with high humidity levels. This can happen even if you keep your gun in a safe as the air may seep into it. Your storage location can also be a contributing factor to moisture buildup. If you keep it in a basement or stash it in an area with low temperature, moisture will accumulate leading to rusting. When left unchecked, moisture would settle and will develop rust and corrosion as well.  

Probably one of the most common factors causes a firearm to become dirty and in need of a deep cleaning is corrosive ammunition. Non-Polycoated steel tends to be the dirtiest, which also depends on the type of firearm it is being shot from. Gas impingement-based AR based platforms tends to run very dirty when taking steel loads, yet AK47s and other AK based platforms operate flawlessly and run as dirty as if brass loads are used. Corrosive ammo primers tend to be a culprit too, so it’s best to know your ammo as well as you know your firearms!

The number of times you use your gun matters. Usage is one of the main factors that determine the necessary cleaning rigor and frequency best suited. Obviously, you should immediately perform routine maintenance after firing at the range, especially if you were using steel ammo.

Competition shooters clean their guns immediately after a match. This keeps their guns in perfect working condition, as a well-maintained gun promises accuracy and higher scores. Hunters seldom use their firearms, but they still clean them regularly. This is because the environment they hunt in exposes their firearms to harsh conditions.

In the past, firearm owners used the standard, steel brush, solvent, and cleaning patches. Eventually, solvent traps were created and used and the benefits were immediately realized.

Cleaning without a solvent trap is like remaining stuck in time with a flip phone when the iPhone 12 is available. Sure, the flip phone will get the job done, but the iPhone 12 Max will make your cleaning sessions more efficient without more headache.