I know this won’t come as a shock for most, but I thought it was worth sharing.
I recently picked up another M&P .40 FS. I took it out of the box and over the next little while put 1300 rounds through it. Some near, some far, some fast, some slow and never had a bobble with it.
At around 1200 rounds the slide started getting pretty sluggish going back into battery after a press check. 13 is a lucky number for me so I figured that 1300 rounds was as good a time as any for it’s first cleaning and lube.
I’ve never had any worries about running my Glock 22 dirty and get a hard time from friends for it being so dry. 1300 rounds really isn’t a big deal, but it’s nice to KNOW instead of wonder how long this one will run.
1300 is an excellent run. I would typically go 2000 rounds before adding lube on my pistols. But I’ve done it so many times I’m kinda over it. I know they work and that’s good enough for me.
I was gonna go for 1500 or a bit more, which is what made me a believer in my Glock. But after I saw it getting sluggish I couldn’t justify the experiment any more on a daily carry weapon. If it weren’t for the carrying I’d’ve just kept gunning it though for sure.
range guns I’ll leave dirty… carry guns if i go more than 200 rounds without cleaning it’s rare. usually they get a wipe down and inspection once a week regardless of whether i shoot them.
I totally understand wanting to test out a gun when you get it but this not cleaning your gun stuff is having a dangerous implications on the ignorant.
I am hearing people at the club constantly talk about how many rounds they have through all their guns with out cleaning. This is crazy.
If there if even the slightest chance I’m going to need a weapon to protect myself or family it with be kept clean and lubed…especially a carry gun.
The only guns I had that I didn’t clean until they almost stop working were my Bulleye guns when I competed. That’s only because the pistol smith who built them told me to do it to prevent the gun from being taken apart and re-assembled to much; the theory being that the life of the accurazing job would shortened.
When my department was testing the M&P they cleaned and lubed a new .40, then fired something like 12K rounds through it before it refused to chamber a round. Then they lubed it, without cleaning, and it went another 3K or so before they finally quit.
If my life depends on a pistol that needs cleaning after 200 rounds I’ve got problems.
My range guns don’t get cleaned often but if it will be carried shortly there after (particularly if it’s a semi auto) it will get cleaned and lubed after it gets shot.
Personally, I am not too terribly concerned with function if I don’t clean for extended periods, however, I prefer a clean gun when I carry. It is what it is, I just do.
I got my ass reamed by my firearms instructor for showing up to qualify with a less than spotless pistol, guess I forgot to clean it after my last quarterly qual. Oops. But it’s an HK, we only shoot 150 rounds a qualification and my pistol has NEVER malfunctioned on me so I wasn’t too terribly concerned. I gave it a good cleaning that day anyway. With my range guns I clean them whenever, my carry guns I usually keep clean and always well lubricated.
if it took more than 5 minutes to clean a modern pistol i guess I’d see the point in going longer between cleanings, but there’s just no advantage to not keeping your carry gun spotless. I’m not talking about hacking at it with a dental pick and emory cloth, I’m talking wiping out the carbon with a paper towel, running the bore snake through the barrel a couple times and relubing.
