How Often Should I Clean My Firearm?

When it gets dirty! Just kidding. This is a valid question.

How often you clean your firearm depends on a few factors, such as how often you use it, how you use it, and environmental considerations such as high humidity, which causes rust.

Everyday Carry (EDC): Your daily carry firearm should be treated like gold. It’s the firearm you are potentially trusting your life to. Clean it after each use to be sure it will be ready to go if ever needed. If you do not practice with it regularly, schedule consistent and regular cleaning to ensure it remains in ready condition. A regular schedule would be cleaning about every two weeks, at a minimum once a month. Be sure to keep the exterior of the slide oiled to prevent rust where it makes contact with your body.

Fun/Practice Shooting: Shooting at the range for fun or practice doesn’t necessarily require cleaning your firearm after each use. A general cleaning after about 250-300 rounds should be sufficient. Once you reach about 3000 rounds, a deep clean would be in order.

Competition Shooting: If you are a competitive shooter, it’s a good idea to clean your firearm after each competition. This will ensure that your firearm is in tip-top condition and ready for the next competition.

Hunting Firearms: Most people only hunt a few times each year. Therefore, it should be cleaned after each use. These firearms are exposed to various environmental conditions such as heat, cold, humidity, moisture. It’s essential that you pay special attention to cleaning and oiling your firearms if they have been exposed to moisture, as this can very quickly lead to rusting. Hunting firearms tend to be stored for long periods of time, so it’s important to properly store them. This will help keep them away from contaminants.

Firearms You Don’t Use or Long Term Storage: Yes, these can still get dirty just sitting. Dust and other particles can accumulate over time, and rust can possibly set in. Cleaning these on a quarterly or two times a year basis should be sufficient.

Not sure how to take apart and clean your firearms? A Gunsmith is available at each location to take care of it for you or teach you the basics. Don't have time to clean your firearms as frequently as they deserve? Purchase a cleaning plan and let our gunsmiths take care of it for you. Our Firearm Cleaning Plan takes the hassle and worry out of it. This plan includes one cleaning a month to keep your firearms in top condition. Easy drop off and pick up for your convenience. Buy now here.

By Joyce Gould, Benbrook Supervisor and LTC instructor.