Do you own any guns, or are you thinking about purchasing one? One of the most important things to consider when buying a firearm is: are you willing to take care of it? Guns might seem like an easy hobby – but in reality the upkeep of guns is important and not something that you should put off or neglect, especially when you want it to have a long lifetimw! Owning guns can be a lot of fun, but it’s good to remember that they’re also a lot of responsibility.

Of course, gun cleaning can be looked at as a pleasurable pastime, or a huge chore. If you keep in mind that you are learning about your gun, or make it fun by timing yourself or racing a friend – you might find that you look forward to your next cleaning session!

Not only is it good to keep your gun clean, but general maintenance will help to preserve it long-term. Maintenance will keep it ready for action in the shooting range!

Readying your cleaning area

Firstly, be sure that the gun is not loaded and that the ammunition is safely tucked away. Make sure that you are positive by checking visually and physically. You should do this before even taking the weapon to your cleaning area. Your area should be a clean, flat, solid work space that is preferably not in a carpeted room, as little pieces can be dropped and lost easily in carpet.

If you use your gun, and it gets dirty, clean it as soon as you can – do not put it off for multiple sessions! Each gun mechanism is made to very specific specifications, and dirt, sand, grit, or gun powder that wedges into the mechanisms will only hurt the safety and performance of your gun!

When it comes to cleaning, always use high quality cleaners! There is a lot out there to choose from – but don’t let that be an excuse to buy cheap. The higher quality cleaners are more expensive for a reason.

Cleaning your gun

• Field strip the gun (after you are sure it is empty)
• clean and scrub the barrel, the slide, and inside of the frame.
• Gently remove any carbon, lead, etc out with a spray, brush, Q-Tip, rag, or some other method of your choice
• Once those areas have been cleaned apply a small amount of oil to any areas of metal to metal contact, such as rails (both slide and frame), the barrel, and barrel bushing if applicable.

• Next, reassemble to function test it. Take an empty magazine,place it in the gun, and pull back the slide to be sure the slide lock works.
• Then, eject the magazine and rack the slide two to three times. Then place a pencil (eraser end leading) into the barrel, and pull the trigger.
• The pencil will shoot up to indicate a proper working firing pin and trigger system.
• Next, rack the slide and verify that the hammer and trigger reset.
• When the above has been finished, you are ready to go!