Being a responsible gun owner means taking care of your firearm. Modern handguns are phenomenal little machines, and it’s important to remember that they are exactly that—machines. Even though current semi-automatic pistols and revolvers are designed to function reliably under the most extreme circumstances, that doesn’t mean they can be neglected.
A machine only works as well as it’s taken care of, and if you want your handgun to fire consistently and accurately without jamming, you need to service it regularly. Not only will you learn more about your gun and how it works, but the gun will be safer to use and will last longer.
Use this guide to help you clean your handgun or revolver and keep it in fine working condition.
How Often Should You Clean Your Handgun?
Some people treat their guns like prized sports cars, cleaning and polishing them after every use, but that’s not really necessary. Most handguns will continue to fire safely and reliably trip after trip to the range without regular cleanings in between. It’s all about finding a balance that works best for you, and the question of how often you should clean your handgun really depends on exactly how you use it.
If you use your handgun mostly for recreational trips to the range, it should be cleaned and lubricated before being stored again. If you shoot it quite often, it should just be cleaned on a regular schedule, and not necessarily after every trip to the range. Sometimes just a quick wipe down and barrel swab is enough.
If you own a handgun for self-defense, keeping it clean and in good working condition is of vital importance. The last thing you need from a self-defense handgun is for it to malfunction during a high-stress situation. Defensive handguns should be checked and cleaned constantly to ensure the highest functionality. Eventually, it will just become a habit.
What Cleaning Equipment Will You Need?
For those new to owning a handgun or cleaning a gun, sometimes just buying a gun cleaning kit is the best way to go. These kits include all the basic tools you need to clean your handgun and are a great way to start building your cleaning supplies. The following list breaks down the equipment you’ll need to keep your handgun firing flawlessly.
- Cleaning Mat: When getting set up to clean your handgun, you’ll want a cleaning mat. Cleaning mats keep all your parts organized in one place and help prevent messy oils and solvents from getting on your furniture. You can also use a large trash bag, which can make cleanup pretty easy, and you’ll want to have some paper towels handy as well.
- Gun Cleaners: Gun cleaning solutions are specifically made for cleaning firearms, and you should always stick to using them over other household cleaners. They are designed to withstand the volatile environment inside the gun, including tremendous heat and high pressures. There are four major types of gun cleaning solutions:
-
- Solvent: Solvents are designed to remove built up carbon, lead or other grime from inside the handgun’s barrel. We recommend using Hoppe’s No. 9.
-
- Degreaser: Degreasers clear away any remaining dirt and old oil, which now probably has dirt sticking to it. You’ll want to use the degreaser on all the moving parts of your handgun, especially the action and trigger mechanism. Something like Gunslick’s Gun Flush will prepare your gun for a fresh application of gun oil.
-
- Lubricant or Gun Oil: Commonly referred to as gun oil, lubricants are applied to all parts of the handgun to ensure everything moves and functions properly. It also helps protect your handgun from rust. Gunslick’s Gun Seal Foam Cleaner is a great cleaning lubricant.
-
- Protectant: Protectants aren’t completely necessary, but if you know your handgun is going to be subjected to harsh environments like heavy rain or mud, you might want to consider investing in a good protectant to help propel water from your gun, which can foul it up and cause rust.
- Cleaning Rod: Gun cleaning rods are used in conjunction with brushes and patch holders to clean and swab the inside of your gun’s barrel as well as other parts. The rods essentially hold the various attachments for cleaning. Since the rod goes inside your barrel, you want to be careful of the material it’s made from. Choose something softer than your gun’s barrel, such as a carbon fiber cleaning rod.
- Bore Brush or Cleaning Brush: Bore brushes are designed for cleaning the inside of your barrel without damaging it. Most bore brushes or cleaning brushes are made from bronze or nylon, which is softer than the steel of your barrel so it won’t get scratched. Nylon brushes are softer and work well for light cleaning, while bronze brushes can handle harder scrubbing and work better for thorough bore cleaning.
- Patch Holder (Jags and Loops): Patch holders, also called jags or loops, hold the patches that you use to swab your barrel and apply various cleaning solutions and lubricants. Jags have points that you stab through patches, while loops resemble more of a sewing needle in that you slip the patch through the loop to secure it. Jags and loops attach to the end of your cleaning rod so you can get them down the barrel.
- Patches: Patches are little squares of cotton that you can purchase in bulk, and are used for scrubbing your gun’s components and applying various cleaning solutions.
- Gun Toothbrush: The other type of brush you want for cleaning your handgun is a gun toothbrush. They are called this because they resemble a toothbrush—in fact, you can simply use a toothbrush instead of purchasing gun-specific ones. However, we recommend checking out Otis’ affordable 9-pack of assorted utility toothbrushes, which comes with 3 nylon, 3 stainless steel and 3 bronze gun toothbrushes, so you will have a brush for any cleaning need.
- Cleaning Rags: A few clean rags are always good to have on hand, but paper towels work just as well. We like to also have microfiber cloths nearby, which work really well for scrubbing off old oil and dust.
- Small Bore Light or Flashlight: A bore light or small flashlight comes in handy when cleaning the barrel of your handgun. Use it to peer down your barrel and look for any buildup or obstructions that need to be cleared away.
- Picks and Cotton Swabs: Picks and swabs are for those hard-to-reach places. Use them to dig into all the nooks and crannies with a bit of cleaning solution and lubrication. Q-tips also work really well for this, but they can sometimes leave cotton fibers behind that some gun owners don’t like.
- Safety Glasses: Wear some safety glasses when cleaning your handgun. The last thing you need is solvent splashing up into your eyes.
- Dust Mask: Like the safety glasses, the dust mask will help keep unwanted dust, grime or cleaning solutions from getting into your mouth or nose.
- Protective Gloves: You don’t necessarily need to wear gloves, but as cleaning a handgun gets rather messy, you may want to use gloves so that you can focus on the job at hand, rather than how dirty your hands get and having to spend time cleaning them between steps.
And while these are not absolutely necessary for every cleaning, other cleaners we recommend are as follows:
- Flitz: Flitz Metal Polish comes in handy if your gun starts to develop any signs of rust. It’s non-abrasive to your gun, and all you need to do is put a little bit of one on your brushes or fine steel wool.
- Gun Scrubber: A gun scrubber, like Liquid Wrench, works really well for de-gunking your gun if you don’t have enough time to devote a lot of scrubbing attention to it. It also works well for lighter cleanings.
- Cleaner Lubricant Preservative (CLP): A bottle of Cleaner Lubricant Preservative is a bit pricey, but it lasts a long while, and it’s one of the best protective lubricants out there.
How to Clean A Handgun, Step-By-Step
Before you attempt to clean and service your handgun, you should read your handgun’s manual. It’s imperative that you understand exactly how your gun works as well as how to disassemble it. Make sure to keep the manual nearby for easy reference.
After you’ve addressed the manual and assembled all your cleaning supplies, you need to perform all the safety checks.
Many accidental discharges happen when someone is cleaning a firearm!
Begin by keeping the gun pointed away from you and anyone else in the room. Check your gun’s safety and make sure it’s engaged. If it’s not, switch the gun’s safety on so the trigger cannot be accidentally pulled in case there is a round in the chamber. Now, remove the magazine, if applicable, and open the chamber to check and remove any cartridge or obstructions. Once you’re positive your handgun is unloaded and safe, you can begin disassembling and cleaning it.
Steps to Cleaning Your Handgun:
- Step 1: Field strip your handgun down to its major components. There is no need to completely disassemble it—field stripping is simply the act of breaking the gun down enough to clean all the parts. Be sure to refer to you gun’s manual for its specific field stripping process.
- Step 2: Clean the barrel’s bore by attaching a bore brush to the end of your cleaning rod and applying a bit of solvent. Scrub the inside of the barrel to remove any built-up grime and carbon. A good way to do this is to pour the solvent over the brush. Have a container underneath to catch the excess solvent, which can be used later with patches and swabs for further cleaning.
- Step 3: Swap out your bore brush for a patch holder and run a clean patch through the barrel. Do this until the patch comes out relatively clean—you’ll need to swap out dirty patches for fresh patches during this process, and you may even use a bit more solvent on your patches. Use your bore light or a small flashlight to check the inside of the barrel for any fouling you’ve missed, and repeat step 2 as needed. Lastly, apply a bit of gun oil or lubricant to a patch and run that through the barrel to lubricate the inside of the bore and protect it from rust. If cleaning a revolver, steps 2 and 3 should be used for each chamber in the cylinder.
- Step 4: Using your gun toothbrush, clean the rest of your handgun’s components with a little solvent. You don’t need too much, as a little goes a long way. Scrub all the tough-to-reach places, and make sure you get all the dust and carbon buildup. Afterwards, wipe everything down with a rag or cloth.
- Step 5: Clean and check your magazine. This step is really only for semi-automatic pistols, as revolvers have cylinders. Disassemble your magazine and wipe it down with a clean, dry rag. Do not put any oil on it, as that can affect how well it works.
- Step 6: Lubricate the rest of your handgun’s components. You should focus primarily on the parts of your handgun that rub against one another, such as the action or the slide on top of a semi-automatic pistol. Be spare with your lubrication, as too much oil can attract more dirt and grime.
- Step 7: Reassemble the pistol and give it a good wipe down. Now is also the time to apply any protectant you want in order to preserve the gun’s life and integrity. Be sure to check the action a few times. Pull the trigger and make sure it’s working properly.
Before stashing your handgun away, make sure you re-engage the safety. Give it one more final look-over, and see if there are any places you missed during the cleaning process. Maybe even give it another wipe-down with a clean rag. Your gun should now be as clean as the day you bought it.
Tips to Remember When Cleaning Your Handgun
The more you clean your handgun, the better you’ll get at it, and you’ll figure out what works best for you and your firearm. While you practice cleaning, here are a few more important tips to keep in mind.
- Don’t use too much lubricant or gun oil. A little goes a long way, and too much oil can cause your gun to gunk up faster, as oil attracts and collects dust and carbon.
- Just like with the lubricant, you don’t need to drench your gun in solvent. It’s the scrubbing with the brushes and patches that really gets the dirt and grime off.
- Every handgun has different lubrication points, so be sure you have located all of those in the manual and treated them with a drop or two of oil.
- Someone short on time can utilize an ultrasonic cleaning kit, which essentially cleans and lubricates the gun for you. However, these machines can never do the justice of a little elbow grease and attention to detail.
Contact Hinterland Outfitters for All Your Handgun Cleaning Needs
Whether you have a semi-automatic Glock or a Smith & Wesson snub-nosed revolver, Hinterland Outfitters has all the cleaning equipment you need to ensure your handgun continues to fire safely, reliably and accurately time after time. We hope this handgun cleaning guide has helped you, and if you have any more questions about handgun cleaning or pistol cleaning supplies, contact us. Our friendly and knowledgeable customer service team is standing by to help you find all the cleaning tools you need.