Should you clean a new gun before shooting?
Posted by OpusObscurus@reddit | Firearms | View on Reddit | 53 comments
New gun owner here. I'm wondering if newly-purchased firearms should be cleaned and oiled before taking to the range, or if it's fine/safe to fire them as is and then clean + oil afterward.
If indeed it should be serviced out of the box before using, to what extent should it be disassembled, cleaned and oiled? I have a pump action shotgun, a revolver and a glock in case that makes a difference.
Is there a higher likelihood of malfunction or other issues if you don't clean it out of the box?
Thanks.
906Dude@reddit
I field strip and apply lube, and inspect for and wipe away any gunk. I also make sure the barrel is clear.
bfwead@reddit
I am in the “know your tools” category on this. Full Cleaning, probably not necessary - but you’ll soon know if it is needed when field stripping your new tool to understand its operation. May be important in the field/at the range if a malfunction occurs.
906Dude@reddit
That's a really good point. It's simple enough to field strip and check.
DeafHeretic@reddit
It depends.
Very few of the guns I have bought have been new out of the box, and almost all of them were fine, new or not, but some had issues. E.G., I got a Marlin XT22 that had a light strike issue; I took the bolt out and found it was heavily greased with stiff thick grease - probably to preclude rust in storage. Cleaned that grease out with alcohol/etc. and oiled it instead and the light strike issue went away.
On most guns I buy, I do field strip them enough to get a sense of how clean they are and if there might be issues like this.
MArkansas-254@reddit
Likely, it's not necessary for factory new units, but I always Take new ones apart, giuve them a once over and learn how they go together, then lube them up before I run them. Antiques and milsurp are a different story. May well be full of grease, so its definitely a must do for me.
Drew1231@reddit
Add oil if it’s dry.
Either way, a new gun will be very dirty after shooting because it will shed some of its finish and material during early break in.
WestSide75@reddit
I would suggest doing whatever your gun’s user manual specifies. Personally, I don’t do anything other than lube the rails before shooting unless the gun has tight tolerances like a 1911.
Rdmtbiker@reddit
What does the manual say
RecklessHorse@reddit
I run my guns pretty wet so I always do
sumguyontheinternet1@reddit
I recently picked up a used M&P9 2.0 from Sportsman’s and it was so oily I had to clean it because the grip was soaked. Never in my life have a seen so much oil applied to a gun.
misfitofscience76@reddit
SKS enters the chat
sumguyontheinternet1@reddit
I went to the range and shot a few hundred rounds. When I came home to clean it, it was to remove more oil that had been forced out. I’m about to chuck the thing in a bag of rice for a week.
tbarrett__1976@reddit
Absolutely clean and lube! Do not shoot before doing it. A new gun is packed with a thick anti-corrosion oil not meant for pistol lubrication. It's literally just meant to keep it from rusting. Don't shoot it with that stuff on it.
moebiusgrip@reddit
They are shipped with a rust inhibiting grease/oil. But that stuff isn’t meant to lubricate.
I mean it will run, but it will also wear. Especially since the parts aren’t broken in yet.
My MP 9mm has major wear marks on the top of the barrel where it fills in the ejection cut out, from the slide, because I didn’t clean and lube when I got it. It was basically metal on metal. And the finish rubbed off a brand new gun. That may have happened anyway, as it’s obviously a friction point, but it may have been far less.
We’ll never know.
Maximum_Dweeb4473@reddit
The Glock grease is meant to be left on to aid the break in process
smokeyser@reddit
Only the copper colored grease on the slide is meant to be left in place. The rest should be wiped down and oiled before first use.
moebiusgrip@reddit
Yea I guess it differs from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Artistic_Aioli6843@reddit
always,always,always clean and lube a new gun. believe me if I purchase my gun at my LGS WITH a range I immediately want to jump into the range, but have learned to take a few minutes to learn to field strip, quick wipe down, quick lube in the correct places, then go to the booths. Then go home and do a proper cleaning and lube. a lot of new guns do have a very very small amount of oil, but it’s only to stop rust during transport, and sometimes the oil can gunk up and get tacky. at minimum a wipe down and lube
Special-Steel@reddit
This is the way. 80% of cases when a new gun is faulty, the problem is not the gun. It’s gunk.
Artistic_Aioli6843@reddit
Especially the 1911's and all steel guns!
brockhottie@reddit
this guy lubes
Artistic_Aioli6843@reddit
misfitofscience76@reddit
That’s the ideal plan, especially if the gun model is new to you
With most modern new firearms, you’ll be just fine taking it right to the range the first day. Then clean it afterwards
rando_mness@reddit
I agree with this based on experience with many different brands, except Daniel Defense. My DDM4 PDW came with an extremely thick, sticky grease on all of the internals down to the smallest components in the BCG. It was quite a pain removing it all and replacing with actual lube.
mjm1374@reddit
1st thing after reading the manual, get it cleaned and prepped, many guns have packing grease and may still have minor manufacturing flaws (shavings, metal dust), just clean it, also gets you familiar with the tool
misfitofscience76@reddit
You read the manual?!
mjm1374@reddit
I know, more of a term really
kennetic@reddit
Any modern firearm should not require cleaning or lubrication before use. Doing so doesn't hurt anything, but necessary? No.
wishesgrantd@reddit
I bought a new Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport III AR-15 and took it to the range without cleaning and lubing it first. I had so many malfunctions with it at the range I wasn’t even able to finish a whole magazine. I also wasn’t super familiar with it beforehand and had to get the help of the RSO to mortar it like three times. Scared the shit out of me when the safety switch was stuck and I couldn’t turn it to safe.
Ever since then I strip, clean, and lube everything before shooting.
deckeli@reddit
it's always good to clean and oil your firearm before first use because IMO you should know how to take apart and reassemble any firearm you'll use
Successful_Link4541@reddit
Owner Manual said!?
I say read it!
Sliced_Orange1@reddit
RTFM moment lol
Zippo963087@reddit
Most newer guns are technically good to go out of the box. But it's never a bad idea to field strip and do a quick clean even if it's just to get used to the gun.
Life_of1103@reddit
How many places you plan to post the same question?
https://www.reddit.com/r/gun/s/mWapclOLUx
TheDonkeyBomber@reddit
Ah, you've discovered cross posting! Fairly common practice for getting a larger variety of responses from differing groups of redditors.
RacerXrated@reddit
You should probably lubricate at least. If it's old/surplus and full of cosmoline, you need to clean that out.
Purple-Slip-6958@reddit
Yes
Low-Landscape-4609@reddit
Not really. Guns are oiled from the factory. Sometimes I'll take them apart just inspect them but no, I usually don't clean them before shooting them.
Regarding Glocksls you can technically run them dry. They have so little connecting points that they will fire all day without oil. .
MEMExplorer@reddit
I always clean and lube new guns before shooting , just field strip it and run some CLP through it than a couple drops of oil
UsernameO123456789@reddit
I used to fully clean my new guns before running them… recently I’ll just drop some oil at necessary points and run it for a range session oiling as needed. I’ll do a full clean after that
davper@reddit
In the military, you are taught to be able to field strip and service the weapon prior to learning to fire. So I follow this same method today.
I disassemble, clean, lubricate, and reassemble many times until I can do it with confidence before I fire the weapon.
JeanPascalCS@reddit
I'm personally going to buck the trend and say - no.
Take it out and try it out of the box and see how it works. Then take it home and clean it.
I've read far too many posts where a new gun owner is like "I bought this gun and took it home and completely tore it apart, cleaned it, polished the feed ramps, and it doesn't seem to be working right. I think I got a lemon!".
Eliminate your own errors from the potential for failure when first trying it, then if it starts acting up after you clean/disassemble then you know you goofed some part of that.
DumbNTough@reddit
It's often OK not to but you may as well do it. If only to make sure there's no leftover crap from manufacturing that could cause problems, like metal shavings, test fire debris, whatever.
Maximum_Dweeb4473@reddit
Don’t clean any factory greases off (usually white, or glittery copper colored) unless the manual explicitly says to. These often are there to assist in the break in process.
Do make sure to put a little bit of oil or CLP on the most basic obvious lubrication points.
Cryptic1911@reddit
I never do unless it's got some kind of cosmoline grease in it. I've never gotten a completely dry gun before, so hasn't been an issue. If it's new, it shouldn't be dirty since it's gone through a degreasing before coating and generally only had like 10 rounds fired through it, so there really should be no crud or manufacturing debris in it.
Tfrom675@reddit
At least oil it.
gunsforevery1@reddit
Yes. It should be disassembled to inspect if anything is wrong.
Can they be fired and used right out of the box? Absolutely.
Drunk_Catfish@reddit
You should lube them for sure, cleaning probably isn't necessary though I think some people use cleaning the same as oiling.
No-Mechanic3931@reddit
Always- it’s something I was taught 30 years ago. Just like packing a parachute. If it’s new to you, check it and clean it yourself before you fire it.
BluesFan43@reddit
At least field strip.
P365, PDP, etc get slide off. Fussy bit at least looked at, slides, barrels, lugs lubed.
1911 style comes down to their component parts, gone over with stones and sandpapers.
Ruthless4u@reddit
New gun probably should, just to make sure to clean out any extra gunk from the factory.
Buying a used gun, definitely. Even though you should inspect a used gun before signing the FFL paperwork it will help you see if there are any problems you may have missed and to make sure it’s clean enough to shoot. Some guns are more picky, no guarantee the seller cleaned it properly before shipping to you.
Can be especially true with tight fitting firearms.
No-Performance37@reddit
It takes like 10 mins, so yah. Lubricate it at minimum.
e7ang@reddit
You should, I never have.