NEWSLETTER February 1, 2006
SERVICE GUN MAINTENANCE
We see articles all the time about how tough guns are. Service guns especially are built generally tough how ever that does not excuse a good maintenance schedule.
At minimum once a month the gun needs to be field stripped, degreased and re-lubricated. If we shoot our service pistol we need to clean it. This is the tool that we stake our life on and taking care of it is a must. It does not take very long if you follow a few tips that has worked for me over the years.
Items needed:
Mil-Comm Cleaner Degreaser
Mil-Comm Grease
Mil-Comm Oil
Old Tooth Brush
Brake Cleaner
Q-Tips
Bore Snake for the appropriate caliber
Clean cotton cloth or paper towels
Ensure you have no ammunition in the gun or in the room. SAFETY!!!
Field strip the gun, using Mil-Comm Cleaner Degreaser and an old tooth brush scrub the slide thoroughly, ensuring that all grease, oil, and dirt are loosened. Take the can of brake cleaner (go out side) and spray the entire slide until it is totally degreased ( brake cleaner also displaces moisture really well). The brake cleaner will evaporate rapidly and you will have a squeaky clean slide. Perform the same steps on the frame and action. As for the barrel I use the Mil-Comm Cleaner Degreaser to scrub the out side of the barrel, then I use the bore snake, after dropping the little weight thru the barrel I will place my foot on it holding it firmly to the floor, the other end has a loop in it that I put a finger in, grasping the barrel I vigorously run the barrel up and down the bore snake a few times and it comes very clean.
As for lubrication I place a small dab of the Mil-Comm Grease on a clean surface, taking a Q-Tip I smear a slight (by slight I mean just so it is looking wet) coat on all worn surfaces I can get to. Including the slide and frame rails, and barrel where wear is showing. I then use the Mil-Comm Oil to place a small drop on all moving parts I cannot get the grease too.
Before any reassembly be sure to check all screws, springs, levers and any other components that could be broken or worn severely.
DRY FIRING
Let’s talk about dry firing. Can dry firing damage my gun? If you are talking about rim fire guns I would say that you need to purchase a snap cap. As for modern center fire defensive hand guns dry firing MAY after many, many, many dry fires cause a spring or firing pin to break. The benefits of dry firing FAR out weigh a broken spring or firing pin.
Think about what we are getting when we dry fire. The idea of hand guns is to align the front and rear sight, press the trigger straight to the rear with the minimum amount of movement possible. How many experience low right or left shots, high or low center, left or right center? Chances are this is from jerking, pushing, and milking and poor trigger control. When you we have small explosion 18 inches in front of our face it is hard to detect these errors. However if we are dry firing (without that explosion) we are much more likely to pick up the sight moving during the trigger press, then we do a little bit of analyzing and we will find our problem.
We see articles all the time about how tough guns are. Service guns especially are built generally tough how ever that does not excuse a good maintenance schedule.
At minimum once a month the gun needs to be field stripped, degreased and re-lubricated. If we shoot our service pistol we need to clean it. This is the tool that we stake our life on and taking care of it is a must. It does not take very long if you follow a few tips that has worked for me over the years.
Items needed:
Mil-Comm Cleaner Degreaser
Mil-Comm Grease
Mil-Comm Oil
Old Tooth Brush
Brake Cleaner
Q-Tips
Bore Snake for the appropriate caliber
Clean cotton cloth or paper towels
Ensure you have no ammunition in the gun or in the room. SAFETY!!!
Field strip the gun, using Mil-Comm Cleaner Degreaser and an old tooth brush scrub the slide thoroughly, ensuring that all grease, oil, and dirt are loosened. Take the can of brake cleaner (go out side) and spray the entire slide until it is totally degreased ( brake cleaner also displaces moisture really well). The brake cleaner will evaporate rapidly and you will have a squeaky clean slide. Perform the same steps on the frame and action. As for the barrel I use the Mil-Comm Cleaner Degreaser to scrub the out side of the barrel, then I use the bore snake, after dropping the little weight thru the barrel I will place my foot on it holding it firmly to the floor, the other end has a loop in it that I put a finger in, grasping the barrel I vigorously run the barrel up and down the bore snake a few times and it comes very clean.
As for lubrication I place a small dab of the Mil-Comm Grease on a clean surface, taking a Q-Tip I smear a slight (by slight I mean just so it is looking wet) coat on all worn surfaces I can get to. Including the slide and frame rails, and barrel where wear is showing. I then use the Mil-Comm Oil to place a small drop on all moving parts I cannot get the grease too.
Before any reassembly be sure to check all screws, springs, levers and any other components that could be broken or worn severely.
DRY FIRING
Let’s talk about dry firing. Can dry firing damage my gun? If you are talking about rim fire guns I would say that you need to purchase a snap cap. As for modern center fire defensive hand guns dry firing MAY after many, many, many dry fires cause a spring or firing pin to break. The benefits of dry firing FAR out weigh a broken spring or firing pin.
Think about what we are getting when we dry fire. The idea of hand guns is to align the front and rear sight, press the trigger straight to the rear with the minimum amount of movement possible. How many experience low right or left shots, high or low center, left or right center? Chances are this is from jerking, pushing, and milking and poor trigger control. When you we have small explosion 18 inches in front of our face it is hard to detect these errors. However if we are dry firing (without that explosion) we are much more likely to pick up the sight moving during the trigger press, then we do a little bit of analyzing and we will find our problem.
posted by Firearmz at 1:12 AM
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