Gun Cleaning & Maintenance for an EDC Handgun
EDC handguns often don't see much range time or cleaning. Despite limited range time, EDC handguns can get dirty even when not fired.
For some people, gun cleaning is practically a religion. After every range session, they perform a complete disassembly of the gun – meticulously cleaning and lubing every part. For some people, gun cleaning is an annoyance. They shoot their firearm until it starts malfunctioning, signaling the time to blast some brake cleaner and wipe the gun a little with a rag.
What about the gun that doesn’t get much time at the range? What about the gun that spends all of its time out and about, ready to be used, gathering sweat and grime, but not getting test fired or its regular cleaning ritual?
Regular cleaning of an EDC handgun is important
Even when a handgun isn’t fired, it can still get quite dirty, especially during the summer. Sweat, dust, dirt, and other grime can work its way into the handgun. While minor grime is statistically unlikely to cause a malfunction, we don’t carry a gun because of the statistical likelihood of needing it.
An un-fired, un-maintained gun can still get dirty and encounter issues.
Handguns for CCW need regular range trips for function checks as well as regular cleaning to get rid of buildup.
EDC cleaning regimine
- Perform regular inspections and function checks.
- Perform regular quick clean wipe downs, even if you don’t take it to the range.
- Every few thousand rounds or so, perform a more thorough cleaning of the handgun.
When performing a detailed cleaning of a handgun, be sure to properly disassemble the handgun, clean, re-lubricate, and properly re-assemble. Improper cleaning of any firearm can actually damage the firearm and induce reliability issues.
How often do you clean your EDC handgun?
Written by Brian Purkiss - always a student, sometimes a teacher.
I don't consider myself a competition shooter - I think of myself as a performance pistol shooter. I am all about performing at as high of a level as possible. Towards that end, I am obsessive about learning how to perform. I spend a lot of my life learning from the best across the entire firearms world and even into other areas of performance and other sports. I am a USPSA Carry Optics Grandmaster, currently working towards my second GM title in the Open division.
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