How Many Rounds Can I Shoot Before Cleaning?

It gets pretty annoying when you perfectly aim your shot and it still misses. While failing to clean your gun regularly can be the cause of some of these inaccuracies, cleaning your gun too much can also damage the components on your gun. This makes you wonder, how many rounds can I shoot before cleaning?

How Many Rounds Can I Shoot Before Cleaning?

Most guns can last 200 to 300 rounds before it starts showing aim inaccuracies. If you feel like your shots are missing even though you aimed properly, it might be time to clean your gun.

Some guns can even go 500 to 750 rounds without the need to clean. As long as there are no accuracy problems with your gun, then it’s better to not clean it. You might damage some small components in your gun and cause it to malfunction.

Some guns also function well when you clean them regularly. However, I wouldn’t recommend using that type of gun all the time because it will add cost to your gun cleaning maintenance. You would need things such as gun cleaning patches or bore snakes to keep them clean even when you are at a shooting range.

Why Shouldn’t I Clean My Gun Regularly?

As mentioned before, you might damage the components of your gun. Unless you are already familiar with cleaning your gun, you shouldn’t regularly clean it. There is hardly any point in cleaning your gun after every visit to the gun range. If you own a gun that needs cleaning after every firing, you might consider buying a new one.

You can lubricate your gun. Lubricating your gun helps protect it from rust and fouling. However, if you are only collecting guns and not using it then you can clean it regularly to keep it in mint condition.

Regular gun cleaning also comes at a cost. However, the extra money you spend doesn’t really affect the performance and longevity of your gun. As long as the gun is working in good accuracy then there’s no need for you to clean it.

How Do I Keep Track of How Many Rounds I Used?

It depends on how many times you use your guns every week or month. For instance, a regular gun owner spends on average 50 rounds every time they go to the gun range. Therefore, it would take 6 visits to the gun range to reach 300 rounds where it can start showing some inaccuracies.

Take note of when and how many rounds you use. Are you the type to frequent at gun ranges? Then you would most likely need more cleaning compared to people who don’t. It may be a hassle to count every round you shoot so you are better off estimating how many rounds you use.

There really isn’t an exact number of rounds that tells you the gun will show some inaccuracies, only averages. Make sure you also keep an eye on how effective and accurate your aims are and whether missed targets are caused by your gun. This will be an indication for you to clean your gun.

How Soon After Shooting Should You Clean Your Gun?

Most gun owners will advise you to clean your gun barrels after each time you fire. You can use a bore snake or gun cleaning patches to quickly clean your gun, especially if you are not at home and have your gun cleaning kit.

If your gun is prone to rust, it’s better to always clean it within a week after shooting. It doesn’t have to be necessarily right after you shoot but it should be within that time frame.

There are certain factors that you need to take to consider how soon after shooting you should clean your gun. These are:

• Type of gun
• How old the gun is
• The type of ammo the gun uses

How Many Rounds Can a Glock Shoot Without Cleaning?

A Glock can shoot well even when it shoots 10,000 rounds without cleaning. Glocks are quality handguns so it’s not a surprise that it can go for long without cleaning. However, just because it can go that much without cleaning doesn’t mean you should.

If you want to prevent it from malfunctioning and develop fouling, you should always clean your guns every now and then. A better set-up would be to make a regular routine and schedule for cleaning your guns.

The best way is to clean it after every use. That ensures that there won’t be any particles and residues left sitting inside your gun. It doesn’t have to be a thorough cleaning, only deep enough to remove dirt and particles to prevent damage to your guns.

Conclusion

There really is an exact amount of rounds that can determine if your gun needs cleaning. It all depends on whether the accuracy of your gun is decreasing.

Cleaning your gun on a daily basis or almost frequently doesn’t give you that much benefit and will only add up to your spending. Hopefully, this article taught you when you should clean your guns.