Do you appreciate the ritual of cleaning your handgun?
I find it is a ritual of sorts. Consider:
The holy incense ( Hoppes)
The old “kit” is gotten out of storage
An altar is prepared—perhaps old newspapers protecting the kitchen table top or a pad on the garage workbench
Silence
Appreciation for the handgun you’ve chosen to protect your family, sacred in the sense that it is preserved for it’s mission of defense and readiness (training) as you behold it.
Thoroughness—methodically cleaning every niche.
Time. This does take time and I fear most shooters these days don’t take the time, missing the ecstatic satisfaction of caring for the handgun you rely on.
Now that you mentioned it. I check it make safe. Then spread a towel on the table. Get the stuff, solvent oil, brushes, pads, picks… Spread them all out in a orderly fashion. Disassemble the firearm placing the parts in neat straight rows. Start at the top of the row and clean each piece ending with the frame. Place small drops of oil on the moving parts, rub it around for a lite coat. Then go in reverse put it all back together and pick up my mess. Kind of a ritual.
It’s the same love/hate relationship as I have with my car.
Sometimes I like to show off my collection to new family members that have been indoctrinated into the fine art of the 2A.
I don’t want to rack a slide or remove my bolt carrier group to explain the inner workings and have someone ask, “hey, what’s all that black gunk in there?”
I consider Gun cleaning a ritual!
Cleaning your gear is the best way to get to know your equipment. Where is it wearing? Where is the carbon building up the most? How are your parts looking? And use this time as a Zen moment, just focus on what you are doing and enjoy.
When I get to go shooting, which is rarelythe last few years, I bring a few things to shoot. That means i’d spend a lot more time cleaning than shooting, even though not many rounds went through each. Taking them apart to clean introduces risk that i’m not willing to introduce…so they get cleaned on very ong time intervals, but few “rounds” intervals.
If I can ever retire, I plan to ride motorcycles and shoot a lot more, and be in SharePoint, PowerPoint, and Outlook a lot less!
Been retired since Nov.1996. I have been riding since May, 1964. Been shooting about 30 years now. I clean my guns when they really need it, not to just pass the time of day.
Remember, just like the car’s brakes often still have asbestos or other toxic heavy metals, our weapons shed lead when we clean them. Perhaps the kitchen table isn’t the best Altar to worship at? (And, oy! do I like that poster graphic just above!)
