EDC is a .40 S&W Shield. Had the gun 5 years or so. Probably a few thousand rounds slung down range. Zero misfires or any kind of stoppage. Until lately, I experienced a few misfires at the range the last few times I went. As this is the pistol I carry everyday I was a little pi**ed about it. I’m pretty good about cleaning after every session at the range. I’d field strip everything. Bore solvent, light oil, Q-tips, brass brushes the whole 9 yards. Figured I better pull the firing pin and give it the once over to see if that solves the problem, so I did. Not hard at all but maybe a little much for new shooters. I’ll admit there was quite a bit of gunk. Took the gun to the range this AM and… Problem solved. My question is, how often do you clean your gun? Not just field stripping. I’m talking full on tear down. Firing pin out, extractor removed, trigger assembly out, all of it. Has anyone else had light strikes on a primer due to firing pin gunk in a pistol? If so was it a Shield? I have M-9’s at work with literaly 10’s of thousands of rounds shot through them with the pins never having been removed.
I do it once a year.
I’ve thought about this myself. My EDC is only four months old, but I’ve put about 2,000 rounds through it. From what other HK owners have said, and what HK recommends, is to do nothing until about 10,000 rounds are through it, unless there’s an issue. I’ve heard of people putting even more through theirs and doing nothing more than basic cleaning.
When I clean it, I get in those nooks and crannies as much as I can. I’m still curious to see what it looks like in there, but have fought the urge to completely break it down. If I did, I’d have to replace the firing pin sleeve anyway, as most people with the HK end up gouging it when disassembling.
For this reason, I’ve contemplated buying a smaller ultrasonic cleaner. Figure maybe every six months I could run it through that to get a deeper cleaning.
Been thinking about an ultrasonic myself.
Have you looked at any particular models? I saw a Youtube video where a guy cleaned his gun using one from Harbor Freight. I couldn’t believe what the fluid looked like afterwards.
I’d probably go with a better model with more features, but nothing too crazy.
I haven’t. I do have a buddy who had a jewelry store before he retired. I’m gonna ask him what he recommends next time I talk to him. His 'smith had large ultrasonic tanks in his area of the shop. Very industrial looking stuff, all stainless.