EDC Maintenance

Was cleaning my carry pistol last night. I use a chamber brush to keep the chamber clean, which is helpful to assure reliable feeding. Since chamber brushes are not common, thought a photo might be of interest and helpful to others.

https://shopwilsoncombat.com/TOOL-CHAMBER-CLEANING-45-ACP/productinfo/803-45/

https://shopwilsoncombat.com/TOOL-CHAMBER-CLEANING-9MM_38-SUPER/productinfo/803%2D9/

This time of year, sweat condenses on metal parts and even in the chamber on the cartridge. If the holster is damp from sweat, so are the metal parts, even on plastic frame pistols like Glocks. At a minimum, spray out the internals with Gun Scrubber and then lubricate.

Nickle plated cartridges are less prone to corrosion, which is why some premium self-defense ammo is in nickle plated cases.

Clean the carry pistol at least every couple of weeks including the barrel, once a week is even better. On days when it ends up drenched in sweat such as after working outdoors, clean it, and change ammo asap. Routinely rotate the carried ammo at least every other month, every month is even better. Primer material can crack and fail to fire with repeated minor impacts riding in carry magazines or loading and unloading.

That is a good reminder to practice some too. Even a little practice occasionally is helpful. Practice with the carry ammo rotated out, as different ammo will feel different and may go to different points of impact.

Bottom line - carry all of the time, every where legally allowed, and treat your carry pistol and ammo like your life depends on it, some day it may.

https://www.ksl.com/article/50441661/chief-3-dead-in-indiana-mall-shooting-witness-kills-gunman

Just carry a Glock

A person with a Glock is what prompted this post.

He had not even racked the slide in months.

The cartridge was corroded into the barrel.

I do not rechamber personal protection ammo. So when I'm maintaining my pistol and magazines, I will drop the once-chambered round in a jar. Those rounds become practice ammo.

Moisture will also form when a cold firearm is taken into a warm room, much like it does on eye and sunglasses when you exit your air-conditioned vehicle on a hot summer day. It's stuff like powder residue that will absorb and hold it against the metal for more lengthy periods that causes the most harm. This especially true for rifles and shotguns that face the quick warmth of a heater inside a box stand or ground blind.

I try to shoot mine at some pigs every once in awhile and blow the dust and debris out of it. I should probably clean it a little more than I do. But when there's quite a few pigs it doesn't have a chance to get too dirty. When I do clean it I usually just knock the dirt out of it and put the tiniest bit of oil on it. I don't really love oil on a carry gun, because it tends to pick up some dirt. Plus I don't need it to work for 500 rounds without cleaning, I just am going to really need it to work for 16 or so at the most I reckon. That's my carry gun philosophy, ymmv

What is the point of this?

I believe the theory is that if you repeatedly chamber a round out of a magazine it will eventually push the bullet back into the case far enough that you'll have a FTF or FTE issue, or worse.

No idea how true that is, but I've heard it.

This is based on two theories, neither of which I have proven. I tend to believe the first, from experience as a reloader, a bit more than the second. Firstly, the manipulation of the ammo into magazines, chambering and repeating could cause the bullet to seat deeper into the casing; thus increasing case pressure. Secondly, the same manipulation "could" cause scratches and abrasions that "might" cause extraction issues once the case expands in the chamber. Finally, I'm going to train with SD ammo anyway. The few rounds from the times I maintain my gun is not going to make for a range trip. Maybe it's just a quirk I have, but I can tell you how many times I have cleaned my pistol since the last range trip because there is one bullet in the jar.

Soldiers cleared their weapons when coming back to secure areas. The cycled out cartridges were kept and put back in the magazines. After this had been going on for some time, they noticed a higher occurrence of misfires. The theory was that the rounds chambered and ejected multiple times were misfiring.

Don't know if it's proven, but I don't rechamber previously chambered rounds. Need practice ammo anyway, so no harm no foul.

Link to explanation: https://soldiersystems.net/2012/02/17/bolo-report-ammunition-cycling-and-failure-to-fire/

Bullet setback could also be an issue.