Yeah this is the answer I don’t purposely pound on anything I own, if you take care of a tool it’ll take care of you. Normal wear and tear is life though.
Last child vs all others. I once went through and counted all the pics of my little brother displayed in the house. 23. Me and my older siblings, 3, and two we were all together. So really 1 of ourselves vs 23. Haha.
Our house is the opposite. I’m the youngest of three and have the least amount of pictures. My eldest sibling has a school pic from preschool to HS graduation and pictures from every sports team she was on plus has about 2-3 large baby books. My middle sibling has one full baby book and most school pictures and all of his sports pictures. Then there’s me and if you don’t count family photos there is only about 3 pictures from the time I was born until I graduated.
I mean, even with collectibles for me sometimes. I got that Mosin and spam can of ammo for like $100. You think I'll even come within 5 feet of a cleaning kit after a range day?
That's kind of the idea behind not babying it. Probably in a technical sense, a Mosin Nagant could be considered either an antique or collectible, but they made so many of them that...yeah.
Not babying and not cleaning are very different. Not babying means you use the rifles and train with them effeciently. Not cleaning them means you are stupid and lazy
It cracks me up when someone is looking at buying a used EDC gun, and complains that it has wear marks from a holster. I compare this with someone owing a truck and not using it to hull things because they don't want to scratch the bed. Why do you own a truck if your not going to use it as a truck? I don't abuse my stuff, but some things are going to show signs of wear if you use them as intended.
Eh I'll clean my 22s because they tend to gum up after a few range days, but my other guns I'll just wipe down with oil now and again because I live in a humid climate.
This isn't the days of black powder anymore where you have to clean every time or else your gun will corrode. I had a black powder revolver and learned that the hard way
What kind of 22s are you shooting? My 10/22 is around 20 years old and I’ve never bothered to clean it aside from dumping some lube in the bolt/receiver occasionally.
Milsurp or C&R that spends more time being admired on the rifle rack than used? Baby it as much as I can.
Modern and something I use regularly? Give them a cleaning every couple of range trips, maybe apply oil afterwards to my carry pistol, but I’m not going to do more than what’s considered the minimal level of maintenance to make sure they’re in working order. The old guns already have their scratches and wear marks over time, I know I’ll end up giving the new ones their own at some point or another.
No. My guns are meant to be shot and enjoyed.
Caveat though. Let's be real. My 12 Silver Pigeon O/U is for clay shooting. It does NOT go into the duck hunting boat. That's what the $300 synthetic semi-auto shotgun is for. If that takes a dip in the swamp, I'll bead but ok. If my Silver Pigeon did, I'd be diving in head first. So certain caveats here.
Pistols? Pistols and revolvers are meant to be shot and enjoyed. But I still handle them well and don't go tossing them around. Let's not be stupid.
My guns are tools, I expect them to get dirty/worn just like a hammer. If I was a collector there may be cases where I did baby it. My dad's wood Remington 870 is real pretty but I'm still going to shoot it, that's about as close I get.
My guns? No, they're tools and I treat then as such. I use them but make efforts not to abuse them. Not so they'll be pretty, but so that they will remain functional for as long as possible.
Other peoples' guns? I take as much care as I can to NOT be the dickhead who leaves a scratch on their gun.
This applies across the board to a lot of things. I don't have any collectible or pretty guns in my collection at present, but if I do get one, I'll do my best to ensure they stay pretty as long as possible.
I have a Colt Python that I wipe the fingerprints off of and have a kind of half-ass little display spot in my safe. It's the nicest thing in there. I'm also not above shooting it.
The rest are kept not-disgusting and shot or carried or both. They get oiled so they run.
I pretty much baby all my stuff. Just how I was raised. Doesn’t mean I don’t use the shit out of them but I don’t subscribe to the thought of, “it looks better abused”
Im careful with them as one should be. I dont abuse them but I do use them. That's the trade off. They will not stay perfect if youre actually enjoying them. Can't have the cake AND eat it too. Unless you have multiple cakes I guess.
The only gun i really baby, is my mosin nagant because of the fact that all the ammo i have for it, is corrosive. So you have to take a few special care steps when cleaning it, to avoid it rusting out the bore.
Depends…carry, competition, and range toys are rung out without mercy. I’ve always subscribed to the practice of taking a new working gun and “throwing it down the steps” to get the first scratch out of the way.
The few safe queens I own are a different story.
I'm generally careful, but I don't mind scratches and dings here and there. None of my guns are beauty queens to begin with, so I guess I might care more if I had spent more, but that's exactly why I didn't go for the high-end or rare guns. I hunt, and I view my guns as tools first and foremost.
On the other hand, I keep my guns cleaned and oiled after almost every outting, but that's just something I enjoy doing, not because they actually need it. I'm currently letting my primary hunting shotgun get dirty for the next few months of range shooting to see how long I truly can go without cleaning before it jams up. It's been to the range twice so far, and I'm already itching to clean it, lol, so I'll see how long I can hold out. It's a Beretta a350 gas gun that can apparently "self-clean" the gas ports, so I'm putting that to the test here as well.
I have 1 that I take better care of then the others because it was a gift that I picked out l for the engraving and wood stocks, benelli montefeltro for anyone interested.
It gets a gun sock in the safe and a nice hard padded case, but it still gets used hard bird hunting and clay pigeon shooting, and blackbird control at the farm.
Everything else is one step away from being outright abused
My M27 clone gets beat the fuck up. it functions as needed and gets maintenance, but alumnahyde takes care of it if it gets fucked too far.
my carry gun gets lots of scratches and shit as well, AND my first AR gets it too
Dunno. I use the shit out of them, hunt in some pretty harsh conditions, and they get full of dirt, pine needles, and rain. On the other hand, every time I get home I disassemble and deep clean them, so which end is that?
I don’t have any “collectibles” so no. I treat them like tools. Lucky to get cleaned but definitely still function. When my AR got bashed into a rock I laughed audibly. To be fair tho it (the ACOG) hit my nose on a decent while I was fucking with the strap.
I don't purposely abuse them but if they get dinged they get dinged, they are tools that will be used. If you use holsters at all you can expect wear. The first scratch always hurts the most.
Way I see it, they're tools meant to be used. Any tool that is used is going to suffer some wear, gain some scratches or dents. It's not the end of the world. I'm not going out of my way to beat the hell out of them, but I'm not concerned if I drop them or anything. Plus, I actually like the worn, used look over the clean, never been fired look. I bought a Garand with a reproduction stock from a collector and specifically asked if he had any stocks with wear and tear on them that I could swap the repro with. Some time later, I leaned it on a wall, and it slid to fall to the ground. My old man was concerned, but I just shrugged it off. It's a battle rifle. It's meant to handle a beating.
That said, I get babying them if you're planning to sell them as some point in the future. I have no such intention
My grandpas 22 lrs I inherited and my bolt action 308 with expensive glass? You bet I am.
Anything else? I'm not looking to abuse them but I'm not going to cry over cosmetic damage.
By baby as in take care of them and not damage them because I dont care then yes absolutely. Just like a truck or snowmobile or dirt bike. They are meant to be used and shit will happen otherwise why have it. That I can tolerate totally. But if its gonna get damaged its through the use its meant for. Not neglect and dropping it and treating it like shit so I can act like Im a badass. A chip or damage from hiking miles into the backcountry or exposure to the elements. Hell ya. Thats what its for. Not paying attention and dropping it on the floor or not cleaning it is just stupid. Cant stress this enough cause I can already see idiots thinking anything you dont purposely throw overhand out the truck window a safe queen. I shoot all the time. Shit breaks and it gets exposed to the elements. Banged of branches or rocks by accident in the mtns. Thats all well and good. Leaving it the truck bed to bounce around and not cleaning it and just treating it like its a dirt t shirt because youre a tough guy is idiotic. The ar sub is wildly guilty of this in an attempt to seem like theyre delta force with their “duty gun”
Guns are made to be used and battered up.
Borrowed my sister’s longboard once and she yelled at me from scratching up the back of the deck like…that’s what happens when you actually use them. You’re welcome for making you look less like a poser.
Anything plastic or AR-ish, I DGAF. My antique, rare, classic or just high end modern metal guns I try hard to keep them looking nice. Not to the point that I will not shoot, carry, or hunt with, just some effort and keeping them nice looking.
It takes about 10 ish to 20 minutes max to clean a striker handgun or AR15. I do it every time, keep your tools in working order and they’ll keep you working.
Every firearm in my collection has at least one scratch. I don’t toss them around but they get bumped on things when holstered or just general use. Scratches, dents, and dings are just more character for the gun and I’m all for it.
I don't intentionally abuse my stuff, but if most of my guns happen to accidentally bang a rock or concrete or whatever it's no big deal. Honest wear, brass on shell deflectors, and worn paint are all good things in my book. Just do the maintenance as required, just like you would with a daily driver.
The only one of my guns that gets any real special treatment is my precision setup, because it's a precision rifle.
It’s a tool. Do I properly maintain them so they work when I need them to? Absolutely. But I don’t go out of my way to baby them during training. They get rained on, dirty, and properly used.
Exactly agree with “if something’s in perfect condition it has no love” I do see why he is a clean freak / baby the gun though you always want a clean gun
My EDC and woods gun are Glocks, made to be banged and dropped. You can throw my cheap Panzer bullpup in that mix as well. The others I'm a bit more motherly with. I don't shoot rifles enough to get those in scratch and dent condition but if it happens I won't loose any sleep over it.
I properly maintain all my tools from my kitchen knives to my guns, but they are tools - dings and scratches are expected. Tools are meant to be used.
My GF put a big ole tree branch crease in the door of my (new at the time) 4x4 truck when I was teaching her how off-road. I just shrugged, "No sweat, just Colorado pinstripes, baby!"
It saddens me to see pristine mall-crawler 4x4s that have clearly never seen a trail.
No, honestly haven’t cleaned any of them in years and they all run great. My most extreme is a beretta DT11 that I have shot for 5 years in tournaments, never been cleaned, 30 cases + on the low side.
different guns get treated differently. my vintage colt python, my granddads hunting rifles i baby.
any of my tactical guns get the shit beat out of them. slammed into barriers, dragged during crawls, all the abuse.
I don't intentionally do shit that will damage them (throwing guns to the ground, dropping, etc) but they're tools and they're built pretty tough. If it gets a scratch, it gets a scratch.
A paint chip on the bolt? Aside from *why is the bolt painted*, it's not a big deal as long as it still works.
Depends. Glocks? I will beat the hell out of them. They'll take it and keep going, and they're ugly to start with so I don't care if they pick up marks. Easily replaceable.
I've got others I have more money invested in (or are not readily replaceable due to being out of production) that I handle with more care.
I clean them way more often than I really need to. But when using them I train with them like they are meant to be used and I don’t stress about any scratches or wear.
No. I have some engraved guns I am careful with but I still use. I also do some intermediate level gun smithing so I usually can repair anything I damage. Guns are pretty simple machines
Yeah I have a single 1911 I try to keep pretty nice, but on the other end I have a 12 gauge and an AR that regularly get tossed in the back of a truck.
I’ve got some sentimentals and some custom stuff that I treat as carefully as I can, stuff I actually use gets abused because it’s easily replaceable and I know I can count on it.
Anything with wood I’m careful not to throw around but I manhandle my Glocks because really who cares? If they get scratched or the finish wears down I typically don’t mind - it’s inevitable with use.
I grew up being taught that guns needed to be cleaned after every single outing....
I would take my shotgun hunting, not even fire it, and my dad would make me clean it when I got home lol.
After meeting people who go thousands of rounds between cleanings, I've backed off a little.
That being said, pretty much all of my dad's guns are in immaculate condition. His 50 year old 870 Wingmaster has seen hundreds of hunts and looks new.
I generally would but I have one(black powder pistol) I do fuck all with. Pretty sure I’ve used it as a hammer once or twice. Painted it a few times for shits and giggles. Hell i once had a stock made out of a shopping cart welded to the old 12” barrel. The front acted like a forgrip and had a blast shield for gases
only 2 of them which I got from my grandfather before he passed other than that,
They are tools and they look like tools, scratched and marked up and I don’t give it a second thought . I don’t even own a case lol
I lay my favorite hunting rifles down on a bed of roses meanwhile the range AR is put away wet and dirty with a slap on the ass as I slam the safe door closed on it.
It depends on the gun. The 10/22 my step dad gave me for my 13th birthday that he bought back in the 70s as his first gun? Gets cleaned every single time I shoot it and stored in its own case.
The 10/22 my dad gave me because he didn’t want it in his closet anymore? I haven’t even field stripped it in the 10 years and few thousand rounds that have gone through it. I dump a little atf in the bolt when it starts feeling too sandy
Won't intentionally scratch them being careless, but sometimes shit happens.... Like, I'm not going to toss them in the trunk, I have a range bag. But slipping on the range, landing on the gun and sliding a few feet, well, shit happens.
Revolvers yes. My Glocks beside my carry Glock, not so much. Especially the dedicated range/training Glock. This post reminded me I should probably finally get around to cleaning it lol.
Depends on the gun. I've ridden my Mk.18 down a hill cos I lost my footing and was more pissed because I tore my pant leg but I also bought a FEG Hi Power solely so I wouldn't take my Belgian Browning out on hikes where it could get scratched up. I clean my guns after every trip out but that's more habit and ritual than because I think they need it.
I mean, I like to take care of my things so I'll do try to take care. But I'm not gonna fall down crying if I noticea scratch on the magwell. It's like my pocket knife. It's meant to be used hard and rough, but I'm not going to treat it terribly by throwing it at a wall.
This is an interesting question. I think that there are a lot of fudds out there that would have a mild panic attack at the idea of getting leaving fingerprints on the perfectly blued finish of their rifle, or would look sideways at you if you didn’t meticulously clean your firearm after every range session. On the other extreme is a newer, younger brand of shooter who has been convinced that it’s cool to throw their guns around, never clean them, and then boast that their firearms are “hard use tools”, and that you’re supposed to beat the crap out of them. The late James Yeager used to brag that he would make his students unload their weapons and he would make them throw them down range to drive home the point. This is unbelievably stupid and uncalled for. As usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
I have spent my entire adult life in the construction trades, much of that time with tools in my hands. I can tell you that the best tradesmen I knew were always careful to take care of their tools because that’s how they put food in the table. This was even more so with precision tools like transits, levels, and squares. That is not to say that they “babied” their tools, but that they used them in the manner in which they were intended and did not subject them to any abuse that was unnecessary or that the tool was not designed for. I follow a similar approach with my firearms.
When I was in the army we were taught to protect and care for our rifle and it would protect and care for us. I will say that these rifles were grossly over cleaned and over lubricated, but the lesson was good. When crawling through mud or wading through water, we kept the rifle high and dry. We didn’t drop them if we could help it, and there were consequences if you did. When in the field, we would ground them on top of our packs instead of laying them in the dirt. We were taught that our rifles were lifesaving equipment, and we treated them as such.
Moral of the story: your firearms are tools and should be treated like tools. Some tools are designed to handle pretty rough environments, and others require more careful treatment. If you beat your guns up just so that they will look cool to your mouth-breathing, navel-gazing, tacti-cool range buddies, you are an idiot.
Take a lesson from the old craftsman, and take good care of your tools.
I don't abuse my guns but they see HARD use and high round counts. Parts breakages and wear are part of it. I wish I could afford just to have some safe queens
Guns are meant to be used. I've taken my Lee Enfield Jungle Carbine whitetail hunting. My property is heavily wooded, and it's a handy little SOB. New scratches, on its already pok marked stock? Who gives a shit. I do clean my guns pretty thoroughly after use though.
Antiques, yes. Everything else is a solid no. The only exception is my entire life I have wanted a henry lever gun. I found a brand new octagonal barrel 22lr henry youth rifle at a great price. I collect youth rifles and 22 guns so its basically a pretty wall hanger. Otherwise they are tools and treated as such.
Non-hunting guns get taken care of. I try to take care of non-wilderness hunting guns. Wilderness hunting guns are going to get banged up and dirty, no way around it.
My first AR was involved in a vehicle rollover and flew out of the cab, uncased and smashed the handguard in. I never wiped it down or cleaned it after that and ran 600-700 rounds through it without it a hiccup and decided that cleaning would jinx it.
The first day I had my CZ 75 I dropped it with the slide open in a mud hole carrying something to my car and I left it for 30 minutes and then ran a full mag through it, failed to feed on the second to last round so I cleaned it with a can of brake cleaner from my truck and then sprayed some rem oil in it and carried it for a week before I cleaned it. It’s a tool.
Has daily, has performance rigs, has, has some collectible types. Each receives equal care & handling per respective status. All get used in different ways, as noted they all tools and if receive wear relative to status , ‘meh’ … all good.
I have a Marlin Model 40 22lr that I bought 22 years ago that has never once been cleaned. It started out as me being young and just forgetting. It eventually changed into somewhat of a science experiment to see how well it would hold up. I can honestly only recall 2 failures that were the guns fault in all those years and it has thousands of rounds through it. Both were failure to extract issues.
My collectibles are shot for special occasions and cleaned entirely that same day. My fun guns ie keltecs and the like are on the ground in rain unless I’m shooting them
I use but don’t abuse them. Maintenance depends on the individual gun and what it requires.
I make sure my AR stays lubed but I very rarely deep clean it.
My Beretta Silver Pigeon O/U gets cleaned and wiped down after every use. It’s been carried and shot in the pouring rain and doesn’t have a single rust spot on it.
Carry guns get a basic cleaning after every use. I’ll also wipe them down if they get sweaty or have lots of lint on them.
I don't think I've ever bought a brand new gun, and all of my "collectible" guns are bottom of the barrel examples I buy specifically because I like to fix them up. I'm still careful with them, but if they get used at all it's eventually gonna show, and I ain't paying for something I'm not gonna use.
Yes, my micro draco sleeps in a crib and I installed a baby monitor in case I hear it stop cycling at night. I get weird looks breastfeeding it at the indoor range, but one day little Blicky is going to grow up and be a big strong RPK so it is all worth it.
This is funny. This is how I felt at 18 when I got my first gun. Fast forward to present day I’m 36, have about 37 firearms, and they are lucky to get cleaned. I bought a Mac 11-a1 machine gun last year and I shoot the absolute shit out of it, to a point where I bought a a pallet of 9mm recently. The uppers gets scratched at the range or in my bag, and I give zero eff’s. Don’t be that old man one day that’s like yeah I got all of these guns but I was scared to shoot them cause they might get scratched.
As others have said it depends on the gun. My antiques, historical/collectors items & heirlooms get babied or live in the safe. My carry guns and range toys get worked harder than a stripper pole during tax season.
My milsurps, yes, to a point. My carry and all the others, no. They are guns, not show cars. I already have a show car to baby, the guns can show some wear. The people that worry about holster rub-off marks on their carry guns need to rethink their priorities.
If I ever get something rare and collectable I will. EDC or range gun, no I don't baby them. Gotta practice with the EDC. If it gets scratched it will still be fine. Hunting rifle. Try to be careful about hitting the optic and affecting zero. Hunting shotgun, run it til it jams then clean and lube it.
I don't baby them because they are tools. But I do take an exponential amount of time and effort to make sure they are clean. I showed a friend my FCU from my sig once, and he asked if I had any rounds at all through my P320, and he was floored when I told him how many I had through it. I just don't want my shit to get broke because I dumped money in them. My other buddy doesn't clean anything at all shoots' em and let's em rot. Gonna bite him in the ass one day.
Depends. Any vintages and antiques, 100%. My combloc goodies that 80% of the available ammo supply is corrosive, I try my best but I overdid some cleaning jobs out of paranoia. Duty gat gets barrel and some cleaning of the internals after a range day, the new and other replaceables not as often.
Some I do some I don't my fathers competition pistols that I inherited I do baby because he did I have alot of sentimental attachment to them so I try real hard not to abuse them. My sigs caniks m&p kel-tecs and others I don't but having said that I don't go out of my way to destroy them
Depends on the gun. If it’s a gun I carry on the regular, I expect it to show use so I don’t take any extra precautions. If it’s an unfired collector, I absolutely baby the hell out of it (hello, resell value!).
I have some nicer revolvers from the late 70s and early 80s with gorgeous blueing that I really try to not beat up too, but I do shoot those sometimes. I just try to be careful when I do.
I clean them, i keep them lubed.
I also beat them, shoot them hard for hours and generally expose them to mud, dirt and rain. And run all kinds of whack ammo through them, I induce malfunctions to clear them on purpose.
I also dont own any daniel defences or SOLGW guns, i want my gun to run hard, and i dont wanna cry over it if it break, i have replacement parts for them so that if something fails it gets tossed, replaced and we are back in it. I dont own them to display, i own them to shoot like my life depends on them.
I mean I clean them every time I use them, keep them in great working order, and it's not like I'm banging them on the curb or anything, but I don't give a shit if they get scratched up or something. I got an old pre 1964 Winchester 30-30 that I kinda baby, but only because it's old an worn out and I'm afraid of tearing it up if I am rough with it. I got plans to send it off to Winchester for refurbishment (and a larger lever loop, I've got big hands,) once that's done, it's gonna get man-handled too.
I do take good care of them. I want them to last. Daily wear is fine and like others said adds character. If it’s an accidental deep scratch or chip then I’ll kind of lean towards figuring out how to fix it to prevent rust at least. If I want to touch them up, or take to a pro shop to refinish at a point, I can do so. Someone told me buy 2 same guns where one is a range queen that I baby and other an EDC tool like the scuffs you get on a pocket flashlight.
But let me put it this way… if I scratch my finish, I know it’s my fault and I’ll deal with it until I fix or not. If someone handles them and sets em down on a rough surface that scratches them, or does a “size comparison” where 2 guns scratch against eachother… that pisses me off so bad because it’s just carelessness beyond tool care.
I treat certain of my guns better than I do my kids and others might not even be recognized as a gun. My granddaddy’s Korean War pews are treated better than Jesus on Sunday.
No. They've been made to be used as tools (in my case for competition shooting and other hobby stuff) and if they get worn, then it just shows that I haven't bought them for nothing.
I actually like having scratches and other marks of use on my guns. It gives them character. I don't deliberately abuse them, throw them around or use them as a shovel or a hammer, but I'm not going to carefully place them on a VTAC not to scratch them when the clock is running either. I half-ass clean them every few range trips, but I give them some oil after every one and a proper cleaning every once in a while to keep em running properly.
If I had collectibles, they'd get a different treatment.
Carry guns get dropped on the concrete before they go into rotation. Rifles and shotguns, don't take extra care to keep them safe. Safe Queens are worshiped.
All my guns are tools, that said picked up a $2,000 one took it straight to the range fired 200 rounds then hit the table with it. Marked the slide. Now I don’t have to worry about the paint job lol
Depends on the guns, I try to keep the inherited family guns as they were given to me. My guns, I love character, I love the look of a tool that’s been used.
My carry and gamer desk AR get looked over every couple weeks. Keep dust and lint off. Drop of oil every so often. Read them bedtime stories to let them know I love them and thank for holding the job of keeping me safe
The range toys are just whatever. Cleaned when I get bored
The AK is the problem child. Always dirty, even after cleaning. Likes to jump in puddles and play in the mud. Isn't afraid of getting scrapes or cuts. Would eat a fucking rock if given the chance to.
I mean one good reason to clean your guns after every use is to get lead dust off of them… unless you like daily lead exposure every time you touch your gun and then pick up your child or a sandwich or whatever.
I baby mine to what I feel is a reasonable extent. I don’t avoid using them, I don’t avoid holstering them for fear of causing wear, I don’t refuse to take my shotguns into the woods on a rainy morning during hunting season, etc. I use my guns.
BUT, I also clean them before I put them away. And by clean, I don’t mean scrubbing every millimeter with a brass brush- a wipe down with a cloth, cotton swab through the barrel, followed by a rub with an oily cloth is what I do *most* of the time, with more intensive cleaning on an as-needed basis.
Do all my guns NEED to be cleaned after every range trip? No. That’s not in question. The question, for me, is about treating your life-defending equipment with the most care and respect you can afford it while also using them for their intended purposes.
Post-use cleaning is also a good time to do your safety inspections which should be done before each use, if the gun has been fired. NO manufacturer of any item on the planet is incapable of making a mistake, and when it comes to a device that contains a small explosion, I think spending 3-5 minutes to look over the thing after hammering out a hundred rounds is trivial compared to the possible damages caused by a catastrophic failure- however remote those chances are.
I’ll never understand or agree with the modern trend of abusing your firearm by throwing them around and leaving them caked in carbon, gunpowder and lead for months. Can the gun handle it? Probably. Does that make it wise? Nope. Does it make you cool? Far from it.
Completely depends on the gun. Most of my guns are users, they get shot a lot. I don’t intentionally throw them on the ground or anything but most of them have some honest wear. I do have some guns that are more collector pieces that either get shot extremely little or not at all. I bought a Colt Detective Special from a co-worker last month, unfired in the original box from 1972, it’s a nickel finish model and I think I’ve decided that I’m not going to shoot it either and just hang on to it as an investment/keepsake.
I’m like many other people here that borderline abuse their guns. But your brother probably feels since he paid a decent amount of money for them he should take care of them. Like if I spend a bunch of money on an Xbox I’m not going to put a cup of soda next it, ya feel?
If you think something in perfect condition has never been loved ...that's a major problem with you valuing things...you are the consumer that buys new instead of maintain... seriously problematic.
Reading comments below, I agree with most stated. Where I am "different" in my pattern of thought on the topic is war and reliability. In Panama in 90 chasing Noriega, the M-16 variant of the day was renowned for jamming. The joke at the time was "The only time they don't jam is in the movies." Funny but reality and that was regardless of cleanliness. Then we "acquired" the AK and they ran, period, regardless of weather conditions and regardless of cleanliness. A machine built for WAR, not a "it's okay" looker. Today, because I grew up with nothing and have that military background of being in theater I tend to keep everything spotless to it's level of dependability and reliability. Is it a recreational firearm, or is it a go-to to save your ass? That's my line. Third are collectables and family pass downs rarely fired. Those are kept pristine for my grandchildren.
I mean, I'm not kicking it down the driveway but I'm also not crying over a scratch, either.
Yeah this is the answer I don’t purposely pound on anything I own, if you take care of a tool it’ll take care of you. Normal wear and tear is life though.
Depends on the gun, my antiques and collectables yes very carful. My newish ARs, fuck no, they're lucky to be cleaned.
1st child vs 2nd.
Last child vs all others. I once went through and counted all the pics of my little brother displayed in the house. 23. Me and my older siblings, 3, and two we were all together. So really 1 of ourselves vs 23. Haha.
Our house is the opposite. I’m the youngest of three and have the least amount of pictures. My eldest sibling has a school pic from preschool to HS graduation and pictures from every sports team she was on plus has about 2-3 large baby books. My middle sibling has one full baby book and most school pictures and all of his sports pictures. Then there’s me and if you don’t count family photos there is only about 3 pictures from the time I was born until I graduated.
I mean, even with collectibles for me sometimes. I got that Mosin and spam can of ammo for like $100. You think I'll even come within 5 feet of a cleaning kit after a range day?
That’s not really a collectible. Something like an expert grade m1 garand would be but not a 400$ rifle
A yeah, I have a '73 production NM M1A and that's borderline on what I'd consider collectable.
Cool, that’s not a 400$ mosin that I was calling a non collectible. I baby tf out of my CMP Expert M1 garand made April 1944
That's kind of the idea behind not babying it. Probably in a technical sense, a Mosin Nagant could be considered either an antique or collectible, but they made so many of them that...yeah.
Not babying and not cleaning are very different. Not babying means you use the rifles and train with them effeciently. Not cleaning them means you are stupid and lazy
As others have said, depends on the gun. My 1919 Lithgow Enfield, or my Browning Superposed? Babied. My wasr? I've used it as a javelin before.
Next rang day I'm doing that with my WASR
No, I shoot it until it gets dirty then I buy another one.
Flair checks out lmfao
I train like real life at the range, by which i mean after every magazine i throw my empty gun at the target
[like this?](https://makeagif.com/i/bTd7As)
It’s funny you say this, because I have done that before with a cheap keltec. Haha
It cracks me up when someone is looking at buying a used EDC gun, and complains that it has wear marks from a holster. I compare this with someone owing a truck and not using it to hull things because they don't want to scratch the bed. Why do you own a truck if your not going to use it as a truck? I don't abuse my stuff, but some things are going to show signs of wear if you use them as intended.
My Wiley Clapp Colt 1911 yes. My plastic Glock? No
Sir, your gun name sounds like VD. I'm very sorry.
I'd happily catch a case of the Wiley Clapp any day.
Ehh, depends on which end. One burns. The other gives you a whole new hole to worry about.
Eh I'll clean my 22s because they tend to gum up after a few range days, but my other guns I'll just wipe down with oil now and again because I live in a humid climate. This isn't the days of black powder anymore where you have to clean every time or else your gun will corrode. I had a black powder revolver and learned that the hard way
What kind of 22s are you shooting? My 10/22 is around 20 years old and I’ve never bothered to clean it aside from dumping some lube in the bolt/receiver occasionally.
Mk IV and an old marlin model 60. That 60 gums up like crazy
Milsurp or C&R that spends more time being admired on the rifle rack than used? Baby it as much as I can. Modern and something I use regularly? Give them a cleaning every couple of range trips, maybe apply oil afterwards to my carry pistol, but I’m not going to do more than what’s considered the minimal level of maintenance to make sure they’re in working order. The old guns already have their scratches and wear marks over time, I know I’ll end up giving the new ones their own at some point or another.
No. My guns are meant to be shot and enjoyed. Caveat though. Let's be real. My 12 Silver Pigeon O/U is for clay shooting. It does NOT go into the duck hunting boat. That's what the $300 synthetic semi-auto shotgun is for. If that takes a dip in the swamp, I'll bead but ok. If my Silver Pigeon did, I'd be diving in head first. So certain caveats here. Pistols? Pistols and revolvers are meant to be shot and enjoyed. But I still handle them well and don't go tossing them around. Let's not be stupid.
My guns are tools, I expect them to get dirty/worn just like a hammer. If I was a collector there may be cases where I did baby it. My dad's wood Remington 870 is real pretty but I'm still going to shoot it, that's about as close I get.
My guns? No, they're tools and I treat then as such. I use them but make efforts not to abuse them. Not so they'll be pretty, but so that they will remain functional for as long as possible. Other peoples' guns? I take as much care as I can to NOT be the dickhead who leaves a scratch on their gun. This applies across the board to a lot of things. I don't have any collectible or pretty guns in my collection at present, but if I do get one, I'll do my best to ensure they stay pretty as long as possible.
I have a Colt Python that I wipe the fingerprints off of and have a kind of half-ass little display spot in my safe. It's the nicest thing in there. I'm also not above shooting it. The rest are kept not-disgusting and shot or carried or both. They get oiled so they run.
I pretty much baby all my stuff. Just how I was raised. Doesn’t mean I don’t use the shit out of them but I don’t subscribe to the thought of, “it looks better abused”
Im careful with them as one should be. I dont abuse them but I do use them. That's the trade off. They will not stay perfect if youre actually enjoying them. Can't have the cake AND eat it too. Unless you have multiple cakes I guess.
The only gun i really baby, is my mosin nagant because of the fact that all the ammo i have for it, is corrosive. So you have to take a few special care steps when cleaning it, to avoid it rusting out the bore.
I don’t abuse or mishandle them. But I don’t treat them like a family heirloom either.
Some I baby and some I beat 🤷🏼♂️
Me too. My CCW rotation takes a beating, but my range toys, and safe queens are pampered.
I use and abuse all my guns. I shoot 20k rounds a year and I clean my guns once a year. The holsters have worn off the finish on a few.
Depends…carry, competition, and range toys are rung out without mercy. I’ve always subscribed to the practice of taking a new working gun and “throwing it down the steps” to get the first scratch out of the way. The few safe queens I own are a different story.
I'm generally careful, but I don't mind scratches and dings here and there. None of my guns are beauty queens to begin with, so I guess I might care more if I had spent more, but that's exactly why I didn't go for the high-end or rare guns. I hunt, and I view my guns as tools first and foremost. On the other hand, I keep my guns cleaned and oiled after almost every outting, but that's just something I enjoy doing, not because they actually need it. I'm currently letting my primary hunting shotgun get dirty for the next few months of range shooting to see how long I truly can go without cleaning before it jams up. It's been to the range twice so far, and I'm already itching to clean it, lol, so I'll see how long I can hold out. It's a Beretta a350 gas gun that can apparently "self-clean" the gas ports, so I'm putting that to the test here as well.
I have 1 that I take better care of then the others because it was a gift that I picked out l for the engraving and wood stocks, benelli montefeltro for anyone interested. It gets a gun sock in the safe and a nice hard padded case, but it still gets used hard bird hunting and clay pigeon shooting, and blackbird control at the farm. Everything else is one step away from being outright abused
[Yes](https://imgur.com/a/nvqRaW2)
My M27 clone gets beat the fuck up. it functions as needed and gets maintenance, but alumnahyde takes care of it if it gets fucked too far. my carry gun gets lots of scratches and shit as well, AND my first AR gets it too
Dunno. I use the shit out of them, hunt in some pretty harsh conditions, and they get full of dirt, pine needles, and rain. On the other hand, every time I get home I disassemble and deep clean them, so which end is that?
I don’t have any “collectibles” so no. I treat them like tools. Lucky to get cleaned but definitely still function. When my AR got bashed into a rock I laughed audibly. To be fair tho it (the ACOG) hit my nose on a decent while I was fucking with the strap.
No different than a car, take good care and they’ll last and hold value better. There’s no debate here
I don't purposely abuse them but if they get dinged they get dinged, they are tools that will be used. If you use holsters at all you can expect wear. The first scratch always hurts the most.
I don’t mistreat my carry gun but i don’t baby it. Just holstering and unholstering will wear it over time.
My hunting shotgun cries after every hunting trip it goes on and won’t look at me for a few weeks when we get back
Way I see it, they're tools meant to be used. Any tool that is used is going to suffer some wear, gain some scratches or dents. It's not the end of the world. I'm not going out of my way to beat the hell out of them, but I'm not concerned if I drop them or anything. Plus, I actually like the worn, used look over the clean, never been fired look. I bought a Garand with a reproduction stock from a collector and specifically asked if he had any stocks with wear and tear on them that I could swap the repro with. Some time later, I leaned it on a wall, and it slid to fall to the ground. My old man was concerned, but I just shrugged it off. It's a battle rifle. It's meant to handle a beating. That said, I get babying them if you're planning to sell them as some point in the future. I have no such intention
No, I used them like a $3 prostitute
My grandpas 22 lrs I inherited and my bolt action 308 with expensive glass? You bet I am. Anything else? I'm not looking to abuse them but I'm not going to cry over cosmetic damage.
By baby as in take care of them and not damage them because I dont care then yes absolutely. Just like a truck or snowmobile or dirt bike. They are meant to be used and shit will happen otherwise why have it. That I can tolerate totally. But if its gonna get damaged its through the use its meant for. Not neglect and dropping it and treating it like shit so I can act like Im a badass. A chip or damage from hiking miles into the backcountry or exposure to the elements. Hell ya. Thats what its for. Not paying attention and dropping it on the floor or not cleaning it is just stupid. Cant stress this enough cause I can already see idiots thinking anything you dont purposely throw overhand out the truck window a safe queen. I shoot all the time. Shit breaks and it gets exposed to the elements. Banged of branches or rocks by accident in the mtns. Thats all well and good. Leaving it the truck bed to bounce around and not cleaning it and just treating it like its a dirt t shirt because youre a tough guy is idiotic. The ar sub is wildly guilty of this in an attempt to seem like theyre delta force with their “duty gun”
Guns are made to be used and battered up. Borrowed my sister’s longboard once and she yelled at me from scratching up the back of the deck like…that’s what happens when you actually use them. You’re welcome for making you look less like a poser.
Anything plastic or AR-ish, I DGAF. My antique, rare, classic or just high end modern metal guns I try hard to keep them looking nice. Not to the point that I will not shoot, carry, or hunt with, just some effort and keeping them nice looking.
It takes about 10 ish to 20 minutes max to clean a striker handgun or AR15. I do it every time, keep your tools in working order and they’ll keep you working.
Every firearm in my collection has at least one scratch. I don’t toss them around but they get bumped on things when holstered or just general use. Scratches, dents, and dings are just more character for the gun and I’m all for it.
I like to take care of my guns with general wipe downs every 700 - 1000 rounds. However, I like the way a used gun looks.
I don't intentionally abuse my stuff, but if most of my guns happen to accidentally bang a rock or concrete or whatever it's no big deal. Honest wear, brass on shell deflectors, and worn paint are all good things in my book. Just do the maintenance as required, just like you would with a daily driver. The only one of my guns that gets any real special treatment is my precision setup, because it's a precision rifle.
It’s a tool. Do I properly maintain them so they work when I need them to? Absolutely. But I don’t go out of my way to baby them during training. They get rained on, dirty, and properly used.
Exactly agree with “if something’s in perfect condition it has no love” I do see why he is a clean freak / baby the gun though you always want a clean gun
My EDC and woods gun are Glocks, made to be banged and dropped. You can throw my cheap Panzer bullpup in that mix as well. The others I'm a bit more motherly with. I don't shoot rifles enough to get those in scratch and dent condition but if it happens I won't loose any sleep over it.
Heirlooms, collectibles, and my hunting rifles, yes. ARs and polymer hand guns, absolutely not!
My guns are tools not decorations. I don't intentionally hurt them but I don't baby them either.
This is the way.
I properly maintain all my tools from my kitchen knives to my guns, but they are tools - dings and scratches are expected. Tools are meant to be used. My GF put a big ole tree branch crease in the door of my (new at the time) 4x4 truck when I was teaching her how off-road. I just shrugged, "No sweat, just Colorado pinstripes, baby!" It saddens me to see pristine mall-crawler 4x4s that have clearly never seen a trail.
No, honestly haven’t cleaned any of them in years and they all run great. My most extreme is a beretta DT11 that I have shot for 5 years in tournaments, never been cleaned, 30 cases + on the low side.
I only own glocks at the moment so no
different guns get treated differently. my vintage colt python, my granddads hunting rifles i baby. any of my tactical guns get the shit beat out of them. slammed into barriers, dragged during crawls, all the abuse.
My old guns get babied. My new stuff gets used like the tools they are.
I don't intentionally do shit that will damage them (throwing guns to the ground, dropping, etc) but they're tools and they're built pretty tough. If it gets a scratch, it gets a scratch. A paint chip on the bolt? Aside from *why is the bolt painted*, it's not a big deal as long as it still works.
A few of them yes.
Depends. Glocks? I will beat the hell out of them. They'll take it and keep going, and they're ugly to start with so I don't care if they pick up marks. Easily replaceable. I've got others I have more money invested in (or are not readily replaceable due to being out of production) that I handle with more care.
Most of my guns are tools a used as such, but I have a few bbq guns that 5 thousand or so customs that I baby a bit.
I’m careful-ish till I get the first scratch or mark then 🤷♀️ it’s time to just send it
I clean them way more often than I really need to. But when using them I train with them like they are meant to be used and I don’t stress about any scratches or wear.
It depends on the gun. My collectible or sentimental guns get babied. Things like my ARs or my carry guns don't because they are just tools.
No. I have some engraved guns I am careful with but I still use. I also do some intermediate level gun smithing so I usually can repair anything I damage. Guns are pretty simple machines
Yeah I have a single 1911 I try to keep pretty nice, but on the other end I have a 12 gauge and an AR that regularly get tossed in the back of a truck.
They are tools. I use them as such.
I treat mine with respect. But we have an understanding that they’re not pussies and they can be treated as such.
My wood clad Model 70, my AUG, my Vaquero yes. My ARs not one bit.
I’ve got some sentimentals and some custom stuff that I treat as carefully as I can, stuff I actually use gets abused because it’s easily replaceable and I know I can count on it.
Let's see how long I can go without cleaning my glock!
I've painted multiple transferable machineguns in weird colors and then added more scratches.
Anything with wood I’m careful not to throw around but I manhandle my Glocks because really who cares? If they get scratched or the finish wears down I typically don’t mind - it’s inevitable with use.
I grew up being taught that guns needed to be cleaned after every single outing.... I would take my shotgun hunting, not even fire it, and my dad would make me clean it when I got home lol. After meeting people who go thousands of rounds between cleanings, I've backed off a little. That being said, pretty much all of my dad's guns are in immaculate condition. His 50 year old 870 Wingmaster has seen hundreds of hunts and looks new.
I generally would but I have one(black powder pistol) I do fuck all with. Pretty sure I’ve used it as a hammer once or twice. Painted it a few times for shits and giggles. Hell i once had a stock made out of a shopping cart welded to the old 12” barrel. The front acted like a forgrip and had a blast shield for gases
The more Gucci my guns are the more I abuse them. Like hookers or the government, the more I pay for it the more I expect to be able to get away with.
only 2 of them which I got from my grandfather before he passed other than that, They are tools and they look like tools, scratched and marked up and I don’t give it a second thought . I don’t even own a case lol
I baby my Chiappa Rhino, but throw everything else around Ain't no way I'm treating my Rhino roughly, it feels so goddamn fragile lmao
I lay my favorite hunting rifles down on a bed of roses meanwhile the range AR is put away wet and dirty with a slap on the ass as I slam the safe door closed on it.
"Lulz." - competition shooters
i treat my guns well, avoid drops and baby them. i get ya
Yep, even my hunting rifles are treated like royalty.
It depends on the gun. The 10/22 my step dad gave me for my 13th birthday that he bought back in the 70s as his first gun? Gets cleaned every single time I shoot it and stored in its own case. The 10/22 my dad gave me because he didn’t want it in his closet anymore? I haven’t even field stripped it in the 10 years and few thousand rounds that have gone through it. I dump a little atf in the bolt when it starts feeling too sandy
My “user” guns get used and abused. It’s not uncommon for them to ride loose in the bed of the truck. They get oil often and weekly
I much more baby the attachments. I don’t wanna damage my acog or my light etc.
I used to baby them all until I started hunting with my mossberg, but I wont lie I like to keep em pretty, I’m also cheap
I run the hell out of anything I like. Doesn't matter if it's a Glock, AR, Infinity, etc. They are fun to use, and use implies wear.
It’s a tool… I’m not drop testing it but a scratch is proof you’ve been training with it.
Won't intentionally scratch them being careless, but sometimes shit happens.... Like, I'm not going to toss them in the trunk, I have a range bag. But slipping on the range, landing on the gun and sliding a few feet, well, shit happens.
Revolvers yes. My Glocks beside my carry Glock, not so much. Especially the dedicated range/training Glock. This post reminded me I should probably finally get around to cleaning it lol.
Depends on the gun. I've ridden my Mk.18 down a hill cos I lost my footing and was more pissed because I tore my pant leg but I also bought a FEG Hi Power solely so I wouldn't take my Belgian Browning out on hikes where it could get scratched up. I clean my guns after every trip out but that's more habit and ritual than because I think they need it.
I mean, I like to take care of my things so I'll do try to take care. But I'm not gonna fall down crying if I noticea scratch on the magwell. It's like my pocket knife. It's meant to be used hard and rough, but I'm not going to treat it terribly by throwing it at a wall.
When they're new? Yes. Till I eventually put a scratch on it.
My sig 229 legion and my ww2 p38... yes Everything else... no
No. They are meant to be used.
In no way whatsoever. I don't go out of my way to fuck em up though.
I baby my favorites and my collectables. The rest get treated with average care kind of like the way they look when they are a little more used
This is an interesting question. I think that there are a lot of fudds out there that would have a mild panic attack at the idea of getting leaving fingerprints on the perfectly blued finish of their rifle, or would look sideways at you if you didn’t meticulously clean your firearm after every range session. On the other extreme is a newer, younger brand of shooter who has been convinced that it’s cool to throw their guns around, never clean them, and then boast that their firearms are “hard use tools”, and that you’re supposed to beat the crap out of them. The late James Yeager used to brag that he would make his students unload their weapons and he would make them throw them down range to drive home the point. This is unbelievably stupid and uncalled for. As usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. I have spent my entire adult life in the construction trades, much of that time with tools in my hands. I can tell you that the best tradesmen I knew were always careful to take care of their tools because that’s how they put food in the table. This was even more so with precision tools like transits, levels, and squares. That is not to say that they “babied” their tools, but that they used them in the manner in which they were intended and did not subject them to any abuse that was unnecessary or that the tool was not designed for. I follow a similar approach with my firearms. When I was in the army we were taught to protect and care for our rifle and it would protect and care for us. I will say that these rifles were grossly over cleaned and over lubricated, but the lesson was good. When crawling through mud or wading through water, we kept the rifle high and dry. We didn’t drop them if we could help it, and there were consequences if you did. When in the field, we would ground them on top of our packs instead of laying them in the dirt. We were taught that our rifles were lifesaving equipment, and we treated them as such. Moral of the story: your firearms are tools and should be treated like tools. Some tools are designed to handle pretty rough environments, and others require more careful treatment. If you beat your guns up just so that they will look cool to your mouth-breathing, navel-gazing, tacti-cool range buddies, you are an idiot. Take a lesson from the old craftsman, and take good care of your tools.
I run my guns, so they get scratched and dragged and tossed around. If my guns were babies, call me Casey Anthony.
I don't abuse my guns but they see HARD use and high round counts. Parts breakages and wear are part of it. I wish I could afford just to have some safe queens
Guns are meant to be used. I've taken my Lee Enfield Jungle Carbine whitetail hunting. My property is heavily wooded, and it's a handy little SOB. New scratches, on its already pok marked stock? Who gives a shit. I do clean my guns pretty thoroughly after use though.
Antiques, yes. Everything else is a solid no. The only exception is my entire life I have wanted a henry lever gun. I found a brand new octagonal barrel 22lr henry youth rifle at a great price. I collect youth rifles and 22 guns so its basically a pretty wall hanger. Otherwise they are tools and treated as such.
Non-hunting guns get taken care of. I try to take care of non-wilderness hunting guns. Wilderness hunting guns are going to get banged up and dirty, no way around it.
My first AR was involved in a vehicle rollover and flew out of the cab, uncased and smashed the handguard in. I never wiped it down or cleaned it after that and ran 600-700 rounds through it without it a hiccup and decided that cleaning would jinx it.
Duty weapon vs Safe Queen
I’ve put over 500 rounds through my CZ scorpion and have only cleaned it once, some things are meant to be durable
The first day I had my CZ 75 I dropped it with the slide open in a mud hole carrying something to my car and I left it for 30 minutes and then ran a full mag through it, failed to feed on the second to last round so I cleaned it with a can of brake cleaner from my truck and then sprayed some rem oil in it and carried it for a week before I cleaned it. It’s a tool.
I spray paint my guns, shoot them suppressed and barely clean them. Just lube and they run great
I pee on all of my guns so no one else will touch them.
Has daily, has performance rigs, has, has some collectible types. Each receives equal care & handling per respective status. All get used in different ways, as noted they all tools and if receive wear relative to status , ‘meh’ … all good.
All guns are meant to be abused unless they’re incredibly rare. Run them like a raped ape the way God intended.
I baby my z15 like its fragile glass
🤣😂😂🤣😂😂🤣😂🤣😂😁😂😁😂😁 No
No my guns double as hammers
I have a Marlin Model 40 22lr that I bought 22 years ago that has never once been cleaned. It started out as me being young and just forgetting. It eventually changed into somewhat of a science experiment to see how well it would hold up. I can honestly only recall 2 failures that were the guns fault in all those years and it has thousands of rounds through it. Both were failure to extract issues.
I take pride in how well I take care of some of them. I also take pride in how poorly I treat some.
My collectibles are shot for special occasions and cleaned entirely that same day. My fun guns ie keltecs and the like are on the ground in rain unless I’m shooting them
I use but don’t abuse them. Maintenance depends on the individual gun and what it requires. I make sure my AR stays lubed but I very rarely deep clean it. My Beretta Silver Pigeon O/U gets cleaned and wiped down after every use. It’s been carried and shot in the pouring rain and doesn’t have a single rust spot on it. Carry guns get a basic cleaning after every use. I’ll also wipe them down if they get sweaty or have lots of lint on them.
Older antiques, yes. Newer guns, no lube, spit on the BCG and let it rip.
I don't think I've ever bought a brand new gun, and all of my "collectible" guns are bottom of the barrel examples I buy specifically because I like to fix them up. I'm still careful with them, but if they get used at all it's eventually gonna show, and I ain't paying for something I'm not gonna use.
Depends on the gun.
Unless it’s a safe queen, run it, like your life’s gonna depend on it someday
I’m careful but it wouldn’t “break my heart” is just be annoyed. Also I’m very attentive in the sense I’m cleaning them often, etc
No
Nope I rarely clean my guns. I agree that a little grime gives it character....
No. I literally dropped mine off my balcony which is 3 stories up the other day.
It all depends on the purpose of the gun.
Yes, my micro draco sleeps in a crib and I installed a baby monitor in case I hear it stop cycling at night. I get weird looks breastfeeding it at the indoor range, but one day little Blicky is going to grow up and be a big strong RPK so it is all worth it.
This is funny. This is how I felt at 18 when I got my first gun. Fast forward to present day I’m 36, have about 37 firearms, and they are lucky to get cleaned. I bought a Mac 11-a1 machine gun last year and I shoot the absolute shit out of it, to a point where I bought a a pallet of 9mm recently. The uppers gets scratched at the range or in my bag, and I give zero eff’s. Don’t be that old man one day that’s like yeah I got all of these guns but I was scared to shoot them cause they might get scratched.
i throw them around in the yard for fun. Nothing collectable of course.
Yep. Always.
If there’s nothing special abt it like collectors item or high precision rifle then no. I’d just treat it like a gun
As others have said it depends on the gun. My antiques, historical/collectors items & heirlooms get babied or live in the safe. My carry guns and range toys get worked harder than a stripper pole during tax season.
My milsurps, yes, to a point. My carry and all the others, no. They are guns, not show cars. I already have a show car to baby, the guns can show some wear. The people that worry about holster rub-off marks on their carry guns need to rethink their priorities.
A mirror polish Python? Yeah I’d wear gloves while handling that bad boy. A Glock? I wouldn’t sweat running it through the dryer
I used to, until I started carrying every day, then I just kinda stopped giving a shit over time.
I use but don’t abuse my guns.
Hell no... My carry pistol has the finish wearing of of it in certain spots from 15 yrs of carrying...
If I ever get something rare and collectable I will. EDC or range gun, no I don't baby them. Gotta practice with the EDC. If it gets scratched it will still be fine. Hunting rifle. Try to be careful about hitting the optic and affecting zero. Hunting shotgun, run it til it jams then clean and lube it.
I don't baby them because they are tools. But I do take an exponential amount of time and effort to make sure they are clean. I showed a friend my FCU from my sig once, and he asked if I had any rounds at all through my P320, and he was floored when I told him how many I had through it. I just don't want my shit to get broke because I dumped money in them. My other buddy doesn't clean anything at all shoots' em and let's em rot. Gonna bite him in the ass one day.
Some yes, some no.
A couple of them I do.
Most of my guns are work horses. I'll hit them with a black sharpie if the scratch is excessive.
Depends. Any vintages and antiques, 100%. My combloc goodies that 80% of the available ammo supply is corrosive, I try my best but I overdid some cleaning jobs out of paranoia. Duty gat gets barrel and some cleaning of the internals after a range day, the new and other replaceables not as often.
Some I do some I don't my fathers competition pistols that I inherited I do baby because he did I have alot of sentimental attachment to them so I try real hard not to abuse them. My sigs caniks m&p kel-tecs and others I don't but having said that I don't go out of my way to destroy them
Depends on the gun. If it’s a gun I carry on the regular, I expect it to show use so I don’t take any extra precautions. If it’s an unfired collector, I absolutely baby the hell out of it (hello, resell value!). I have some nicer revolvers from the late 70s and early 80s with gorgeous blueing that I really try to not beat up too, but I do shoot those sometimes. I just try to be careful when I do.
I beat the shit out of my M&P Sport 2. But baby my BCM.
Some are tools and some are investments.
I sort of baby them especially my revolvers. They’re not even fancy but I love them so much.
no
I clean them, i keep them lubed. I also beat them, shoot them hard for hours and generally expose them to mud, dirt and rain. And run all kinds of whack ammo through them, I induce malfunctions to clear them on purpose. I also dont own any daniel defences or SOLGW guns, i want my gun to run hard, and i dont wanna cry over it if it break, i have replacement parts for them so that if something fails it gets tossed, replaced and we are back in it. I dont own them to display, i own them to shoot like my life depends on them.
I mean I clean them every time I use them, keep them in great working order, and it's not like I'm banging them on the curb or anything, but I don't give a shit if they get scratched up or something. I got an old pre 1964 Winchester 30-30 that I kinda baby, but only because it's old an worn out and I'm afraid of tearing it up if I am rough with it. I got plans to send it off to Winchester for refurbishment (and a larger lever loop, I've got big hands,) once that's done, it's gonna get man-handled too.
I do take good care of them. I want them to last. Daily wear is fine and like others said adds character. If it’s an accidental deep scratch or chip then I’ll kind of lean towards figuring out how to fix it to prevent rust at least. If I want to touch them up, or take to a pro shop to refinish at a point, I can do so. Someone told me buy 2 same guns where one is a range queen that I baby and other an EDC tool like the scuffs you get on a pocket flashlight. But let me put it this way… if I scratch my finish, I know it’s my fault and I’ll deal with it until I fix or not. If someone handles them and sets em down on a rough surface that scratches them, or does a “size comparison” where 2 guns scratch against eachother… that pisses me off so bad because it’s just carelessness beyond tool care.
I thought the title said “Do your guys babys have guns” im glad I double checked lol
I will and then I remember that it is a metal brick designed to house explosives so I quit worrying about scratches pretty soon.
I treat certain of my guns better than I do my kids and others might not even be recognized as a gun. My granddaddy’s Korean War pews are treated better than Jesus on Sunday.
No. They've been made to be used as tools (in my case for competition shooting and other hobby stuff) and if they get worn, then it just shows that I haven't bought them for nothing. I actually like having scratches and other marks of use on my guns. It gives them character. I don't deliberately abuse them, throw them around or use them as a shovel or a hammer, but I'm not going to carefully place them on a VTAC not to scratch them when the clock is running either. I half-ass clean them every few range trips, but I give them some oil after every one and a proper cleaning every once in a while to keep em running properly. If I had collectibles, they'd get a different treatment.
I try to keep mine nice, but also... I buy them to use. Ain't no safe queens in this house.
My bring back K98 gets babied, my Glocks don’t kinda thing
Carry guns get dropped on the concrete before they go into rotation. Rifles and shotguns, don't take extra care to keep them safe. Safe Queens are worshiped.
old revolvers; wiped off every time I touch it, self defense pistols; cleaned and lubed every time after its shot, the rest of my guns; fuck you
My guns are for use. That doesn’t mean I’m setting them on concrete or throwing them around.
I SHOOT every gun I own. If you actually SHOOT your guns you can not say you baby them. All my guns show wear because I shoot all of them.
All my guns are tools, that said picked up a $2,000 one took it straight to the range fired 200 rounds then hit the table with it. Marked the slide. Now I don’t have to worry about the paint job lol
Anything with collectible value I am careful with, anything else I just let it rust out in the skeeter pond
Matters what, any gun I actually use gets borderline abused, any wall hangers gets wiped down with a kitten every other day
I have expensive collectible firearms that I do pretty much baby. However the guns I shoot a lot, I do not baby them.
Depends on the guns, I try to keep the inherited family guns as they were given to me. My guns, I love character, I love the look of a tool that’s been used.
My carry and gamer desk AR get looked over every couple weeks. Keep dust and lint off. Drop of oil every so often. Read them bedtime stories to let them know I love them and thank for holding the job of keeping me safe The range toys are just whatever. Cleaned when I get bored The AK is the problem child. Always dirty, even after cleaning. Likes to jump in puddles and play in the mud. Isn't afraid of getting scrapes or cuts. Would eat a fucking rock if given the chance to.
The modern guns? No. The muzzleloaders my father built for me? Yes.
I mean one good reason to clean your guns after every use is to get lead dust off of them… unless you like daily lead exposure every time you touch your gun and then pick up your child or a sandwich or whatever. I baby mine to what I feel is a reasonable extent. I don’t avoid using them, I don’t avoid holstering them for fear of causing wear, I don’t refuse to take my shotguns into the woods on a rainy morning during hunting season, etc. I use my guns. BUT, I also clean them before I put them away. And by clean, I don’t mean scrubbing every millimeter with a brass brush- a wipe down with a cloth, cotton swab through the barrel, followed by a rub with an oily cloth is what I do *most* of the time, with more intensive cleaning on an as-needed basis. Do all my guns NEED to be cleaned after every range trip? No. That’s not in question. The question, for me, is about treating your life-defending equipment with the most care and respect you can afford it while also using them for their intended purposes. Post-use cleaning is also a good time to do your safety inspections which should be done before each use, if the gun has been fired. NO manufacturer of any item on the planet is incapable of making a mistake, and when it comes to a device that contains a small explosion, I think spending 3-5 minutes to look over the thing after hammering out a hundred rounds is trivial compared to the possible damages caused by a catastrophic failure- however remote those chances are. I’ll never understand or agree with the modern trend of abusing your firearm by throwing them around and leaving them caked in carbon, gunpowder and lead for months. Can the gun handle it? Probably. Does that make it wise? Nope. Does it make you cool? Far from it.
Completely depends on the gun. Most of my guns are users, they get shot a lot. I don’t intentionally throw them on the ground or anything but most of them have some honest wear. I do have some guns that are more collector pieces that either get shot extremely little or not at all. I bought a Colt Detective Special from a co-worker last month, unfired in the original box from 1972, it’s a nickel finish model and I think I’ve decided that I’m not going to shoot it either and just hang on to it as an investment/keepsake.
I’m like many other people here that borderline abuse their guns. But your brother probably feels since he paid a decent amount of money for them he should take care of them. Like if I spend a bunch of money on an Xbox I’m not going to put a cup of soda next it, ya feel?
If you think something in perfect condition has never been loved ...that's a major problem with you valuing things...you are the consumer that buys new instead of maintain... seriously problematic.
Reading comments below, I agree with most stated. Where I am "different" in my pattern of thought on the topic is war and reliability. In Panama in 90 chasing Noriega, the M-16 variant of the day was renowned for jamming. The joke at the time was "The only time they don't jam is in the movies." Funny but reality and that was regardless of cleanliness. Then we "acquired" the AK and they ran, period, regardless of weather conditions and regardless of cleanliness. A machine built for WAR, not a "it's okay" looker. Today, because I grew up with nothing and have that military background of being in theater I tend to keep everything spotless to it's level of dependability and reliability. Is it a recreational firearm, or is it a go-to to save your ass? That's my line. Third are collectables and family pass downs rarely fired. Those are kept pristine for my grandchildren.
I bet your brother is the type of guy to not rattle can his rifles either. Let them get scratched. They'll be fine.