For a few months now I have been meaning to create a series of gun cleaning articles and today I am going to focus on my Smith & Wesson, Military and Police .40cal. I am thinking that i can do one guide every now and then so people can feel more comfortable handling their own guns and creating a nice connection with them.
First off, I would like to start with the cleaning base. I use two Whole Foods paper bags. I cut them open and spread them on my table to protect it from the dirt that comes from the gun as well as the cleaning fluids I utilize. Once your surface is covered and protected you can get your piece. Make sure no bullets are in the chamber and that you get the magazine off. The M&P has a release button on the right side of the gun. Click it to release the magazine.
The next thing you have to do is to pull back the slide and click the slide catch up until it stops the slide.
Make sure you dont have a bullet there…
Then you pull the decocking lever down (and clockwise) and you will hear a click.
Grab the top of the slide and pull back a little more, then move slide forward slowly.
Dry Fire… the slide should go forward completely now and you can help it a bit.
Remove the slide forward completely
We are going to remove this spring.
It is easier if you push down on the end where my index finger is showing you.
Once you remove it we can get to the barrel easily.
This is the barrel and we are going to make it look like new in a little bit.
Go to your local Academy or any gun shop and acquire a BoreSnake. Make sure the caliber you buy is the one you need.
This is a scrubber that goes through the barrel to remove burned black powder.
It is a good idea to also buy cleaning liquid to remove all the dirt and powder. These are the only two things you need to buy.
I also suggest you get an old toothbrush to scrub other gun parts and I will show you shortly.
I tend to spray a quick squirt into the barrel and then take the boarsnake through the barrel like so.
It has a weight on the end so it’s easier to send through.
Grab the black end near the weight and pull until the entire boar snake goes through.
Repeat this step two or three times. I like to do it at least four until the barrel looks almost like new.
This is the inside of my barrel and how i like to keep it. Your gun will function much better and you will have very low probabilities of ammo jamming if you maintain your gun in good health.
Here we can spray the inside of the slide and scrub it with the old toothbrush I was mentioning earlier.
When you are done, make sure there is not a lot of liquids left. You can utilize an old rag to dry excess liquid. It does not have to be completely dry. In fact, I would suggest you leave it looking (((trigger warning))) “moist” but not wet.
Now we can focus on cleaning the inside of the frame. Use some of that wonderful spray and scrub with the toothbrush until you feel satisfied with the outcome. Again, don’t leave it soaking and use your rag if you need to.
I suggest you explore your gun and see how things work and what components it has. Be curious… learn more about your piece. Get acquainted with it since it can save your life one day.
Our entire piece should be clean and ready to put back together.
First thing I suggest you do is put the barrel back in the slide.
It provides a small sense of pride to see your gun clean… by you.
It is very important to make sure you see the difference on both ends of the spring. The one with a full flat head goes towards the inside of the slide and the blue part with what it looks like a hexagonal piece that is not flush with the edge of the spring goes towards the inside of the muzzle of the slider.
Then we put the slider back on the frame. Look at the edges of the frame, it sort of a nice puzzle to put together.
Once its in, pull it all the way to the back until it cocks the gun. Shoot a dry round and then you have a clean, gun ready to be taken to the range again.
I hope you liked this! If you found it helpful, please share it with your friends!
