Buckmark Cleaning

Tools and Supplies

Things that are nice to have

• Cleaning Mat - convenient, comfortable, and cool, but not critical.
• Block of wood with holes in the top - great way to hold picks, swabs, toothpicks, etc. on your workbench
• Dummy Ammo - snap caps, drywall anchors, dry fire plugs, or action-proving rounds... nice to have, especially when testing function after reassembly

Things I don't use

• Toothbrushes - Lots of people use these to clean guns, and I have some, but I rarely use them. They scrub ok, but tend to fling debris everywhere (on me, on the parts of the gun I just cleaned, on my other cleaning supplies, etc.), so I don't like them.
• Grease when it's cold - It's fine when it's warm out, but in the winter it becomes too thick and causes problems. There are a few places where it works great, but oil is generally preferred.
• Crown protectors - I only use a cleaning rod on my Buckmarks when cleaning from the breech end (back end) of the barrel when the gun is disassembled; never from the muzzle.
• Nylon Bore Brushes - I have nothing against them, but I generally don't use them. For light cleanings, patches and jags are good enough. For serious cleanings, bronze bore brushes do a better job. So my nylon bore brushes sit mostly unused.
• Steel cleaning rods - Avoid running anything made of steel through your barrel if you can avoid it. Even coated steel rods are a risk (the coating eventually tears, and I've heard that the coatings can accumulate grit). I'm not even a fan of alminum rods. Brass and carbon fiber are my preferred cleaning rod choices.

Cleaning after every time you shoot

1. Make sure the gun is unloaded. Remove the magazine, check the chamber. Safety first.
2. Lock the slide back.
3. Use a cotton swab to scrub carbon build-up off the back of the barrel and front face of the slide, and wipe off the feed ramp.
4. Optional - pull a bore snake through the barrel bore.
5. Clean out any wax accummulated in the front inside of the magazine with a cotton swab (long ones help here).

Cleaning without disassembly (every 500 - 1000 rounds)

This process takes about 20-30 minutes once you've done it a few times.

1. Make sure the gun is unloaded. Remove the magazine, check the chamber. Safety first.
2. Lock the slide back.
3. Pull a loose patch soaked in bore solvent through the bore. If really dirty, do another. Let it sit for 3-5 minutes. While you're waiting...
4. Use a cotton swab soaked in bore solvent to scrub carbon build-up off the back of the barrel and front face of the slide, and wipe off the feed ramp. First soaked swab is mostly to apply solvent. Second swab can be used to scrub off the fouling. Lead build up can be scraped off with a toothpick or plastic dental pick. Use a toothpick to get the fouling that builds up inside the case rim recess in the front of the slide.
5. A cotton swab crushed by pliers can clean the extractor groove in the back of the barrel, and under the extractor on the front of the slide.
6. Pull 2 or 3 tight dry patches through the bore.
7. Pull second loose patch soaked in bore solvent through the bore. Let it sit for 3-5 minutes. While you're waiting...
8. Use a toothpick to clean out most of the hard-packed grime in the crown recess in the muzzle. Then use a cotton swab soaked in solvent to get the rest of it.
9. Clean under the top rail. Turn the gun upside down. A crushed cotton swab fits between the top rail and the guide rod. Lots of grime accummulates between the barrel and the top rail. It's easiest to get with a plastic dental pick with a curved end. Note whether the top rail has a wear streak in the middle; if so, you'll want to lube that later.
10. Gently clean grime off the guide rod with a cotton swab.
11. Pull 2 or 3 tight dry patches through the bore.
12. Pull an oiled patch through the bore. No need to wait after this one.
13. Wipe the oiled patch on the crown. Wipe off any excess oil.
14. Pull a dry patch through the bore to remove excess oil. The bore is done.
15. Clean the inside of the slide, where you can reach with a cotton swab.
16. Clean the inside of the frame around the chamber area; what you can reach with a regular 3" cotton swab.
17. Clean the magazine well (inside the grip) with long cotton swabs or a paper towel wrapped around a wooden dowel, toothbrush, plastic dental pick or similar. The 6" or 8" cotton swabs sized for 9mm bore cleaning work great for this, if you have them.
18. DONE CLEANING THE GUN. TIME TO LUBRICATE IT.
19. Lightly lubricate where the slide touches the frame or top rail. This can be done by putting a couple drops of your favorite gun oil on a cotton swab and wiping it across the surfaces of the slide and frame rails. Think of all the surfaces: top, bottom, inside, etc. Don't forget the bottom of the top rail (above the recoil guide rod).
20. Lightly lubricate the exposed part of the guide rod.
21. Lubricate the top inside surface of the slide stop lever (grease works well here), especially if you close the slide by pushing the slide stop lever down.
22. Wipe down the entire gun (except optics lenses) with a silicone cloth. It is safe on metal, wood, and plastic. It's great for removing fingerprints from metal, and helps prevent rust during storage. It also leaves the gun looking great.
23. Clean the magazines.
    1. Clean outside with CLP.
    2. Wipe very dry. Do not leave the magazines wet (or even damp).
    3. Pull the follower down and hold it there.
    4. Clean inside with long cotton swabs or a paper towel wrapped around a wooden dowel, toothbrush, plastic dental pick or similar.
    5. The top of the magazine, around the feed lips, will be dirtiest part.
    6. Be sure to clean any wax accummulated in the front inside of the magazine.
    7. Spray with dry lube if you have it.

Complete Cleaning (every 3000-5000 rounds)

• Make sure the gun is unloaded. Remove the magazine, check the chamber. Safety first.
• Follow the disassembly steps, and clean each part as you remove it. Breakfree CLP on a paper towel or cotton swab works great for this.
• Check each part for breakage or unusual wear.
• For larger pieces, like the slide, top rail, barrel, and frame, turn the part upside down and look at it from all angles to be sure you've cleaned out all the nooks and crannies.
• While you have the barrel off, you can clean it with a regular cleaning rod, with loops, brushes, and jags.
• You can get the area around the firing pin pretty clean without removing the firing pin, but you can do a much better job by removing the firing pin.
• Removing the trigger is not necessary, but you can clean the back of the trigger and rear trigger guard area with cotton swabs.
• Disassembling the recoil spring assembly is not necessary. You can get the spring pretty clean by putting some CLP on a paper towel and wiping the spring with it.
• Wipe down the entire gun (except optics lenses) with a silicone cloth. It is safe on metal, wood, and plastic. It's great for removing fingerprints from metal, and helps prevent rust during storage. It also leaves the gun looking great.
• Disassemble magazines for complete cleaning.
• Follow the reassembly steps, lubricating parts are you put them back in. Places that are shiny indicate where pieces are rubbing; put lube there.
• Some key places to lubricate:
  1. If you have good action lube (moly lube with oil, such as Brownell's Action Lube, is a good choice), put some on the surfaces of the hammer and sear where they touch.
  2. Lube the top of the diconnector hump and corresponding surface inside the slide. This is a good place to use the action lube or grease, but oil is better than nothing.