XD Talk

verngee · 04-17-2011, 09:52 PM

I too, am and newbie to this site and appreciate any input those more experienced than I may have to offer.

I just got an XD .40 cal and love it. I have fired approximately 600 rounds and am wondering after how many rounds the first cleaning should take place.

I was told at a shooting school that many gun manufacturers put a special lubricant into their guns that makes the moving parts mesh and wear smoothly so don't be too quick to clean it as the lubricant needs time to do it's job , sort of like the owners manual of a car will advise driving 2000-3000 miles before driving over a certain speed.

Any idea how many rounds this might be?

Many thanks.

CdnInAz · 04-17-2011, 10:20 PM

First off - your first post, so I'll be first to say welcome to the forum - you have found a great place, hope you enjoy and learn as much as I have here. You might like to head over to new member area and introduce yourself.

I hope you did not pay that shooting school very much, because I think what they told you is a pile of bull

I can't speak for all gun manufacturers because I don't have worldwide super duper knowledge, but the only lubes or grease I have ever heard of on a new gun is one of two: machining oils left on after processing, or shipping lube to prevent corrosion during shipment and storage in who knows what conditions. My XD had quite a bit of grease that I assumed was shipping lube.

You take a risk by not cleaning a mid price range gun (high production numbers), which the XD is (don't get me wrong here, the XD line is awesome, I love mine, but it is not an Ed Brown 1911). A high end, hand assembled gun will be all cleaned after machining. But a mid range gun like the XD could have fine metal particles left from machining, then trapped in that gooey mess of ship lub. If that happens, your first shots will cause abrasion. Very fine, probably do no harm, but could so why risk?

So with all that said, best to do a thorough cleaning before first shots, remove all that crud, then light lube on contact surfaces with a quality grease or oil. Different people have diff preferences, I like Tetra gun grease for metal to metal contact areas, CLP on other metal. IMHO, YMMV

ETA - another bonus - a thorough cleaning is the best way to really get to know your new gun

Croesius · 04-17-2011, 10:22 PM

I've read that about 1911's, how there is a break-in period before somethingsomething needs to be done. I haven't read anything about a minimum number of rounds downrange you need to have before cleaning. I clean my xdm9 every time I go to the range, probably taken it out 6 times so far, average 200 rounds per trip. Never had a FTF, FTE, FTB, anything. But, then again, Springfield makes an impeccable firearm.

johnnyjm84 · 04-17-2011, 10:35 PM

i do a cleaning before going to the range, after the range and then about once every two months in between

DannyXBOX · 04-17-2011, 10:48 PM

I clean both my Springfield xd9 and 1911A1 after every trip to the range no matter how many rounds I put through it. In fact, I THOROUGHLY cleaned and lubed my 1911 as soon as I got it out of the box. I did this for two reasons:

1.) To become familiar with field stripping and maintaining my firearm
2.) to inspect for any damage that may have been present or any abnormalities.
2.1.) because I was ^^^so excited to buy my first 1911

psi chick · 04-17-2011, 11:01 PM

every gun i buy gets a full strip down and cleaning before it ever sees a range. that shipping lube is nasty stuff. i also clean every gun after every range trip, no exceptions. if i don't take a gun out for a while it gets a cleaning before i go to the range as a just in case.

a clean gun is a happy gun.

oh and get your money back from that school if that's what they're telling you lol

Ragnar · 04-17-2011, 11:03 PM

I clean mine prior to shooting. I'm probably odd in that I never clean them after after a range teip but my theory is that I know it works after I fire it so I dont want to take apart a known good weapon.