[Northern Gal]

I was just on a different forum, and a guy on there totally tore down his pistol - I mean little springs and screws and rods everywhere. Is that something that I should be doing periodically on my XDm's? And if so, where would I find instructions on how to do that?

I don't have any problem field striping my guns - in fact, I find cleaning them very relaxing. But looking at the mess he had in front of him scares me to death - I'm afraid I wouldn't ever be able to put it back together, at least not in a way that would allow the gun to ever shoot again!

 

[Solhays85]

All of this is just my OPINION. I'm no expert or a gunsmith. So saying that. No, it's not something that should be needed. The only thing I would do once and a while would be, pull the back plate that holds the striker assem. together, off. YouTube has some good videos to help you do this. Do a field strip and pull the striker, striker spring and guide out, run some clp or something lightly down into the area where the striker is. But make sure that it is mostly dry when you put things back together. Some people remove the striker retaining pin out with a punch and a few more parts will come out with doing that. Like I said, there are some great videos on YouTube. If I was at home, I'd post them for you.

 

[Spammy_H]

Northern Gal - welcome, and what you are referring to is a "detail strip" where no two pieces of metal / plastic are touching.

The short answer is "no", you don't need to detail strip your gun to clean it. Field stripping is just fine. In fact, if you're not careful, some of those little springs can go flying to places unknown if you're not careful, rendering your gun into a blunt force trauma tool until replacement springs can be located.

Having said that, a lot of gun owners, particularly of the male persuasion, love to take things apart and put them back together again - it's part of our genetic makeup that doesn't allow us to leave well enough alone . A detail strip is helpful once in a while to really clean stuff out well. Some do it every cleaning. Others perhaps once a year or so.

If you shoot a lot, once in a while, you can take your gun to a gun smith who can do a detailed cleaning for you. But for everyday purposes, a field strip is more than enough.

If you're curious, the instructions for the XD detail strip can be found here:

Springfield Armory XD and HS2000.com

I believe the slide dis assembly for the XD and XDm are the same, but there are a few differences for the frame.

It all depends on how deep you want to go on this sort of stuff.

 

[jason_wv]

Not something I would even consider doing myself...and I am of the male persuasion. I was intimidated enough with changing out my striker retainer pin, though it turned out just fine. I've owned firearms for half of my 30 years and have never went farther than field stripping and none have ever failed to go bang. Even my little Kel-tec P11 which is the most neglected of my guns.

 

[Northern Gal]

Well, that's a relief!

I shoot about 200 rounds/week - it will be less in the winter months because I only have access to an outdoor range, so not only will the range be open for fewer hours each day, I will also limited by some extreme weather conditions from Dec. to about mid-March. I don't know if 200 rounds is considered a lot or a little, so based on that what do you think - take it to a gunsmith every 4-5 years for a complete cleaning?

And since we're on the topic of cleaning - have any of you ever tried a cleaning substance called "Frog Lube"? Do you like it? Do you still have to oil after cleaning?

 

[Spammy_H]

I think you'll be fine with every year or so getting a detail cleaning done.

Many guns have never been detail stripped / cleaned, and never failed to go bang. I personally like to "tinker", and know that it's clean, so I will do a detail strip every so often.

I've heard great things about frog lube, but never used it myself. I may buy some myself to try. I personally use Hoppes #9 & BreakFree CLP for cleaning, and weaponshield for lube / rust protection.

 

[Reborn]

It's really not necessary unless something internal breaks. I still do it for fun, though.

 

[tialloydragon]

The only time I detail strip my firearms is when I am doing some sort of modification to them.

 

[Diocoles]

200 rounds a week is about right on average.
I do that sometimes a bit more. 9mm helps. $$$
Depends on which of my toys I think needs the most workout.

oh... and how many to do lists I have from my Bos... I mean wife. :neutral:

 

[Dirty Rod]

Wow! I'm surprised to hear that folks don't take apart their weapons at least once in a while. I've been doing it for years whether it's an XD, 1911, AR, bolt gun, etc every 2-3 thousand rounds. Originally it was to understand how the safeties worked but after a couple of multi-day classes out in the dirt and rain I needed to clean out all of the crap especially if I was using my carry gun.

IMO it's not a bad thing to do every couple thousand rounds or so. It doesn't need it as mentioned before but I've found cracked parts, unusual wear, etc by being familiar with that the parts should look like. A couple weeks ago my carry gun had a loose plunger tube that wasn't noticable until I removed the grip. A couple years ago I found a bent firing pin that could have been a real problem. I've also had brand new guns that didn't have proper sear engagement or where the barrel lugs were not properly engaging. The only way I found them was to be familiar enough with it to notice unusual wear.

Again, just my opinion but I think it's something anyone who shoots a lot should do especially since there are videos all over the net that will talk you through it. I think it takes me about 45 mins to detail strip, clean, and reassemble one of my 1911s so an XD probably takes me about 30. It would take more time to drive over to my local gunshop not to mention I don't have to be without my gun for a couple days.

Again ... just my humble opinion.

 

[insatiable ONE]

I'm another one that seems to like to look for wear or faulty parts.

not getting lube, preventative failures, improvement spots. especially if you plan on shooting as much as you stated.