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Well, had a new one yesterday. In the past, I have had students show up with some "off-brand" ammo that would repeatedly jam or Fail To Fire so I implemented a requirement that students could only use "Name Brand" "Brass Cased" ammunition. That fixed that problem. Yesterday had a student with a Glock 19 and Remington ammunition. When shooting the proficiency demo, things started well enough, everything in the 9 ring or better (lots of 10s and X's). Then, Student had a Failure To Feed malfunction--not a big deal and the student applied appropriate drill. A couple of rounds later it happened again. Then I started paying attention and noticed that the slide seemed to be having difficulty returning to full battery and was requiring a tap on the rear of the slide to chamber the round. Student completed the course of fire and passed, but with grouping of all rounds fired inside the 9 ring, I and Student were disappointed in the score.

After the course of fire, went into the shop and asked Student if I could disassemble the pistol. The build-up of carbon and what appeared to be tractor grease was unbelievable. I did not fully clean, but wiped it down with some CLP and SCRAPED the gunk out of the slide. Student stated that the only cleaning done was to run a bore snake down the barrel and a spray of WD-40 into the chamber. Recommended to the Student that a GOOD, THOROUGH cleaning with gun cleaning solvent with the gun disassembled was necessary before I would carry that gun and that a new recoil spring might be in order. I admit that I do not clean my Glocks after EVERY use and I have heard the stories about those who have fired thousands of rounds with never cleaning, but think this one proved a point to me. Now, in addition to my ammo requirement, I intend to inspect the Student's firearm and have cleaning supplies available for them if it does not meet functioning standards.

Always something new.

Perfect teaching moment as to what could have been his demise in a street encounter due to nothing more complicated than a dirty gun.

it Blows my mind that people buy into the thought process that Glocks don’t need to be cleaned. I have made it a habit to clean the gun after every range session. From 1-100 rounds it’s going to get cleaned regardless of round count. I was taught to take care of my tools and they will take care of me. I am very OCD about my carry guns being in the best operating condition that they can possibly be. I think that most will agree that you want that firearm to work when you need it. While you cannot be 100% that it will work due to the fact that it is a mechanical device and, that both ammo and mechanical failures due happen, you can do your best to insure your gun and ammo are of High quality and in good working order. I know cleaning guns can be a pain but it’s a pain worth going through. My family is worth me spending 20 minutes making sure it’s clean.

I wonder if that student changes the oil in their vehicle.

He would have been better off not using anything but the Bore snake, WD40 and grease probably caused most of his problems by attracting dirt, carbon and grime. Glocks will go a long time without cleaning with minimal lube (most people over lube them) although I don’t see the need to see just how long that is. Colion Noir ran his for a long time to see, I can’t recall how many rounds it ended up being.

A few years ago Larry Vickers did a wonderfully, wacky show where he (don't remember the exact details) but I think dunked his rifle or maybe it was a pistol, in a barrel of oil, and then shot it. Removed dripping oil like mad and it was a rather disgusting sight.

The he shot it.

It worked fine.

Is doing this a good idea?

No, but some think over lubing is like being a firearms atheist or something.

Me, I'd rather over lube a bit than under...

For my Missouri classes I have to teach on maintenance. I use this video



He covers it well and I love his technical terms like ‘goobers’ and ‘goofball’.

I don't recommend using WD-40 on any firearm unless it's been dunked in water or been rained on and even then ; even then removal of the WD-40 with an appropriate approved firearms lubricant is appropriate. When WD-40 came out we thought it was a wonderful thing. We had to wipe down about 75 guns every night as part of our closing procedure at the store. Spraying WD40 was so easy and it didn't hurt the finish on the wood. We discovered it gummed up actions because it builds up residue and fouls. WD-40 is not a true lubricant, WD stands for water displacement and the 40 is for the 40th formulation. I didn't learn until many years later, but I never again used in on firearms we started using Rusteprufe to wipe the guns down.

WD-40 Silicone spray works very well. The carrier evaporates so it doesn't collect dirt, dust etc & leaves the
silicone to lubricate. It comes out of the ultra sonic cleaner warm and gets blown out w compressed air & hosed
down w silicone before it cools. After a few minutes, oil as normal & reassemble. Easier to keep clean & I've not
seen any adverse effects. When I spray my firearms I do so over my clean brass so the over spray is not wasted.
The press runs easier as well. Blaster Silicone also works very well. This works for me, YMMV.