taking home first pistol... how do I prep it?

[joostin4]

I'm picking up a Sig P226 on Saturday (it's my first handgun).

My question is what do I need to know and do about pre-shoot and post-shoot maintenance?

Someone told me just following the directions in the manual will tell me everything I need to know in terms of how to take care of the pistol before and after shooting. If that's the case what is some of the stuff that I need? Gun oil? Gun grease? Is there a difference between the two?

Also can anyone offer me any tips on things I should and shouldn't do? I heard somewhere that I should never use a steel bore snake to clean/grease the gun? I have no clue as it is my first firearm period so any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[drifter001]

before you shoot it, make sure you clean it to get all the factory/packaging grease out and itll be squeeky clean. theres vids on youtube that walk you through. the manual helps a lot too. as far as a steel bore snake goes, your barrel is make of harder steel so youll be fine. bore snakes to me are the greatest invention to clean firearms. most importantly though, always practice safety. make sure your firearm is unloaded

[PandaLuv]

Get hoppes 9 oil and solvent to clean and lube. Slide Glide for the rails.
Don't get the boresnake, mainly cause you are new to guns. Maybe later down the road. Just get a regular bore brush and rod. A box of qtips and patches to clean everything.

I use my finger when I lube the slide and the frame. And I recommend using a painting brush to apply grease on rails since it's a sig. Apply lube inside the barrel like recommend it.

Anyways, congrats on the gun. Really great pistol, love mine. It's my first gun as well. Which caliber?
Also

[PandaLuv]

One more thing, please follow always 4 main rules.

[vincnet11]

I didn't fully clean my brand new Sig P229 9mm. Running on factory grease, I shot 200 rounds of winchester white box and 50 rounds of Remington UMC(some say is weak and causes jams on new guns) No stoppages the gun ran flawlessly considering the slide is a heavy block of stainless steel and designed for a .40

I ran out of 9mm ammo.

I recommend just lube the feed lamp of the barrel.

[Kanester]

Well, if it was a Glock, I would say dunk it in some mud, throw it against the wall a few times and go crazy, but it's a Sig so.......











Just stirring the pot Sig fans-You give us Glock people a hard enough time Nice gun, I actually like Sigs. Lets see some pics!!

[joostin4]

before you shoot it, make sure you clean it to get all the factory/packaging grease out and itll be squeeky clean. theres vids on youtube that walk you through. the manual helps a lot too. as far as a steel bore snake goes, your barrel is make of harder steel so youll be fine. bore snakes to me are the greatest invention to clean firearms. most importantly though, always practice safety. make sure your firearm is unloaded

Should I completely degrease the gun of all factory grease then to start off? Then apply a clean layer of my own oil?

Get hoppes 9 oil and solvent to clean and lube. Slide Glide for the rails.
Don't get the boresnake, mainly cause you are new to guns. Maybe later down the road. Just get a regular bore brush and rod. A box of qtips and patches to clean everything.

I use my finger when I lube the slide and the frame. And I recommend using a painting brush to apply grease on rails since it's a sig. Apply lube inside the barrel like recommend it.

Anyways, congrats on the gun. Really great pistol, love mine. It's my first gun as well. Which caliber?

Is there a reason why I should use Hoppes 9 oil in general but Slide Glide only on the rails? it's a 9mm.

[9mmepiphany]

A grease will protect the rails better than oil...Sigs like to run wet, I've seen folks in classes float some oil on top of the Slide Guide for extra protection.

Be sure to disassemble and clean the protectorant from inside the magazine too

[PandaLuv]

Hoppes is fairly cheap and common. You can find it anywhere.
Don't use oil on the slide cause oil evaporates when the barrel gets hot after shooting 100 rounds or so. Not good cause of the friction, the rails will get scraped badly and it might result in the slide getting stuck(I couldn't rack the slide without putting a lot strength). At least it happened to me the first time I shot my sig. Grease on another hand doesn't evaporate. And it makes the action a lot smoother. Go with slide glide, it will be worth it in a long run.
But honestly, the gun is pretty low maintenance , easy to field strip and it doesn't need to be cleaned often. I clean my sig after every range trip though since I like to keep it clean. Just make sure the rails are well greased.
I shot about 1000 rounds through p226, never jammed on me once. Also, if the slide doesn't lock back after the last round, it could be just your grip. Have fun.
I have .40 but 9mm is pretty awesome as well.

[drifter001]

yes. i use hoppes like panda suggested and just wipe everything with it pretty much. that will clean off all the old grease on there and just apply your own oil/grease/etc on it after. i always enjoy cleaning my guns

[joostin4]

Hoppes is fairly cheap and common. You can find it anywhere.
Don't use oil on the slide cause oil evaporates when the barrel gets hot after shooting 100 rounds or so. Not good cause of the friction, the rails will get scraped badly and it might result in the slide getting stuck(I couldn't rack the slide without putting a lot strength). At least it happened to me the first time I shot my sig. Grease on another hand doesn't evaporate. And it makes the action a lot smoother. Go with slide glide, it will be worth it in a long run.
But honestly, the gun is pretty low maintenance , easy to field strip and it doesn't need to be cleaned often. I clean my sig after every range trip though since I like to keep it clean. Just make sure the rails are well greased.
I shot about 1000 rounds through p226, never jammed on me once. Also, if the slide doesn't lock back after the last round, it could be just your grip. Have fun.
I have .40 but 9mm is pretty awesome as well.

I'll take your advice on the Hoppes. That's what I would lube all the internal parts (except for Slide Glide for the slide rails) with right? I saw on the Hoppes website that there is an original formula Hoppes and a "semiauto" formula specifically for semi auto pistols. Is there a real difference between the two? Which one do you use? What would you recommend as a solvent or degreaser for cleaning the gun after a day at the range? Sorry for all the questions haha

[chim-chim7]

Go easy with the oiling. New shooters tend to be a little over zealous. If it doesn't stick to the gun and runs then you put two much. One drop per rail per 300 rounds is fine. Cycle the action to distribute the oil then wipe of the excess. Too much oil and it will only attract carbon residu and dirt.

[PandaLuv]

Lol don't worry bro. I was asking way more question when I got into guns. I am more than happy to answer them.

Solvent does everything, it cleans and takes off grease. I honestly don't know anyone who uses a degreaser. What's the point though when the solvent does everything?
I prefer Slide Glide mainly because it proved itself on the market. It's recommended by many sig users. And to me, it's easy to apply and it works great, always smooth action. Again, since it's sig , I wouldn't be stingy with grease on the rails. Lube the frame, slide and other parts and after 5 minutes, whip it down with a rag. And please don't lube the firing pin!

[c3 rolling]

Why is it that I can shoot 500+ rounds in one sitting and my oil doesnt "burn" off on my sig, glocks, and 3rd gen smiths?
Once you use Hoppes or other type of gun cleaner, make sure you air it out and fully dry it before you apply oil. If you dont have a needle oiler, put oil on the end of a Q-tip and run it along the rails. Like Chim Chim said, over oiling gums up the gun and can cause malfunctions. I like to put some oil on my finger tip and put a THIN coat on the barrel where it contacts the slide. I use synthetic 10w-40 motor oil and it works just as, if not better than any gun oil Ive purchased. A quart will last me probly 10 years if not longer.

[PandaLuv]

^^^^
+1

Because Motor Oil is like grease. Thats another good substitue.
Like C3 was saying as well, make sure the solvent evaporates before applying lube.