1st 1911 question

[hairtumor]

just picked up my Dan Wesson Heritage. How important is it to clean and lube it before I take it to the range for the first time?

[polo.45]

Very!

[corcoraj2002]

Google about "idiot scratch or mark" and watch some you tube videos on how to strip and reassemble a 1911. It is easy to mark the frame when putting the slide stop back in.

[AeroEngi]

Very important! Make sure to clean it well and properly lube the slide and frame rails, barrel interface with the bushing, barrel hood, locking lugs on the barrel and the locking lug grooves in the slide.

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[lwlaml]

Most guns are prepared with a preservation on the metal before shipping from the factory. This gunk neither cleans nor lubes, but it prevents corrosion while the metal is in the mail and sits on a shelf. Best to remove it and put a proper coat of lube on the right spots before shooting.

Many posts on the forum begin with "My brand new _____ has FTE/ FTF issues at the range today" with a follow on post that says, "No, I didn't clean it first..."

[Lead Waster]

Didn't it come with a manual? What did that say?

I just bought an ice cream maker, even that manual said "clean parts before first use!" LOL!

[Tee Why]

As many have said, I'd clean it first. I think most if not all instruction manuals I've seen with my guns recommend cleaning and lubing the gun before shooting it for the first time.

[hairtumor]

ya it probably was a stupid question, I just don't want to screw up my first 1911. Thanks for the reply's.

[mes227]

I clean and lube everything first, even the simplest revolvers. And for a factory-new gun, it's a good idea to run a brush through the barrel periodically at the range, say every 1/4 or half box, just to keep any metal burrs or other manufacturing debris from causing permanent problems. Run the brush through 2-3 times with a little solvent, then put a little lube in the barrel and a dry patch (or use CLP instead of solvent and skip the lube, but still run a dry patch or barrel mob, or use solvent with the brush then a dry lube like Rem teflon or moly spray). Good practice for the first range trip of any factory new gun. I have a new 25-06 which will make her debut trip next week and I plan to brush and lube the barrel every +/-5 rounds for the first 20, then every 10 for the next 20 or so. Probably over kill, but very little effort and makes me feel better.

For a new pistol the break-in period is a few hundred rounds (maybe 500) and a bit extra care is needed for that entire period while everything loosens up a bit. From the factory these things can fit very tightly and that causes a huge increase in wear. A tad of cleaning and a few drops of oil can make the break in go much better on the gun. It also gives you a chance to catch any defects early on.