New USPc maintenance ?

[og556]

Hello,

This is my first HK and I want to make sure that I do every thing I need to do to make this gun run right. I understand that the HK handguns like to run wet unlike my Glock.

Normally with the G19 I would come home, field strip down to barrel, lower receiver, slide, recoil rod, and magazine and use Gun Scrubber on the lower and upper followed by patches and then a good lube.

I also detail strip my G19 after every couple of thousand rounds. I have not received the USPc yet but I want to know what to expect in terms of maintenance for this gun.

Should I leave the factory grease alone in the lower and just wipe down the slide, barrel, and recoil rod or should I use gun scrubber and blast away all the factory lube on the lower and the slide ?

What types of grease and or oil do you guys recommend for a duty gun that will likely see around 400-500 rounds per range session indoors and out ?

BTW the gun scrubber I'm using is Synthetic Safe so it should not harm the USP plastic right ?

Thank you

[Sobriquet]

Hello,

This is my first HK and I want to make sure that I do every thing I need to do to make this gun run right. I understand that the HK handguns like to run wet unlike my Glock.

Congrats, you're moving up in the world. ;) Sorry, I couldn't resist - it IS an HK board.

Here's the most recent thread on cleaning. There are more in-depth threads, so just run some searches if you want more:

http://hkpro.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86375

You don't have to run your HK wet. You can for range use, but most here would probably agree that you should only lightly oil it for duty or CCW carry. One of the LEO people here should probably answer that for you.

Normally with the G19 I would come home, field strip down to barrel, lower receiver, slide, recoil rod, and magazine and use Gun Scrubber on the lower and upper followed by patches and then a good lube.

I also detail strip my G19 after every couple of thousand rounds. I have not received the USPc yet but I want to know what to expect in terms of maintenance for this gun.

It's going to be the same. The USP series is very forgiving in terms of maintenance. I'm pretty sure a detail strip will supposedly void your warranty, but I've heard it said that so long as you don't mess up putting it back together, they won't care and will honor it anyway. Do a search for Greg Bell's excellent "Break my" threads. You'll see these things don't need to be babied to work flawlessly.

Should I leave the factory grease alone in the lower and just wipe down the slide, barrel, and recoil rod or should I use gun scrubber and blast away all the factory lube on the lower and the slide ?

Get the cosmoline off and relube with your choice of product before shooting. That stuff is a preservative, not a lube - and it attracts fouling and grit.

What types of grease and or oil do you guys recommend for a duty gun that will likely see around 400-500 rounds per range session indoors and out ?

BTW the gun scrubber I'm using is Synthetic Safe so it should not harm the USP plastic right ?

It may not harm the gun, but it'll harm you. Do a search for MSDS and gun scrubber on here to see all the nasty stuff in it. I'd switch to something else that works just as well and isn't harmful to you.

A lot of people here, myself included, swear by Weaponshield CLP. Some use their Lithi-Shield in addition, but I haven't found it necessary (but I may still try it). Check the thread I linked to and run searches on cleaning or weaponshield to see what others use.

[Big Bore]

Sobriquet hit all the major points. The only thing to be added is cosmetic only. The HK will run perfectly well dry so you heard wrong on that. However, running completely dry will increase rub marks on the slide, chamber hood, and barrel. Week after week we see posts of people who buy an HK and start shooting then get bent all out of shape when it shows wear. Wear marks is a fact of life on a shooter but to decrease wear marks, if that might be a concern to you, put a small dab of grease under the top of the slide right in front of the chamber hood. That small dab of grease will help keep the black surface of the chamber hood from wearing quite so quickly and is not in a location that is prone to attract dirt or grim. Wear streaks along the barrel can be reduced the same way but grease there WILL attract lint and dirt and could cause a problem so I do not recommend putting grease on the outside of the barrel unless it is a range only weapon. Besides, wear marks on the outside of the barrel is not going to show anyway. Wear on the side of the chamber hood, right below the serial number on the barrel and all along the barrel are unavoidable and for some reason causes concern with many people new to HKs. If you shoot them, they will wear. If one wants a pristine safe queen, buy two, put one away and shoot the other.
Also, do not be concerned when the plastic flashing to the front and rear of the tabs that the slide rides on breaks off. The steel insert is what the slide rides on, not the plastic flashing around them and the plastic breaks off relatively quickly and is no cause for concern. That too is unavoidable no matter how much grease you might put on them.

[og556]

Thank you both for this great advice.

To be honest with you my primary concern is functionality and reliability. I like a well worn in gun with a good action. My sig p226 trigger was good right out of the box but much better after a thousand rounds or so through the gun.

I do understand that the wear marks on the barrel, rails, and etc are all normal. My main concern is the cosmoline in the lower.

I think I will be tempted to spray down the lower with mpro7 or gunscrubber and then lube it properly.

My sig ran great with light amounts of slide glide on the sear and it seems as though the internals of the HK are very similar.