The Sig P320 is an excellent handgun and a versatile one, and therefore enjoys wide popularity among shooters around the country.
Given its popularity, there are plenty of owners out there with a need to keep the thing clean. Keeping your handgun clean will ensure proper feeding, smooth cycling, and greater accuracy, not to mention the parts will last longer.
Granted, you can get way more involved with firearms cleaning than this article will cover – but here’s a really quick crash course on how to keep your Sig P320 clean after a trip to the range.
What You’ll Need
For basic gun cleaning, you’ll need a cleaning rod, cleaning patches and a patch holder, bore solvent (like Hoppe’s No. 9), gun oil, and a bore brush in an appropriate size (this is dependent on the caliber of your P320).
You may also want to have some clean rags on hand, along with a nylon brush for general cleaning.
Ensure the Weapon Is Clear
First and foremost: gun safety rules apply here. Never allow the muzzle to cover anything you are not willing to destroy. Clear the weapon, then drop the mag and place to the side. Work the slide a few times to ensure the P320 is clear and visually inspect the chamber before proceeding.
(Mag maintenance is a separate consideration, and you will periodically want to clean your P320 mag but that will not be covered in this post.)
Remove the Slide and Recoil Spring Guide
With the slide all the way back, push the slide catch lever up and the takedown lever downward, then pull the slide catch lever downward and pull the slide forward off of the handgun.
Remove the recoil spring and guide by pushing towards the muzzle end and pulling upward; it should come right out. At this point, you can also remove the barrel from the slide.
Here, most other guides would coach you to remove the fire control assembly, but this short post will only cover a crash cleaning of the slide and P320 barrel.
Using your nylon brush, clean the inside of the slide, as well as the recoil spring. Fouling and dust can accumulate in these areas, cause rough cycling, and potentially rusting the recoil spring.
Dry thoroughly, then give the recoil spring a very light coat of oil, wiping off any excess. This is not for lubrication but to prevent corrosion.
Clean the Sig P320 Barrel
Once the slide and recoil spring are clean, you can turn your attention to the P320 barrel.
The first thing to do is clean the exterior. Apply some bore solvent to your nylon brush and clean the lug, hood and feed ramp. The latter, in particular, may have some accumulated fouling.
After cleaning the exterior, wipe it off and give it a thin coat of oil; again, for corrosion prevention, not lubrication.
Then, screw your bore brush onto the end of your cleaning rod. Coat the brush in bore cleaner/solvent, and push through from chamber to muzzle. When it comes through the muzzle, unscrew it, remove the rod, re-attach the brush, and repeat the process another 3 to 5 times.
Attach your cleaning jag/patch holder to the cleaning rod, then pass that through the bore from chamber to muzzle. Replace the patches and repeat until the patches run clean. Once the bore is clean and dry, you’re ready to reassemble.
Reassemble
After you’ve cleaned the barrel, reassemble the handgun in the reverse order from which you took it apart. Make sure every component is dry before doing so.
This covers only a very basic cleaning of your P320’s barrel and slide. For a deeper cleaning, you’ll want to remove the fire controls and clean the trigger assembly, as well as the magazine.
However, for routine, basic cleaning, this will remove fouling from your bore that can cause corrosion and adversely affect accuracy.
Following this protocol after shooting will ensure that there’s never a large accumulation of fouling in the barrel and will protect your Sig’s functionality, accuracy, and longevity.
