maintenance in the field

[Timelord]

I suppose frequency of cleaning will depend on your local conditions and how temperate your temperate zone is. Really cold climes will not experience rust to any significant degree, as neither will dry climates. For the UK, then we have the perfect environment for rust and even in warm summers, there is still a reasonable amount of moisture in the air, so after firing and the barrel heating up, there is the chance of condensation. This is especially so in more mediocre temperatures. just transferring the gun between gun cases, or from vehicles or from one heated building to another non heated one or in/outdoors, can cause condensation on the internal workings of the gun. This should be watched out for and will then necessitate a clean & lube as soon as practicable. The frequency of this will as I said depend on your particular environment at the time.

Additionally, the type of gun and the nature of the propellant will also have an impact. Expedient powders will need regular cleaning.

Living for periods in the field will necessitate regular cleaning as dirt and liquids may enter the gun. A gun that is good for 5000 rounds in factory tests or for police forces to use occasionally before putting back in an armoury is not necessarily going to function for 5000 rounds in extended field use scenarios.

Many guns have manufactured weaknesses due to compromise designs based on keeping the price down. One poor quality part can stop the functioning of the whole gun. This is quite common and especially so in more modern times where we live many years after the major 20th century World Wars with the robustness of design learned then. It is now a throw away material society and even militaries are compromised in these same ways. Fortunately for them they have a whole logistical supply chain and buddies close by to back them up. For most preppers this does not hold out.
Before buying any gun, check out the enthusiasts forums and also the guns combat heritage. make sure the modern gun is the same manufactured design quality as the historical one you may read about. Often they are not! I had a simple failure on a Winchester lever action carbine last week. The gun was useless after only 35 shots. It appeared in almost new condition and after online research, I found it was a common problem - this has led me to uncover that Winchester is not alone. Do not heed the poster who says he has never had a problem with his particular gun and so they are the best thing out there. He might just be one of the lucky ones. They don't all fail - obviously... Read the forums and after a while you will get a general idea of the strengths and weaknesses of any particular gun - or any other item of kit come to that.

A gun with a known potential fault is an unreliable gun. I would not want to have an unreliable gun for any survival scenario. Better not to have it in the first place and then to make alternative arrangements for self protection - like a different one that is reliable - Simples stuff. lol. TL.