What is the reccommended procedure??? Is it a normal clean/lube??
If you bought it new, it should have come with a operator’s manual. If not, you can get one online. Clean and oil it as the manual tells you before you shoot it(normal cleaning/lubing). A lot of times you’ll pick up on something you didn’t know about it. During breakin, you want your bolt and areas of friction on the carrier group to be oiled generously.
Well, I put mine together from parts. No manual. Typically, it’s just a routine cleaning, but I wondered if anyone had any other tips/ insight to an initial cleaning
So long as you don’t have any goopy glob of junk in your barrel, bolt and gas system, you really can get by with boresnaking the barrel and oiling the bolt well.
Just a standard cleaning, which should be fairly quick on a new build. During the break-in, run it a tad heavy on the lube.
How many rounds is a typical ‘break in’?
a rifle should be smoothly mated in 500 or so rounds. i don’t know why everyone always says use MORE loob when breaking something in… i personally run a little on the DRY side when breaking in a brand new build. exaggerates any problems that it may have, and speeds up the break-in process.
It’s not just cleaning and lubing it, it’s also inspecting the parts to insure everything is squared away.
This is what I like to do after the above.
Zero sights/optics
Run a series of drills, including but not limited to checking the ammo, all mags carried and getting the gun working. No set number, but I would say at least 4-5 mags. I’ve found if a problem exist it will surface by then, although one can surface at anytime with any gun.
Recheck zero
Now as far as how much lube? I’ve yet to see one not work because it had to much, however-plenty that didn’t. I shoot with a guy that for some odd reason doesn’t grasp the concept of lubing weapons. Why, I don’t know, but he doesn’t have to incorporate malfunction drills.
Indeed. It drives me nuts when I have to pull someone off the line because they can’t figure out why they are getting malfunctions, just to find out they have a dry weapon.
I don’t think there is a magic number of rounds to consider it broken in. 500 should be good to get most surfaces worn in I guess. I like to get 1K through one before I rely on it.
I get the globs of grease off and use some CLP to lube it up.
Good suggestions on beak-in /cleaning from Noveske Rifle Works below, plus there’s an excellent sticky on general AR cleaning in this forum.
I feel with any new factory built weapon, that the following is a good suggestion:
- Disassemble
- Clean
- Inspect
- Lube
- Reassemble
- Function Check
For a home built weapon, you’re the Assembler, Quality Assurance and Quality Control. In these circumstances during the assembly process you see first hand the quality or serviceability of the parts throughout the build. In those cases, I simply:
- Disassemble
- Lube
- Reassemble
- Function Check
1000-1500 rounds to prove the entire weapon system for reliability, and not just the barrel. Ensuring parts won’t break and everything operates as advertised. With enough lube so it looks and is wet to the touch. It also is the typical round count in a carbine course. So if you are planning on doing a few of them annually, that round count should be the bench mark for reliability.
So it says not to pull a brush or jag back through the barrel, are you supposed to unscrew it? I thought it was OK as long as the brush went all the way through before bringing it back in and as long as you don’t bring a dirty patch back through.
Am I not tracking here?
I don’t buy off on this break in nonsense for an AR. I do, however, believe in getting several hundred rounds through a weapon to insure that it establishes a groove with no breakage or other problems.
blah on that… i’ve always run the brush through both ways, even through stainless barrels. just start at the breach end, so you don’t fuck up the crown.
Can you explain this? (no, I’m not being sarcastic)
Yes for me on unscrewing the jag or brush before pulling the rod back through, although I just started this recently. And damn little use of the brush.
It seems to makes sense but what do I know, other than seeing accuracy go to hell in a few by going at it too aggressively. And I certainly don’t claim to be an expert on the matter, but one or two premium barrel makers say the same thing about brushes as Noveske (thought I had a link, but I’ve lost it). Anyway, less cleaning strokes can’t damage anything.
YMMV and all that.
Just clean it and don’t over-think it. Your carbine can fire a few thousand rounds without a hiccup if properly lubed.
Not Markm but,
Barrel break in, not necessary with chrome lined barrels.
System break in/prove the weapon/deemed it reliable, for a carbine course or bet your life on…necessary, at least for me.
What I look for:
-ensuring that the extractor is functioning properly
-ejects properly
-bolt lugs aren’t cracked or cracking
-not short stroking
-Mag well dimensions, not a tight fit and can properly cycle with my stash of mags, Pmags and USGI, D&H, ect.
-weapon cycles with correct buffer weight (Carbine or H-1)
-functions with a wide variety of ammo (Brass 5.56 thru Wolf)…etc…
What round count you choose to do this, is up to what an individual thinks it should be, based on his/hers use.
IMHO, it will depend on what side of the chart your weapon falls to, and what rate you expend those rounds. 500-1000 rounds spread over what time frame? A weekend (Ideally if you plan on training a lot), a month, 6 months, a year, 2 years? The shorter the time span, the more you can gauge what your weapon can handle.