Gotta keep them ARs clean

AR/M4 AR General Discussion
21

I don’t anyone really condones just lubing and pressing on for a duty rifle. Ones used for range use sure, the system can easily handle it when lubricated and if the rifle is just for the range why clean it.

The issue is that when cleaning requiresthe use of steel objects to make sure every single bit of cabon is gone you end up damaging the parts and having to replace them before their time. I could make a ten page report on stupid ways to clean your rifle that my friends have told me they use to clean their rifles.

I clean my rifle after every time I use it but my cleaning is just a simple wipedown of everything, no scraping or scrubbing.

22

Run em hard and wet!

23

As former 19D Cavalry Scout in an Air Cavalry Troop I can tell you that our SOP for cleaning our M16A1s (and M60s) is as follows:

  • Disassemble the weapon.
  • With an ungloved hands, dunk the parts into to the solvent.
  • With whatever tools you needed for cleaning, scrub away!

And if we had an inspection from a higher HQ, we even went so far as to clean the chamber and locking lugs with a chamber brush attached to a section of cleaning rod with the other end chucked to an electric hand drill. Ah, the good ol days!

FWIW, the solvent tank made from a 55 gal drum cut in half with welded angle iron bars for legs.

24

Run 'em wet. That’s the advice and I follow it. Has anyone else noticed they throw a lot of oil when run wet? I have several yellow shirts, my “don’t shoot me” shirts when I’m at the range and my “don’t run over me” shirts when I’m riding my bicycle. They are sprayed with oil stains from the ARs. I’m participating in Ladies Day at my range in October, providing and supervising a couple of ARs. I don’t want the ladies getting their blouses ruined so I’m going to run them dry. That’ll be a first for me.

25

Is cleaning a rifle that tough to do? I am not talking white glove inspection clean, but some people are taking pride out of having a dirty as shit rifle. That says more to me about the person than the rifle. If one were to simply do a field strip and wipe stuff down at the end of a range session and lube the rifle back up, there really is no need to scrub away or wire brush anything. And yes a simple wipe down IS cleaning the weapon and often all that is needed if you do it on a regular basis and not let the thing sit and allow for case hardened build up. I give a bit more attention to detail when it comes to the chamber area to ensure that there is no large debris or gunk in it and it is clean. As mentioned gun powder residue = corrosion = bad for the throat.

26

I wouldn’t worry about throat erosion on a carbine or not for intervals under 1k rounds between cleanings. I might clean more if I was being paid to carry a rifle again and could do it on work time.

27

I’m saving that pic to go with my dirty 1911 pic <<<=8)Ron

28

I always clean and lube after every range session. The hardest things I have ever used to scub any AR down has been a plastic toothbrush(you would be amazed at how well the electric toothbrushes work) and brass brushes. I have never run them dry. It seems the longer you wait to clean it the harder that carbon gets? Would my AR’s pass a white glove test? Who knows, probably not. But I have supreme confidence they will run under any circumstance that would arise. I just can’t see a reason for not cleaning your rifle after each use.

Just looking over your rifle for possible problems and broken or worn parts is enough reason for me to pull it apart. All of this with one more thing, if Dad came over for some range time( he calls it family time) and seen a dirty rifle he would give me a ton of crap and a full lecture about how a clean rifle saved his life. Why argue? That is time you could be cleaning your rifle son (at least that is what I was told).

29

Did it function like this?

30

The rifle belongs to a member of my local range.
Good guy.

This was done a while back using Wolf ammo when it was still less than $100 a case.

If I remember correctly, it was a Model 1 sales upper and a Bushmaster bolt.
I may have that backwards.

ETA: It was a Bushmaster upper with a M1S BCG.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2010/06/09/a-clean-wouldnt-hurt/

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_118/499497__ARCHIVED_THREAD____Anyone_remember_the_pics_of_the_AR_after_1_000_s_of_rounds_of_Wolf_.html&page=1

31

Sigh…

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

32

:rolleyes:

33

Unfortunately, I came from the old school method. If I had a dollar for ever time I stood in line while the Armorer nitpicked with a q-tip…

So, having said that, I’d really like to hear what IS considered a good cleaning ritual.

34

Spray entire weapon including all internals out with non chrlorinated brake cleaner (outdoors). Relube heavily all wear points and where carbon accumulates. Punch bore with 2-6 patches of carbon solvent, then the same of copper solvent. Don’t do this any more frequently than every 500 rounds, preferably double that. Replace springs and gas rings at recommended intervals. Enjoy your newfound free time and lessened exposure to chemicals.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

35

Thank you for the response. That’s great because I HATE a 3 hour cleaning ritual. I’ve done some reading where ppl are very specific (including Noveske) about the direction that you run the brush thru the bore (one direction only, etc. etc.); can you elaborate or pontificate on that?

36

If you want to laugh read the TM for the M4 (TM 05538C-10/1A
TM9-1005-319-10). It says the weapon should be stored with a light coat of oil. It also says not use cleaners other than RBC and CLP. It also says that in a desert environment you should lube the internals but refain from lubing the outside. So a lot of the super anal stuff is actually not supported by the manuel. I’m not trying to sell doctrine, or the book. What I am saying is that some of in uniform need to read the book, before we start enforcing/creating standards.

37

You can theoretically damage the crown by going reverse of the direction the bullet travels. I punch the bore the direction the bullet travels and remove the patch at the muzzle. Try to have a few minutes in between each patch to let the chemicals work.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

38

Wow, talk about missing the sarcasm in the op

39

This topic, along with using Wolf ammo, comes up a few times a year and probably deserves it’s own thread. Anyway…while in Basic, AIT and regular Army units, it was scrub until you caused more damage to the weapon then from actual use, & did what I was told. The M-16FOW is still dogged by it’s Vietnam experience by NCOICs, from other NCO, and Officers who are mentored by the same, at every level, regurgitating hearsay, despite what the operator’s manual states.

I have shot match grade weapons (with tighter tolerances) back in the day from .22s, M16s, & M-14s, on various rifle teams all the way to competing at Camp Perry with the USAMU. We would shoot 25K+ during a competition season, with out cleaning, unless the operation or accuracy started to decline. We believed that cleaning degraded accuracy. If you cleaned it, you’d have to re-zero because the accuracy you had prior, wasn’t there anymore.

Since being on M4C, and hearing this ‘clean your weapon after every use’ from new members on a regular basis, I decided to test the delicacy of my weapon. At the time, and prior, I was totally ignorant of what a quality AR was or if a civilian variant could hold up to not being military scrubbed to death before it would function properly. It was a Sabre Middy upper on a Colt Sporter lower. I shot it until the weapon malfunctioned. I had a few (FTE, FTF), but they were attributed to either a bad magazine or not having enough extractor tension, while shooting Wolf. After identifying and fixing those issues, I planned on taking it up to 1500 rounds, without cleaning, just lube. Once I reached that goal without malfunction, I kept going until getting a couple of FTEs around the 3500 mark. It was due to the gummy red primer sealant that Wolf & Brown Bear uses. It had worked it’s way under the extractor, completely filling the gap with the gummy red sealant. Once the extractor area was cleaned, I continued to shoot until the 5K mark before a thorough cleaning was performed.

For the next few years as I accumulated more ARs and increase my knowledge on the platform (and knowing which ones were crap), I did this test again with 2 x 6920s, LMT MRP, & a DD LW Middy. The major culprit was eastern european ammo, which I have shot probably 50K+ of over the years, then a bad mag or two along the way. I currently don’t clean until the 3K mark with steel cased ammo (my reliability mark), I have taken a 6920 up to 8K with brass ammo (PMC, Federal XM193, American Eagle, Q3131, and IMI193) without malfunction. Eastern european ammo (I haven’t used Tula and Brown bear is my GoTo ammo since I can’t ever recall having any issues with it) is great economical training fodder, but you have to know it & your weapon’s limits. The same can be said for brass ammo. I’ve been in quite a few carbine courses where a weapon went down due to popped primers, while my uncleaned weapon and Wolf kept on working. I’ve also been in several of Pat Roger’s Carbine Operator’s courses and are very familiar with his T&E guns, particularly, Filthy 14 (BCM Middy). If interested, Google it and see the results. This is just my training and personal use observations so if members want to clean their AR after every shoot, drive on. I have better things to do with my time. If I had to carry an AR for a living, that would be a different story…But I do know what my personal weapons are capable of.

40

Who spends 3 hours cleaning their guns?

Anyways, I thought I had posted my routine previously, but couldn’t find the post, so here goes.

Immediatly after I am done shooting for the day I run a patch soaked in CLP through the bore, so that the heat from the barrel helps the CLP seep inside the micro-pores in the barrel, and start to dissolve any carbon build up.

When I get back home or to the barracks, I use compressed air if available (either from a stand alone air compressor or air on a can) to blow off any debris/dust/sand/dirt from the outside of my gun. Then I field strip it, and use air to blow out any debris/dust/sand/dirt from the inside of the gun.

I then go on to clean my optic, before my hands get all oily and dirty. I use a lense brush tom remove large particles, and lense paper folded up to clean the lenses. Start in the middle, and continue outwards to the edge in a circular motion. Do not apply to much force in case you missed a grain of sand, as you can scratch the lense. If there are stains after the first run, I just breathe on the lense and repeat. You can also use a q-tip soaked in isopropanol to help remove any grease marks on the lenses.

The next step is to place the piston in a cup filled with lube, and let it sit so that build up starts to dissolve. I then proceed to wipe down all the individual parts with cleaning patches soaked in CLP. I tend to use a lot of patches, to avoid just moving dirt around. After they are wiped down, I relube them. I also inspect them visually during this.

I then use the chamber brush and nylon toothbrush to clean the barrel extension and chamber. This is followed by the barrel, and I use a copper brush soaked in CLP, and run it through a few times. I finish off with two-three runs of my boresnake, and inspect by pulling a clean patch through. If it’s not too dirty I’m happy.

The final thing is to clean and remove any visible build up on the piston. It is usually easily removed with a copper brush after being soaked for a while.

Reassembly and function check ends the routine. Takes maybe 15-20 minutes.

My lubrication scheme:

Inside upper receiver
Barrel extension
Oprod
Piston
Adjustable gas regulator
Charging handle
Ejection port cover spring and pin
Forward assist (never used, but it’s a moving part)
Trigger springs
Selector switch and axle
Mag release
Bolt catch
Buffer and spring
Bolt carrier
Bolt
Firing pin and spring
Cam pin

For arctic conditions I apply more lube to the external parts than I do in sandy conditions. Lube amounts inside the gun remain the same, regardless of field conditions. I am liberal when applying lube, but it’s not dripping out of the magwell.

My field maintenance routine is similar, but dependant on use and exposure; I might spend less time if weather has been good, if I haven’t fired the gun and it has not been exposed to the elements a lot. But it is a part of the standard routine every day, before food and rest, when out on operations.

OCD to some, perhaps. The devil is in the details, and I try to remove as many variables as I can, so that my gun goes bang every time every time I need it to. I have used this routine on my gun for 4 1/2 years now, and only changed a handguard (broken screw) and replaced the piston once (worn rings). It is not excessive, or damaging to the gun.