I recently purchased my first M4 5.56 and absolutely love it! Unfortunately, being new to this round and firearm platform, I need some help. After paying for the rifle, I decided that I would try to save a little on ammo. I bought some bulk Herter’s from Cabelas and have shot about 50 rounds so far just to sight it in. The round is advertised as non corrosive, but it seemed to fire a little “dirty”. I know that I need to clean my rifle, but am a little nervous about taking it down for a full clean/ lube job. I have watched several videos here and on other sites on the takedown/ cleaning, but have never done it myself. How many rounds is too many before a serious cleaning? Also, is this round a decent on for plinking? I have since picked up some Remmington 5.56 and will shoot it when the first batch runs out. Any help is appreciated.
ARs can run almost indefinitely with no cleaning - with good lubing.
That said… at a minimum, after shooting that stuff, I’d run some CLP soaked patches down the barrel and let it soak over night. Then patch it out the following day.