HOW MANY OF YOU GUYS USE THE AR15 BOLT CARRIER CARBON SCRAPPER? I read the cleaning sticky. Its been a while and I’m on the verge of doing the dirty deed with 4 AR’s. Can you damage your Carrier with one? I looked at the one that looks like a screw driver, don’t really understand its function. Do you just ream with it?
I know I have cleaned my guns and left carbon, so I wanted to get some feedback.
Do you like to soak it first with CLP? Or does that even help with Carbon build up? I am concerned with doing damage.
i’ve always just used a razor blade to scrape the carbon off the bolt, and a pick to dig it out of the carrier. i have no experience with the carbon removal tools.
i wouldn’t use anything that will take the parker off the bolt or damage the chrome in the carrier. some of these things “polish” the bolt, for instance- bolts are parkerized to resist corrosion, if you remove that from a low-wear/high-carbon area of the bolt, you’re just going to make it easier to corrode.
I am in the process of arranging an online review of the Magna-Matic AR15 Carbon Scraper. Don’t have a time frame yet, still have the details to iron out with the mfgr.
I’ve used the tool and it works mostly because it’s able to reach inside the carrier more than most tools you’d typically use as an alternative. Spray the carrier with some CLP or brake cleaner, let it soak a minute or two, and go to town. It works perfectly then. Although Botach sent out an email showing off this new tool recently: http://www.botachtactical.com/m4ct.html
“Do not concern yourself with the carbon buildup on the bolt’s tail” per Pat Rogers’ article called Keep It Running from SWAT Magazine, Dec. 2006. However, do remove carbon from the “bolt cam pin slot, inside of the bolt carrier (yeah, that chrome-lined thing where the bolt goes in) and the bottom of the bolt carrier itself.”
I got a CATM4 for Christmas. Haven’t used it yet. It sure looks like it will cut down on my cleaning time, though, since when I do clean my guns, I tend to clean every speck off. Old habit, I guess.
And you would know this how? I didnt see you last time I cleaned my “stick”. Or were you watching from the shadows? Youd be surprised at how well Tetra keeps gunk from sticking.
because if anything worked that good, it’d be the most amazing loob ever created. it’d be big news.
you cant prevent carbon buildup in the carrier or bolt tail because no loob will stay in place after being blasted with 15,000 PSI of hot carbon gas via the gas key. there are a multitude of lubricants that do a perfectly adequate job at keeping the rest of the action fluid, but the gas chamber is exclusive.
Honestly… why be concerned with the junk on the bolt tail? Has it ever been the cause of a failed rifle? I was told by someone on this site a year or so back that the bolt tail was not needed to be cleaned, and in my last couple thousand rounds… I have not touched mine.
I’m collecting/growing bolt tail carbon to see when a failure will occur!
All I can tell you is I keep my rifle well lubed with Tetra…meaning a few drops in the carrier vent holes every 500 rounds or so. I clean every 2k rounds or so…after shooting an average of 100 rounds or so every outing. I clean the bolt with a rag soaked with Hoppe’s…and it cleans ALL carbon off the tail. If you dont believe it thats up to you…I couldn’t care less one way or the other. But until you try it, please don’t call me a liar. Enjoy scraping ur bolt!
There was a lengthy thread about cleaning the carbon off the tail and from the carrier within the last year.
White-glove inspection is much nonsense, intended to busy otherwise bored or idle hands and satisfy antiquated ideations of what weapons cleaning and readiness should be.
Knock the chunks off. Clean the chamber. Wipe it out. Lube it well. If you’re spending more than five or ten minutes cleaning a service gun, you’re overdoing it.
