Your personal cleaning schedule?

AR/M4 AR General Discussion
1

It seems cleaning ARs varies from “I run a patch through it once in a while” to “I clean the fark out of it any time I shoot it”

What your personal cleaning schedule? Take it to the range for 100rnds gets X vs 5000nds (as an example)

No doubt, environment plays an important role as those in places where sand and grit are likely to get into the gun may be cleaning often for that reason as much as rnds through it, so mention that possible factor too. :cool:

What’s your personal schedule, factors involved in that schedule, etc.

I have read a number of stock articles (and read Basic AR Cleaning Sticky) on recommended cleaning intervals but find it’s always telling to hear what people are actually doing.

I hope this is not a repeat thread. If so, just post URL and I’ll head over…

2

i clean my weapons every time i shoot them. it usually consists of a quick but thorough wipedown, and three or four passes with a bore snake. then i re-lube.
it’s somewhere in-between not doing anything at all, and a detailed clean.

3

For the most part, I add some Slip EWL before I go out for the day. Somewhere around the 750 to 1,000 round mark, I’m guessing based on how often I do this, I just wipe down the bolt carrier group and barrel extension with a rag, and basically the inside of the upper and lower, then add some Slip.

My buddy has a 2,200 acre ranch where we shoot and hunt. It is South Texas dusty and dirty, but there’s also some ponds and wooded thick areas where we are pushing our way through and all kinds of stuff gets caught up in our rifles. It’s never been a problem there or any similar areas.

I rarely run anything through my AR barrels, though I will once in a great while. If I’m headed to a class and especially if I’m teaching in any way, I’ll give it a more thorough cleaning, but still not white glove clean.

For a more “serious use” rifle, I keep it clean and lubed well and will pay a little more attention to the small parts and inspect it more often. Instead of wiping it down every thousand rounds or so, I break it down farther and look for any stress or fractures.

That’s all. This is what I do with everything from my SR15, mk18 or SCARs.

ETA - from my experience, keeping it lubed is more important than keeping it clean.

4

I usually clean before a class, or major competition. This may mean there was only 200 rounds through it, maybe 2000 or more. I will try and clean it after running a lot of rounds through it from personal practice or something (even if not before a class). I usually don’t worry about it too much, though.

When I clean it I usually tear down the BCG and do a fairly thorough cleaning of it and the upper, along with barrel and muzzle device. Nothing too severe, I don’t break out scrapers and shit…but I wipe all those areas down and relube as needed. Usually a quick spray of brake cleaner on the upper and carrier, then some Slip 2000 cleaner and a rag after that, and a quick lube to all the needed areas.

My main purpose for breaking everything down so far is to try and catch any issues before they cause a stoppage. Loose gas key, cracked bolt/firing pin, uneven or unusual wear, etc.

5

Somewhere along the line it became popular to say “I haven’t cleaned my AR in XXXX amount of rounds.” Apparently, the higher the number, the cooler you are.

This happened, I believe, because more people now understand the importance of running an AR wet than ever before. Even in military circles, where the mantra of “a very light coat of CLP” used to reign supreme, I am seeing old dogs learning new tricks and heavily lubricating their AR’s.

Certainly, heavy lubrication will keep an AR running fine, even after a lot of rounds.

However, I still choose to wipe down the internals with Break Free CLP on a rag after every shooting session. It takes less than 5 minutes, and it serves a dual purpose. First, it allows me to put eyes on common failure points and to identify anything that needs attention. Second, it allows me to get any foreign objects / debris such as sand, dirt, dust etc. out.

If carbon buildup was the only thing getting into my upper receiver after thousands of rounds, I might get on the “don’t clean just lube” bus. But that’s not how I shoot. I don’t sit at an indoor range and shoot from a bench. Even if there is only a small amount of sand or grit on my BCG, I’m going to get it out when I’m done shooting. There is no harm in that.

I’m not advocating scraping anything or doing a white glove cleaning after every time you shoot. I’m simply saying that a quick wipe down with a rag and CLP can do nothing but help.

I’ll take the ability to visually inspect my components and to remove even small amounts of foreign objects / debris any day over the cool factor of saying “I haven’t wiped down my AR in 8,000 rounds.”

PS. As for cleaning the bore…I do that when I notice a degradation in accuracy. I make it a point to confirm zero (100M with the carbines) before I do any type of training, and when doing so, also make it a point to try to print the smallest groups possible. That allows me to get even a small amount of training value on precision shooting every time I shoot, and also serves as an indicator of when I need to rod the bore.

6

I clean and lube after every trip, but how intense is dependent on how long the session was. If it’s a casual day with only a couple hundred rounds, it’s pretty quick once over to get the dirtiest parts, with the receivers separated and BCG torn down. The bore gets a couple of passes with a lubed cloth. If it’s 500 rounds +, then I ‘really get in there’ a little more particular, including cleaning the bore and FCG with a bit more detail. I clean more than what is probably ‘necessary,’ but I’m not the type to begin scouring carbon off of every little surface, either.

The amount of cleaning I do isn’t always necessary, but it’s kind of cathartic. Usually it’s done with a friend or family member, so it’s almost as much a social event as it is a ‘chore.’

7

This is pretty much indentical to what I’ve been doing the past 4-5 years…When I bought my first AR in 2004, I would clean it every time after I shot it and it would take me about an 45mins. Once I started shooting more often, the more I hated having to clean them. Obviously, advice from the SME’s, about this very topic and saying that white glove cleaning wasn’t neccessary sunk in and I still haven’t had any malfunctions due to lack of cleaning.

Now-a-days, I just really make sure that they are well lubed before I shoot and I’ll throw a little more on them before I put them away.

8

Agree 100% Doesn’t matter what I’m shooting, if it gets used, it gets cleaned immediately afterwards. I also enjoy the “social aspect” as well.

9

This really covers my habits too. I’m a wierdo and actually find sitting down with my buddies and cleaning to be calming & zen like.:smile:

10

Due to the fact that time is hard to find for shooting and range trips, I tend to clean fairly thoroughly after every range trip. I don’t know when I will be able to shoot again so I definately rod the barrel and use Q tips on the internals. I typically take 700-1000 rounds with me on every range trip so for me, a good cleaning happens after shooting. I typically store everything in the safe fairly well lubed and then wipe down everything, including the bore, before heading out.

11

I wipe it down and inspect it every time I shoot it, though not always immediately afterward.

12

I usually clean to some degree after shooting. How much is dependent on how much I shot and how much time I have when I get back. If it was a 100 rounds or so, I might just pull the BCG, give everything a quick wipe, lube and replace and run a bore snake through it once. If it was 400 rounds, I’d probably wipe it a bit more thoroughly, take a chamber brush in a power drill and run a bore snake a couple times. Usually with just Break Free CLP. I like to keep things relatively clean, just so it doesn’t build up and cake too much. If accuracy is were noticeably degraded, I’d use solvent on the bore, carb cleaner on the BCG, etc. Right now, I have a gun I shot on the weekend that I haven’t cleaned. If I have spare time, I’ll do it, if not, I’ll lube it up next time and start shooting.

13

When it needs it. This being decided by # of rounds through gun, has gun been in heavy rain, sand, mud, etc., is fnctn. being inhibited due to buildup, and if a class is coming up.

Sometimes if a gun has been heavily used w/no cleaning, it stinks, so if I am keeping it handy for HD, then wife complains, so it gets cleaned.

14

I clean every weapon every time i finish shooting it. I complete a detailed cleaning about every three months if i shoot the weapon or not. Not only are these a life saving or hunting tool they are an investment as well.

15

Depends on shooting (drills?) done done that day. If it rained or everything got wet, obviously that would mean basic strip clean and lube.
If everything was kept dry and clean (free of dirt) I usually don’t clean, just add some juice, do a short visual once over when getting ready to shoot next time.
Lotsa dirt sand etc will have me strip, clean and juice it up. So there really is no set schedule, but more determined by usage.
FYI - I find having a compressor invaluable - even a small one.

16

I need to consult my notes because I haven’t cleaned my SBR in a while. All joking aside, I wipe off the BCG and the inside of the upper, hit the chamber real quick (sometimes) relube it and then put it back together. That’s pretty much it.

17

This is one of those topics that hits the spectrum. I have a friend, Viet Vet, who is anal and cleans his stuff after every outing. I’m just the opposite.

I attended a High Power Service Rifle class, and the lead instructor explained how he cleaned his AR after a match. When he’s done shooting, he walks by the other shooters who are busily cleaning their rifles, then he holds his rifle in front of him, shakes it real hard, and calls it done. He was joking a bit, but explained lubrication is the key.

I’m actually a pretty orderly/cleanly person, but I hate cleaning guns of any type. After a number of rounds I’ll inspect the bolts, carriers, slides, receiver, etc., and if there is some build up I’ll spray it off with brake cleaner and re-lube. Every now and then I’ll run something down the bore.

I guess I’m a believer in the thought that some times more wear is done to the bore, by cleaning with a brass bore brush, than by shooting. Maybe it also corresponds a bit to the saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Obviously, if you notice a decrease in accuracy, then it’s time to clean the bore, especially with products that cut the copper. If it’s shooting as good as it can, why mess with the bore?

18

I clean the piss out of mine. Forces me to inspect the gun after every shoot.

19

I generally run a 30rd mag through my BCM patrol rifle once a week to keep the muscle memory going. I’ll do more training with higher round counts about once a month. I generally don’t “clean” the rifle very often if I just run ammo through it. If it gets dusty or wet, then I’ll break it down and do a full cleaning. Otherwise, I make sure that the BCG is greased, and after shooting I put a drop of CLP in the gas vents and work the action. Mostly, my idea of cleaning is using a chamber brush to clean out carbon buildup from steal cased ammo, and running CLP in gas ports, areas of friction, and areas of corrosion. High temperature grease for the BCG. I do the “cleaning” about every 1000rds.

My current BCM middy has about 10k rounds through it with only three incidents of feeding problems and those were with crappy green ammo that never seems to work well in any rifle.

More shooting, more often, with less cleaning seems to be working fine for me given that I am using top tier equipment.

20

I will take care of a SS precision barrel a little more carefully than a CL barrel and thats usually with patches and solvent every couple thousand rounds. Use foaming bore cleaner every 1k or so. At the same time Ill clean the BCG and barrel extension.

On my SR15 Ive used the foaming bore cleaner a few times but I don’t think Ive ever used a rod on it. Maybe once I did but can’t remember.