A little LMT fun...

[Enoc]

A few years ago I bought a 14.5" LMT from a law enforcement friend of mine and just wanted to share a short review of my experiences with it so far.
First off let me say that I bought this rifle because I got a killer deal on it. The previous owner had shot ~3500-4000 rounds through it, 2500 of which he shot suppressed with a M4-1000. So I knew the gun was warmed up before I bought it. I decided to set it up identical to my issued rifle so that I could have something to train with in my off time that would become second nature operating when I was at my unit. I wanted to see how far the rifle would go without cleaning it and figured since I got it so cheap I didn't care anyway so I painted it and the fun began.

(Specs: 14.5" LMT complete upper w/LMT BUIS, KAC rail, Surefire Scout M600, LaRue FUG, TROY Pro Grade Sling mount, and Magpul MOE.)
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/Nevadafun/IMG_1971.jpg


I put close to 1100 rounds through it the first weekend. No cleaning, no problems...
I tried to put between 500-1000 rounds through it each month but sometimes couldn't do that because I was out of state or country. Long story short as of now, there is close to 9,500 rounds through this gun without cleaning and after taking it out again today and putting another 500 rounds through it, I have decided that my test is done. (Keep in mind the rifle was shot almost 4000 rounds and 2500 suppressed before I got to it)

I live in the desert of Nevada and have a good environment with dusty, sandy, dry conditions similar to what you would see over seas in the middle east or anywhere dry and hotter than hell.
It was nice getting to see how the rifle would stand up to abusive conditions first hand and not just something I had read from some guy in a gun magazine who shot 50 rounds of Federal through an AR and says it's the greatest thing in the world.

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/Nevadafun/IMG_1780.jpg


I did not clean this gun one time since I bought it and when I received it, the gun was dirty and had not been cleaned in some time. This morning before shooting I popped open the upper to lube up the BCG (as I do every time I shoot) and didn't realize how bad it was. I shoot most of my ARs for several thousand rounds before cleaning them and as I lubed up the BCG my buddy looked over and said, "Good god man, that thing is f***ing dirty"... I checked it out and we decided it was worth taking pictures. Here is one of the upper... It was much worse in real life than it looks in the pictures.

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/Nevadafun/IMG_1966.jpg

The following are some of the close ups I took of the parts that matter. I would like to stress that I never ever had a single weapon related malfunction with this rifle. It has more than exceeded my expectations and is fully functional of anything that I would ever need it for. I know how hard I ran this rifle and I made it a point to have it in the dirt as much as possible whenever I would go out shooting. I have shot this rifle in the rain, snow, mud, and desert sand with every type of ammo you could imagine (steel cased and brass) and I would trust my life to this gun without hesitation. Enjoy the pics. :)

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/Nevadafun/IMG_1957.jpg

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/Nevadafun/IMG_1958.jpg

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/Nevadafun/IMG_1962.jpg

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/Nevadafun/IMG_1961.jpg

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/Nevadafun/IMG_1959.jpg

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/Nevadafun/IMG_1928.jpg


Anyway, that’s pretty much it. 10,000 rounds without cleaning is nothing special from a quality milspec gun, but I am really happy with the gun and I'm sure that it could take another 10k rounds without cleaning. I do T&E for manufacturers and companies from time to time when I'm not busy, but it was nice to just do something for myself and have fun with it. The pictures do not do a justice to the absolute filthiness on the inside of the rifle. I have no affiliation with LMT but I now respect their product even more than I previously did. If you are looking for a reliable AR platform, I would recommend an LMT to anyone without hesitation and with total confidence. Take care and stay safe guys.
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad136/Nevadafun/IMG_1972.jpg

[ucrt]

.

Nice write up. Thanks!

What kind of lube did you use?

If you would, take some pics after you clean it; especially the BCG/Cam/Bolt areas.

.

[ssracer]

Dirty gun porn FTW!!!!


but wait....I thought AR's were completely unreliable unless they were kept spotless and that only AK's could run dirty....
:happy:

[DeltaSierra]

Excellent thread, even better pictures... I now have a new resource (beside my filthy rifle) to show to the skeptics that insist that an AR must be sparkling clean in order to function....

[VIP3R 237]

That is filthy! I love my lmt and I appreciate you showing us how much shit these quality guns can withstand.

[lethal dose]

Great post.

[Grip]

awesome.

[Packman73]

Awesome! Makes me think I baby my LMTs a bit too much.

[MidwestRookie]

Very cool..if my BCM holds up that well we're in for a nice long relationship.

I'd expect no less from LMT tho..

[J_Dub_503]

Nice write-up, I love seeing this kind of quality content get published for those who are mis-informed. Any mil-spec rifle should hold up to this rigor with proper lubrication.

[Ghost__1]

Excellent thread, even better pictures... I now have a new resource (beside my filthy rifle) to show to the skeptics that insist that an AR must be sparkling clean in order to function....

I'm going with this. It would be really nice as well to sticky this forever putting to bed the argument of why pistons are better than di.

[Mauser KAR98K]

I'm going with this. It would be really nice as well to sticky this forever putting to bed the argument of why pistons are better than di.

+1.

And to think I just picked up a used LMT MRP.

[bsmith_shoot]

This would make a good sticky, I believe. I would like to see more examples of filthy rifles running just fine. Thanks OP!!!
Brandon

[Casull]

That's super awesome. Thanks for the writeup. I want an LMT now.

Great photos by the way! I'd like to see more of your stuff.

[djmorris]

Love the pics. Makes me want to treat my BCM like shit.. in a good way!! :D

By all means, if you have more pics then you should post em up for our viewing pleasure!

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

What lube did you use?

[RIDE]

Really great write-up and pics! Kudo's to you!

[Cincinnatus]

This reminds me of Pat Rogers's write up on BCM "Fithy 14" in SWAT mag.
At your high round count, it might be wise to do some preventative maintainance, like repalcing bolt, or at least extractor and spring, replacing action spring, etc.

[HaydenB]

I usually don't agree with most manufacturer's slogans, but LMT's "because failure is not an option" does seem accurate in this case.

[Doc Safari]

I would love to see pics of the upper after you clean the sand out of it.

Do the grains of sand "etch" tracks or scratches into the upper in any way?

[Sanpete]

Awesome. My two LMT's (10.5 and 14.5) don't have that round count, but I've had great luck with them. One of the few manufacturers I trust anymore.

[pruitt0212]

Man that is pretty impressive. Love the pictures for sure. Now give that bad boy a cleaning!

[Ghost__1]

You know it really stands to show how much abuse a top tier rifle can take. I've got a buddy with a dpms that i've white glove inspection cleaned and it still felt like I had to dump a quart of 10w30 into it to keep it running.

[BloodMeridian]

I just recently read the Filthy 14 article, and this is another great precedent for how little needs to be done to a good gun. Proper lube and you're GTG.

[Enoc]

.

Nice write up. Thanks!

What kind of lube did you use?

If you would, take some pics after you clean it; especially the BCG/Cam/Bolt areas.

.

Thanks, I use Slip 2000.


No problem, I will take some pics when it's clean and attach them to the original post in a day or two.




This reminds me of Pat Rogers's write up on BCM "Fithy 14" in SWAT mag.
At your high round count, it might be wise to do some preventative maintainance, like repalcing bolt, or at least extractor and spring, replacing action spring, etc.
I agree, if this was a duty gun or something my life depended on I would, but I'm not going to change anything out on this rifle until I start having malfunctions. I was sure with the abuse I was giving it that it would start to have malfunctions but I never had a single one...
One day during a react to contact drill I had to ditch my empty rifle to get over a wierd 5ft tall dirt berm. I came back and the rifle had fallen hard in the dirt right on the open dust cover with the bolt locked back... There was so much sand in it that I wouldn't even shoot it, my buddy goes "I'll do it, give me that" and dumps a full mag through it without a single hickup.



I just recently read the Filthy 14 article, and this is another great precedent for how little needs to be done to a good gun. Proper lube and you're GTG.

Absolutely, I don't think a lot of people realize the drastic change and improvent of the AR platform and technology over the last 30 years. The guns these days are extremely reliable if you just keep them wet.




My goal was just to help out as a reference point or if nothing more some entertaining pictures for people who don't have the oppertunity to do it for themselves. :)


.

[sinlessorrow]

saw this first on TOS and my god what a difference in responses. BTW love the camo job

[rdbse]

Thanks, I use Slip 2000.


No problem, I will take some pics when it's clean and attach them to the original post in a day or two.


.


Great write up and pics. Looking forward to update pics.

[indawire]

Great pix, thank you for the report. If my BCM holds up like that, I'll be in Hog Heaven:dance3:

[MrSmitty]

Great pics and great write up, thank you!

There's just something about a filthy rifle running like a top that gives me a warm a fuzzy feeling inside...

[Enoc]

saw this first on TOS and my god what a difference in responses. BTW love the camo job
Thanks man, yeah some of the stuff they come up with over there is quite amuzing.




Great pix, thank you for the report. If my BCM holds up like that, I'll be in Hog Heaven:dance3:
I'm sure it will man... In reality any milspec AR should be able to do the same thing.

[pingdork]

Thank you! Posts like this that debunk everything that was ingrained in Basic are helping me become a tad less anal about cleaning.

[HKUSP.40]

Man, this makes me want to take my brand new BCM that I just purchased, ride her hard, and put her away dirty. Great write up and awesome pics.

[R0CKETMAN]

Cool stuff. Thanks for taking the time. Makes me a proud LMT owner.

[45mike]

Great post. Keep up updated on when things begin to fail. I've said for a long time we're fortunate to lie in a time top quality AR's for fair prices:D

[Buckshot Barry]

Thank you so much for posting this and the detailed pictures.

[TehLlama]

Hands down, best AR pic thread this week.

[MSteele]

Great write up!!! LMT definitely knows what they are doing. A friend of mine has one that has shot over 35,000rds besides changing the barrel and other critical parts he has never had a single issue, not one failure. He also only does a general cleaning after a couple thousand rounds. On a side note he now swears by Frog Lube and he is the biggest weapon lube snob I have ever met.

[Enoc]

Great write up!!! LMT definitely knows what they are doing. A friend of mine has one that has shot over 35,000rds besides changing the barrel and other critical parts he has never had a single issue, not one failure. He also only does a general cleaning after a couple thousand rounds. On a side note he now swears by Frog Lube and he is the biggest weapon lube snob I have ever met.

I know a lot of guys who swear by Frog. As long as you lube the gun you're good to go. I like the Slip, it's worked well for me.

[duece71]

I am glad that I am an LMT owner. Nice looking camo job, how did you do it??
Thanks for the pics.

[col.1981]

I was curious about the paint too.

Excellent post/photos. Thanks for sharing. Love seeing dirty ar's!

[Youngbp04]

As everyone has said, awesome write up! If you wouldn't mind keeping us posted as you "love" (read use it as it is meant to be used) it would be great to see the progress and state of the rifle I think it would be extremely helpful!

Be safe!

[rapomstage3]

Wow. I almost barfed. J/k . Whether i shoot 60 rnds or 500 i always clean it. Maybe i shouldnt....

[houdini23]

that was one filthy gun.

[Vash1023]

thanks for a great read.

keep up the good work and post up some more pics after the cleaning :)

[tpr223]

Thanks for the great post. I really dig the paint job!

[kisskaren]

Learned a lot from this thread! Thanks!!

[GunFighter98]

Great post! I have also been pleased with my LMT. Good to know what they are capable of.

[Gunzilla]

Very cool..if my BCM holds up that well we're in for a nice long relationship.

I'd expect no less from LMT tho..

BCM has one that they've run 31K rounds through without cleaning so you're good to go!

OP, thanks for the great write-up and for all the great pics too, this is good enough to be the first thread in a LMT 'sticky'!!

[SCPAKMAN]

I am a noob and just bought my first LMT. Good to know that they will hold up so well. Good read. Thank you.

[keller]

Cool thread. Own a couple LMT factory guns and use a lot of their parts on my personal guns. They make good stuff.

[themighty9mm]

Kinda diggin up a olderish thread, but what muzzle device is that? I relize it is for a can, just wondering what it is though?

[HaydenB]

Kinda diggin up a olderish thread, but what muzzle device is that? I relize it is for a can, just wondering what it is though?

I'm almost sure its a YHM flash hider.

[Gheppetto]

It's a AAC/YHM Phantom 18t.