Suwannee Tim
05-25-12, 19:53
I have shot several thousand 5.45s so far and I concluded that I was spending a significant amount of time cleaning the rifles, about a half hour per upper every session. I have seen rust on the tail of the bolt two hours after shooting and I firmly believe an effective cleaning shortly after every shooting session is important. Most of the half hour was spent stripping, cleaning and re-assembling the bolt and bolt carrier. My simplified method omits the thorough hot water cleaning of the bolt assembly substituting an oil bath instead. As soon as I get home from the range I put a pot of water on the stove to clean the barrel and upper. The entire bolt assembly goes into a bath of automatic transmission fluid and there it will stay until the night or a couple of hours before the next shoot. I take it out and let it drain boltface down for a couple of hours before inserting it into the upper and I make sure to work the bolt in and out a few times to pump out the bulk of the oil in the gas piston / cylinder space. This is an important step I think and not to be forgotten. I don't even wipe the bolt assembly down, nor do I lube the upper. The first few shots blow the excess oil all over the inside of the upper lubing it better than I can. After three thousand shots with this treatment the bolt does not seem to accumulate an excessive amount of crud or fouling, much of it seems to be blown out with the excess oil in the first few shots. That crud now in the upper gets washed out or wiped out with the next cleaning. Regarding the upper, I pour hot water in aiming for the gas tube though most of the water goes down the barrel. I have been told and believe that the gas hole drilled in the barrel is the most vulnerable point of the system and care should be taken to get the hot water to it and subsequently oil. After the hot water I squirt the upper down with denatured alcohol which dries everything out. With an oilcan I squirt a shot of tranny fluid down the gas tube and look to see it come out the muzzle guaranteeing the vulnerable gas hole got oiled. I spray everything down with more ATF and let the upper drain for a couple of hours before wiping the excess off and reassembling to the lower. The bolt is stored separately in it's oil bath until shortly before needed. I use ATF because it is said to be a good lube, good corrosion protection and it is cheap encouraging liberal use. Though not essential I am using Sure Shot atomizers (http://sureshotsprayer.com/AtomizersSprayers.html) to shoot my alcohol and ATF which for use in the atomizer I dilute 1/1 with deodorized mineral spirits. The atomizers are available from McMaster Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com/#atomizing-sprayers/=hp0epg). I use the "K" style, 8 ounces for ATF and 16 ounces for alcohol. I am saving 20 minutes a session which is a worthwhile time savings shooting as I do over fifty times a year.