View Full Version : Noob owner seeks guidance re: making my Colt range-ready.
Old shooter but new to M4 style carbines. Bought a new Colt 6720 earlier this year, have not cleaned or shot it yet. Did a search on how to clean up a new Colt but way too many results, none of the ones I read really said what to do.
I was figuring swab the bore with a patch and Hoppe’s, Gun Scrubber sprayed down the gas tube, and Break-Free CLP with a nylon toothbrush inside the action and on all of the parts to remove the preservative. Am I off-base?
Haven’t field-stripped an AR type rifle since 2004 in the service, I could use some/any advice from real pros. Thanks everybody...
I’m definitely not a real pro, but I typically don’t do anything. I’ve never sprayed anything down the gas tube, nor have I heard of that being a recommended practice, but I really don’t clean the guns much. At most I’d add a few drops of your preferred lube to the BCG and enjoy. I prefer Fireclean.
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RobertTheTexan
08-11-18, 02:57
Pretty much what Wake said. I don’t spray anything down my gas tube. Ever. New or otherwise. I usually put a little oil on my bolt and run it like that. I use a couple of lube/oils because I have them. They are all pretty equal I terms of what they do. 1. Slip EWL (2000). 2. Tactical springs machine gunners oil. One thing I’ve observed/learned is that there are a lot of gun lube manufacturers that over-complicate weapon cleaning. You’d be surprised at the rifle cleaning habits of some of the HSLD shooters.
I don’t clean my rifles like I did in the Army, and not nearly as often. I’ve got one AR that’s has yet to be cleaned.
Did your Colt come with a manual? It gives the basics on how to break it down and clean and lube it. Although like mentioned above I do not do that after every shooting session, maybe every couple of months. Most times I just wipe it down, pop out the BCG and add a little lube to it. I do not get into all the magical lubes that require all kinds of special steps to use. Any good gun oil will suffice.
Lube it. feed it good ammo to start until you know you have a good working rifle than blast away with cheap stuff.
I haven't had a new gun in a long time. But I like to run a patch down the bore to remove any gunk. Lube the BCG, and go to town. Never spray anything in a gas tube ever.
Although I've known the Colt to be run straight out of the box, i like yourself like to clean everything up. Some Hoppes or break free on the bolt and carrier, clean off the trigger assembly with a product like powder blast, run a few patches down the barrel, then straighten the gas rings on the bolt, apply just a dab of gun grease to trigger and run the bolt wet with a quality lube like Tetra. If you don't want to screw with the trigger invest in a one piece replacement like Timney or Black Rain but keep in mind you'll lose the failsafe Milspec goodness of the factory trigger. Although a DI you shouldn't have to worry about the tube for quite a while. Just run the bolt wet and enjoy that Colt. Still my standard for AR greatness.
My sincere thanks to each of you Gentlemen for taking the time to help out the new guy. I very much appreciate all of the insightful replies, they are most helpful!
titsonritz
08-12-18, 01:45
I take take BCG down to give the cam pin & slot a good hosing, grease the FCG contact points, bore snake the barrel and blast away.
I haven't had a new gun in a long time. But I like to run a patch down the bore to remove any gunk. Lube the BCG, and go to town. Never spray anything in a gas tube ever.
So many people neglect to do this, and it always amazes me. They grab a weapon out of the box and just shoot it.
It isn't all that hard to swap the barrel, and throw some lube on the BCG rails.
Personally when I get a new AR I just wipe down the chamber and BCG with a microfiber clothe and then apply oil to BCG and Chamber. I like metal on metal to be separated by oil, probably just something I do from mechanic/car work. I don’t like metal on metal moving parts. Personally don’t clean the barrel on a new rifle, it can’t hurt though.
Usually AR’s seem to come with this new factory oil on everything. I don’t know what it is but it smells the same even when I buy AR’s from different manufactures. I guess its some anti corrosion/rust type lubricant.
Ultimately it’d be fine right out of the box.
As some others have suggested i’d pop open that Colt owners manual and take some time to read their directions on cleaning the rifle. Some manuals suggest breaking down entire BCG for cleaning but I find this to be a bit much for moderate range use, hell, what do I know though. I think thorough cleaning is best done at higher round counts, 500, 1000, etc, I don’t know though
I run a patch down barrel. Lube Bcg and shoot it like ya stole it.
I did have an uncle touch off a brand new Weatherby 30-378 wrath mag. The barrel had sumthn in it. Turned it into a blossomed barrel.
I overclean new guns, but that's just me. I view the oily substance as more of a preservative than a lubricant, though I'm sure it works well enough for a maiden range trip. I run a patch with a couple drops of whatever (Hoppe's/CLP/Ballistol) down the bore then follow with a dry patch. I make sure that factory oil is wiped clean off the inside of the receiver, hammer, and BCG. I even pop the extractor pin out and clean under there.
Like I said, overkill, but it can't hurt. Your Colt will likely work if you don't clean it at all before the first trip, but why treat it like that?
Oh, and definitely don't do anything to the gas tube.
Shoot the bloody thing and don't worry. Firearms are not at all complex, shooting and maintaining them is easy.
To clean AR, new in box or 20 years old:
1. Scrub well with Hoppes and a GI toothbrush. Patch out the bore. Clean the chamber with a pistol rod and a .38 caliber brush and patch.
2. Blast with non chlorinated brake cleaner. $2.50 a can at auto parts stores. Wear a glove on your left hand, and eye protection.
3. Blast dry with compressed air.
4. Lube the locking lugs, cam pin, bolt body, and piston rings generously with Breakfree LP. Lube the firing pin and everything else lightly with Breakfree CLP.
Mr McSimon
01-13-20, 19:05
I overclean new guns, but that's just me. I view the oily substance as more of a preservative than a lubricant, though I'm sure it works well enough for a maiden range trip. I run a patch with a couple drops of whatever (Hoppe's/CLP/Ballistol) down the bore then follow with a dry patch. I make sure that factory oil is wiped clean off the inside of the receiver, hammer, and BCG. I even pop the extractor pin out and clean under there.
Like I said, overkill, but it can't hurt. Your Colt will likely work if you don't clean it at all before the first trip, but why treat it like that?
Oh, and definitely don't do anything to the gas tube.
This is me too. I like to break the gun down all the way and clean everything with Hoppes No. 9., I don't like brake free. BCG, bore, chamber, barrel, both receivers, and even the buffer spring assembly, then re-apply my chosen lube or oil very thinly in the receivers, a drop on the safety and trigger, very thin coat in the barrel, and a slather on the BCG. None down the gas tube. One of the added benefits is cleaning and oiling it thoroughly like that also give me a chance to inspect every component for serviceability.
I normally run clean weapons anyways, but even if I didn't I wouldn't want to grind the factory grease into all the nooks and crannies of my new rifle, so I take the time before hand to really clean it up nice. That said, I've run a brand new Colt before cleaning it in the past, and it did just fine. I've also run about 250 rounds through a completely dry BCM before realizing I forgot to oil the BCG, and it too did just fine with no failures of any kind. so others aren't wrong to advise just shoot it, it depends on how you like to treat and run your guns.
Many thanks again for your helpful replies, Gentlemen. I very much appreciate your time and the great suggestions.
LowSpeed_HighDrag
01-14-20, 23:05
Jerry Miculek on breaking down and cleaning an AR15:
https://youtu.be/ZMuWlomfnf4
LowSpeed_HighDrag
01-14-20, 23:06
A little bit from Tu Lam on setting up sling/stock:
https://youtu.be/xlSvKt_MHFI
LowSpeed_HighDrag
01-14-20, 23:07
Garand Thumb on carbine setup:
https://youtu.be/DA-XgiMPff4
Watching these now - excellent content, thank you my friend.
LowSpeed_HighDrag
01-16-20, 02:28
Watching these now - excellent content, thank you my friend.
I didnt realize Univibe had resurrected this thread, clearly it has been sometime since you first posted this! I am positive that your 1.5 years of membership here has been a valuable experience for learning about your AR!
Mr McSimon
01-16-20, 08:39
I didnt realize Univibe had resurrected this thread, clearly it has been sometime since you first posted this! I am positive that your 1.5 years of membership here has been a valuable experience for learning about your AR!
I missed that too.
RetroRevolver77
02-15-20, 00:24
Delete.
Now, having said all this, I only clean my AR once in a blue moon.
Right now my 6920 is sterilized; boredom from Covid shut-in resulted in a two hour session on the workbench, with the procedure I set out above. Not even a coronavirus could survive on the bare metal of my 6920.
But my main AR is a 20 year old A2. It hardly ever gets cleaned. The last time I cleaned it, was last fall during the baseball playoffs. It has been shot much since then, and is the default gun when I take a group shooting.
ARs do not need to be cleaned, unless exterior dirt gets in. Google "filthy 14" and "cleaning your ar-15 is pretty much a waste of time." What I will do is keep adding oil. AR will run dirty and wet.
Any gun I depend on for my life gets cleaned and function checked. But if you told me that in three minutes I'd be in the LA Riots, and I had to grab my A2 and go, I would have 100% confidence.
Public service announcement: do NOT allow any oil on ammo or in the chamber. This causes an increase in bolt thrust and is bad news.
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