View Full Version : Noob Question: Cleaning my AR-15
I think I was spoiled by cleaning my SKS. Easy to clean, use almost a whole T-shirt down the barrel. Now my rod with a .22 attachment needs cloth patches the size of a postage stamp. Is there a preferred method/kit/patch? Also, how often should I clean it? Smith & Wesson says everytime I shot but I've read that cleaning that often can be bad for a gun with a chrome barrel.
So here's where all you high paid experts earn your keep helping us rookies...:D
Cheers!
Im no expert, but theres nothing wrong with cleaning your gun after every session.
I am pretty new to all this as well, however, I have learned you do not have to clean every time if you do not shoot that much. Kind of obvious huh? But when I am precision shooting, I may only 60 shots. Does it need cleaning? I often clean every other time if my session is short.
Not to derail his post, but how do you clean with the "chamber Brush". I have been just jamming it in there and cranking on it to loosen all the crap out. Use hoppes? use rags?
I have the two level brush.
I spray some brake cleaner on them and give them a tap on my bench.
Just think of all the crap that builds up in your barrel after every shot, after a few rounds all the gunk throws your accuracy off.
just clean as often as you want.. you can't hurt it much by not cleaning.. if you've gone 12,000 rounds without cleaning and you start to experience malfunctions or poor accuracy, clean it!
for the record, i generally clean every time i shoot, but i've got rifles sitting in the safe right now that weren't cleaned after their last session, and i'm sure as hell not gonna clean before the next session.. wasted effort, right?
the only concern i have, and it's only a theory with no confirmed data, is copper plating the bore. every round you fire adds a bit of copper to the bore, narrowing the diameter by a few microns- which could, in theory, wear out your barrel faster by increasing chamber and bore pressure. i have no idea how many rounds you'd have to fire without de-coppering before this would become an issue... just food for thought.
i'll generally de-copper every few thousand rounds.
and, for the record, a chrome-lined bore is the toughest bore there is... there's nothing you can do to other barrels (excessive cleaning, etc) that you CANT do to a chromed bore.
I spray some brake cleaner on them and give them a tap on my bench.
Just think of all the crap that builds up in your barrel after every shot, after a few rounds all the gunk throws your accuracy off.
absolutely un-true- maybe.
lots of different theories on this one, but the consensus among a LOT of precision shooters- with verifiable proof- is that a "dirty" bore is the only accurate bore.
the Army marksmanship team rarely cleans their bores, and if/when they do, they'll dirty them back up before they do any real shooting.
for instance.
i'm not a precision shooter, though, so i can only parrot information in this regard.
absolutely un-true- maybe.
lots of different theories on this one, but the consensus among a LOT of precision shooters- with verifiable proof- is that a "dirty" bore is the only accurate bore.
the Army marksmanship team rarely cleans their bores, and if/when they do, they'll dirty them back up before they do any real shooting.
for instance.
i'm not a precision shooter, though, so i can only parrot information in this regard.
not quite. there is truth to what you are saying but what I think you mean is, a clean bore can do what a fouled bore won't do, that is throw a shot out of the group. many guns will shoot to a different POA until it is fouled similar to how it was zeroed.
I spray some brake cleaner on them and give them a tap on my bench...snip
FWIW- my brother has a degree in gunsmithing and gun repair and told me once that the students in his class were advised by their instructors to NOT USE brake or carb cleaner on firearms.
At least not with any regularity and to be sure to get it all cleaned off and out if you do.
Something in them can/could actually leech some of the carbon out of some the alloys of steel use in firearms.
Formulations of 25 years ago anyway, they may have changed.
He got his degree from the community college in Burlington, IA when they still had a gunsmithing and gun repair program.
Many of his instructors taught there as a second job; their first jobs were at Rock Island Arsenal so I'm guessing they had an idea what they were talking about.
FWIW- my brother has a degree in gunsmithing and gun repair and told me once that the students in his class were advised by their instructors to NOT USE brake or carb cleaner on firearms.
At least not with any regularity and to be sure to get it all cleaned off and out if you do.
Something in them can/could actually leech some of the carbon out of some the alloys of steel use in firearms.
Formulations of 25 years ago anyway, they may have changed.
He got his degree from the community college in Burlington, IA when they still had a gunsmithing and gun repair program.
Many of his instructors taught there as a second job; their first jobs were at Rock Island Arsenal so I'm guessing they had an idea what they were talking about.
BreakFree gun blast and similar aerosol gun cleaners are nothing more than re-branded brake cleaners. Just use the non-chlorinated type and you'll be fine. :)
SWATcop556
07-08-09, 01:29
Just use the Slip2000 Carbon Killer, Copper Cutter, and 725 cleaner. They are non-toxic and won't harm the weapon.
I generally clean after every session (mine are mostly 200-300 rounds) but I don't clean to a white-glove standard.
I use the copper cutter every few thousand rounds, just cuz.
Small patches and a good rod with some brushes is really all you need.
Quality lube in quantity is more important than a clean weapon.
I had one of my range guns make it just shy of the 5k mark without cleaning. I just lubed the shit out of it.
Littlelebowski
07-08-09, 05:48
Don't obsess over cleaning it. Spray out the entire interior of the gun with non chlorinated brake cleaner and punch the barrel with a good copper solvent every thousand rounds or so. Lube heavily and frequently. ARs are meant to be shot not cleaned.
OldNavyGuy
07-08-09, 09:15
Don't obsess over cleaning it. Spray out the entire interior of the gun with non chlorinated brake cleaner and punch the barrel with a good copper solvent every thousand rounds or so. Lube heavily and frequently. ARs are meant to be shot not cleaned.
I AGREE !! i have some AR's in my safe that have not seen a cleaning rod in over 1,500 rounds, and sprayed out with brake cleaner in about 500 rounds and when they get sprayed with B.C. they are blown out with high pressure air, then sprayed with "Remoil".., any questions ?
Smuckatelli
07-08-09, 10:39
Keep the chamber and bore dry while shooting.
This is good....I still have a hard time not scrubbing the bore after every session. I use a lucas bore guide and a stainless rod. The more time I spend here, I feel a little bit better about being mean to my M4 and using it for what it's for.
Shooting full blown bench guns, 22 & 6PPC's & a 6BR for years, it's hard for me to put so many rounds down the same tube and make the bbl so hot you cannot touch it.
Bench shooters almost always clean their barrels after every target in most cases during competition....this could be as little as 5 rounds for a 5 round target, but I would also say 99% dump their first one or two rounds into the sighter to condition the clean bore, usually called the fowler & then go for group or score. If the wind flags show a condition change, then it's back to the sighters. Finish the group, clear the line, go clean the bbl and reload the rounds. The disciplins are so different, you cannot even compare. When you win by .001-.0001 per group you can see why certain things are done and practiced.
Many br guys are swearing by the foam cleaners which I have not tried....might be the ticket for guys who don't like to scrub their AR's.
SwatDawg15
07-08-09, 16:31
I use a standard USGI cleaning Kit for 99% of my cleaning. I do have a couple full lenth rod for certain stuff, and a few other tools. I use Slip2000 EWL and cleaner for the most part. Power blast, gun scubber, ect gets used also. I keep a Otis cleaning kit in my gear bag, and another one in my unit.
I clean my guns after every range day. I know its not needed, but I was trained that way, and the few times I tried to not clean them, It nagged me bad enough till i did. To me, its one less thing I have to worry about when I get a call out. I know my systems are clean, lubed, and ready to go, and that gives me piece of mind. YMMV
Jay Cunningham
07-08-09, 16:54
I think I was spoiled by cleaning my SKS. Easy to clean, use almost a whole T-shirt down the barrel. Now my rod with a .22 attachment needs cloth patches the size of a postage stamp. Is there a preferred method/kit/patch? Also, how often should I clean it? Smith & Wesson says everytime I shot but I've read that cleaning that often can be bad for a gun with a chrome barrel.
So here's where all you high paid experts earn your keep helping us rookies...:D
Cheers!
Your AR does not require much in the way of cleaning. As long as you keep the bolt and the front part of the carrier lubricated it should pretty much run with no issues. One distinct advantage of "cleaning" is inspecting vital components, such as the bolt assembly.
RancidSumo
07-08-09, 16:55
Nothin' but HOPPES #9. Can't beat the performance or the smell.
http://www.thehighroad.us/showthread.php?t=295899&highlight=hoppes&page=2
Lets get into homemade stuff...
What's your best carbon cutting formula?
Kerosene? Gasoline even? WD40? ATF? What about paint thinners/mineral spirits(read this one this recently)?
the Army marksmanship team rarely cleans their bores, and if/when they do, they'll dirty them back up before they do any real shooting.
for instance.
i'm not a precision shooter, though, so i can only parrot information in this regard.
Not quite. I am a precision bolt gun shooter (LE sniper qualified), and its not that a cold bore (first shot out of a cold, clean barrel) is less accurate as any other shot, its just that it has a tendency to be different from subsequent shots. My cold bore out of my Remington 700 is about 1/4 inch high at 100 yards from where the rest of my rounds land. Not a big deal, my gun is zeroed to my cold bore, because in police sniping, one round is all you may get, I just know that the rest of my rounds will land slightly low. I can hold slightly high for subsequent shots or dial my scope up one click. I still have no problems creating one-hole 100 yard groups, its just a matter of knowing where your rounds are going to be.
Many military snipers will actually clean their rifles, then fire a round or two to dirty their bores before missions because their rifles are zeroed to their "dirty" zero. Because military snipers will fire multiple rounds a lot more frequently then police snipers, it is far more useful to them to use their "dirty" rather than "clean" zero.
As far as maintenance on your AR, I do a lot less then I do for my bolt gun. I clean it once every two or three range sessions. Hoppes, bore and chamber brushes to scrub it out, punch the bore with a brush and patches, disassemble and scrub the BCG with a toothbrush and CLP to lubricate.
Many have already posted very useful suggestions.
One I will make is for you to obtain a video for cleaning and maintaining the AR system. Most of theses DVDs are fairly inexpensive and readily available from Brownell's or Midway, etc.
For some people watching others or being shown by example is a much easier process.
A great video for any new AR owner in my opinion is the first video of the MagPul Dynamics. It is both entertaining and insightful and can be purchased for around $40. Included in the DVD set is a section on weapon maintenance and cleaning.
Chris Costa takes you through a basic cleaning of the AR step by step with some helpful suggestions.
I hope you enjoy your new rifle.
P.S. I would recommend for you would be to purchase a coated .22 cleaning rod (i.e., Dewey, etc.) and a bore guide. And yes, keep the rifle well lubricated.
SkiDevil
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