Page 3 of 19 FirstFirst 1234513 ... LastLast
Results 21 to 30 of 181

Thread: Gotta keep them ARs clean

  1. #21
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Posts
    3,095
    Feedback Score
    7 (89%)
    Quote Originally Posted by Arctic1 View Post
    I have a few things I would like to comment on. I know that "the one and only way" is defined, so what I say probably won't matter, but I think people need some perspective on this "no cleaning" thing.

    1. Weapons do not need to be white glove clean to function. Everybody knows this. The whole point of cleaning the gun, ie wiping down the parts, it to facilitate proper parts inspection, not making it spotless.

    In addition, gunpowder residue build up will absorb moisture, and can lead to corrosion/rust. This of course depends on materials used, coatings etc.

    2. Lube

    "Didn't you hear, lube attracts sand and dust."

    Well, actually it does. Not a huge problem with assault or battle rifles, seeing as they are mostly closed systems, but it is an issue with crew served weapons, where sand and dust can and will get into the feeding mechanism of the gun.

    This is why we try and limit the amount of lube on the outside of the gun, whilst running it sufficiently lubed on the inside.

    Dry guns will be coated with sand and dust as well, but doesn't gum up like the areas with lube do. Still, wet sand glides better than dry sand.

    The main culprit in regards to foreign debris inside the receiver, are magazines; sand, rocks and dirt gets into the pouches when people are shooting from the prone, low crawling etc, and gets into the gun via the mag. Depending on the amount and size, this can cause some serious issues.

    3. "The military way is retarded, and soldiers don't know what they are doing"

    This is a common theme, and somewhat understandable. There is no doubt that the "white glove clean" approach to weapons maintenance lost it's original intent somewhere along the way.

    I am not going to claim that I know where it happened, or why, but I am pretty sure that the "clean rifle" approach was initially a result of one thing:

    An easy standard to enforce across the board to ensure that everybody maintained their weapons.

    It was not something that was implemented from a lack of knowledge.

    In the military you have studs, duds and everything in between. To enforce a standard that states "no need to clean you guns, just put lube on it", is difficult and problematic. How can you, as a leader, tell if a gun is in working order when doing inspections? How can you tell if the soldier has actually lubed his gun? Is it just the old lube still on there?

    Somewhere along the way, the original intent was lost in translation; everyone who has been in the military and done message/comunication drills when marching single file, knows that the message delivered to the first guy is not the same message repeated by the last guy.

    This phenomenon is pretty common in the military, unfortunatly, where proper knowledge of intent/cause/reason of why something is done a specific way is substituted by "hearsay knowledge"; after a while this "knowledge" becomes a de facto truth, and no one can no longer recall the original intent/cause/reason.

    That is why soldiers are now judged on the cleanliness of their guns, and use retarded methods to get them spotless; their instructors was taught by their instructors, who in turn was taught by their instructors and the message was scrambled along the way.

    I'll end with this Gunfighter Moment, by Larry Vickers:



    http://soldiersystems.net/2012/09/01...rry-vickers-3/
    I don't anyone really condones just lubing and pressing on for a duty rifle. Ones used for range use sure, the system can easily handle it when lubricated and if the rifle is just for the range why clean it.

    The issue is that when cleaning requiresthe use of steel objects to make sure every single bit of cabon is gone you end up damaging the parts and having to replace them before their time. I could make a ten page report on stupid ways to clean your rifle that my friends have told me they use to clean their rifles.

    I clean my rifle after every time I use it but my cleaning is just a simple wipedown of everything, no scraping or scrubbing.
    Quote Originally Posted by C4IGrant View Post
    Colt builds War Horses, not show ponies.
    Quote Originally Posted by Iraqgunz View Post
    This is 2012. The world is going to end this December and people are still trying to debate the merits of piece of shit, cost cutting crap AR's. Really?

  2. #22
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    San Diego, CA
    Posts
    498
    Feedback Score
    8 (100%)
    Run em hard and wet!
    US Army Military Police 97-03
    Federal LEO/M.R.T. 05-Present
    NRA Life Member

    "There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter."
    -E. Hemingway

    "I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it."
    -Jack Nicholson (A Few Good Men, 1992)

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    columbus, oh
    Posts
    132
    Feedback Score
    0
    As former 19D Cavalry Scout in an Air Cavalry Troop I can tell you that our SOP for cleaning our M16A1s (and M60s) is as follows:
    - Disassemble the weapon.
    - With an ungloved hands, dunk the parts into to the solvent.
    - With whatever tools you needed for cleaning, scrub away!

    And if we had an inspection from a higher HQ, we even went so far as to clean the chamber and locking lugs with a chamber brush attached to a section of cleaning rod with the other end chucked to an electric hand drill. Ah, the good ol days!

    FWIW, the solvent tank made from a 55 gal drum cut in half with welded angle iron bars for legs.

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    2,679
    Feedback Score
    1 (100%)
    Run 'em wet. That's the advice and I follow it. Has anyone else noticed they throw a lot of oil when run wet? I have several yellow shirts, my "don't shoot me" shirts when I'm at the range and my "don't run over me" shirts when I'm riding my bicycle. They are sprayed with oil stains from the ARs. I'm participating in Ladies Day at my range in October, providing and supervising a couple of ARs. I don't want the ladies getting their blouses ruined so I'm going to run them dry. That'll be a first for me.

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    West of the Atlantic
    Posts
    1,803
    Feedback Score
    0
    Is cleaning a rifle that tough to do? I am not talking white glove inspection clean, but some people are taking pride out of having a dirty as shit rifle. That says more to me about the person than the rifle. If one were to simply do a field strip and wipe stuff down at the end of a range session and lube the rifle back up, there really is no need to scrub away or wire brush anything. And yes a simple wipe down IS cleaning the weapon and often all that is needed if you do it on a regular basis and not let the thing sit and allow for case hardened build up. I give a bit more attention to detail when it comes to the chamber area to ensure that there is no large debris or gunk in it and it is clean. As mentioned gun powder residue = corrosion = bad for the throat.

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    VA
    Posts
    7,469
    Feedback Score
    12 (100%)
    I wouldn't worry about throat erosion on a carbine or not for intervals under 1k rounds between cleanings. I might clean more if I was being paid to carry a rifle again and could do it on work time.

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    East Tennessee
    Posts
    1,225
    Feedback Score
    10 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by Split66 View Post


    It's great that the weapon system can run like this, but sensable cleaning ( note I said sensable is always a good idea if you have the downtime. It really doesnt take that long to once over a weapon.......
    I'm saving that pic to go with my dirty 1911 pic <<<=8)Ron
    Ain't no pockets on a shroud..

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    335
    Feedback Score
    0
    I always clean and lube after every range session. The hardest things I have ever used to scub any AR down has been a plastic toothbrush(you would be amazed at how well the electric toothbrushes work) and brass brushes. I have never run them dry. It seems the longer you wait to clean it the harder that carbon gets? Would my AR's pass a white glove test? Who knows, probably not. But I have supreme confidence they will run under any circumstance that would arise. I just can't see a reason for not cleaning your rifle after each use.

    Just looking over your rifle for possible problems and broken or worn parts is enough reason for me to pull it apart. All of this with one more thing, if Dad came over for some range time( he calls it family time) and seen a dirty rifle he would give me a ton of crap and a full lecture about how a clean rifle saved his life. Why argue? That is time you could be cleaning your rifle son (at least that is what I was told).

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    11
    Feedback Score
    -1 (0%)
    Quote Originally Posted by Split66 View Post


    It's great that the weapon system can run like this, but sensable cleaning ( note I said sensable is always a good idea if you have the downtime. It really doesnt take that long to once over a weapon.......
    Did it function like this?

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Posts
    2,908
    Feedback Score
    8 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by dlbrown75 View Post
    Did it function like this?
    The rifle belongs to a member of my local range.
    Good guy.

    This was done a while back using Wolf ammo when it was still less than $100 a case.

    If I remember correctly, it was a Model 1 sales upper and a Bushmaster bolt.
    I may have that backwards.

    ETA: It was a Bushmaster upper with a M1S BCG.

    http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2...-wouldnt-hurt/

    http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_118/4...f_.html&page=1
    Last edited by polymorpheous; 12-02-12 at 08:51.
    Quote Originally Posted by scottryan View Post
    Anybody that owns or sells pistol versions of assault rifles is a bottom feeder, irregardless of the ban status of certain ammunition.

    They are illigetimate weapons that have no real purpose other than to attract retards to the gun community.

Page 3 of 19 FirstFirst 1234513 ... LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •