Cleaning the AR

[duckman1]

I used the search and could not find threads specific to cleaning.

AR is complete, been to the range and have run about 100 rounds thru it. At what point to you break it down and clean it? I have watched the You Tube videos and it seem pretty straight forward and not a great deal different than cleaning my Browning Gold Shotgun.

Do you field clean it each time? Do you completely disassemble the bolt each time?

After a couple of thousand rounds? Once a month?

I have rods and brushes (corect for caliber) for my bolt action rifles I assume they'll work for my AR.

I can see how this could become addictive.

[dougolupski]

Well I can only speak for myself. I put about 300 rounds down the pipe between Friday and Saturday and I yanked the BCG and pulled the bolt out and gave it a quick wipe then cleaned the upper and swabbed the barrel. With a Direct Impingement system the longer you leave the carbon in there the harder it is to get out. I spent 20 min on mine and I g2g for the next trip.

[nocomply25]

I like to wipe down and oil up after every time at the range by doing it this way i have never had to do any crazy cleaning to the gun. I know it sounds anal but it is just a good habit to form i do it with all my guns. The guns can run a long time without cleaning but its better to not let things build up so that you can limit the use of harsh cleaners in the future.

[Omega13device]

I let mine go 1000-2000 rounds between cleaning because I'm lazy. I lube it before every trip to the range though. It's not any harder to clean, it just takes longer because there's more gunk.

Don't succumb to the idea that you need to rub and scrape every last bit of carbon from the rifle. Guess what, the first round you put through it makes it dirty again. If they only worked when they were clean they'd never work. The idea that guns need to be spotless is a myth.

[Schlyme]

you tube has some videos about it. thats what i used as a reference

[dougolupski]

The idea that guns need to be spotless is a myth.

True that. My Glock 17 regulary gets 1500 rounds through it before cleaning but its still way cleaner than my AR after 300 rounds. I dont mind doing the quick strip and wipe. Your right though dont obsess over every little bit of carbon.

[AeroEngi]

I let mine go 1000-2000 rounds between cleaning because I'm lazy. I lube it before every trip to the range though. It's not any harder to clean, it just takes longer because there's more gunk.

Don't succumb to the idea that you need to rub and scrape every last bit of carbon from the rifle. Guess what, the first round you put through it makes it dirty again. If they only worked when they were clean they'd never work. The idea that guns need to be spotless is a myth.

This!

[Intimid8tor]

There's a lot of different schools of thought and arguments on why any one of them is the right one. Some will clean every range trip, some every few range trips, some every few thousand rounds and some never.

I personally clean any firearm after it is shot. If I don't shoot it much it might be a light cleaning. If it is a lot it will be more detailed.

I do this for 2 reasons. First, that is what I was taught. Second, I might not shoot that particular firearm again for a year. I don't want it to sit with stuff in it for a year.

[wsmc27]

Article from a few years back I've seen a few times over the years. Might be interesting to some?

S.W.A.T. MAGAZINE
KEEP YOUR CARBINE RUNNING
Dispelling Lubrication and Cleaning Myths
By Patrick A. Rogers

http://www.slip2000.com/art-swat.html

[rero360]

I'm going to run my carbine for about 10K before I clean it unless I start to get malfunctions, which I doubt (thats one of the perks of buying quality) or if I get bored. Seriously, just lube the darn thing and shoot it.

[FX-05 Xiuhcoatl]

here you go http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdBiZfv1jSs

[Jonesy72]

clean mine every other range trip. generally about 250 rounds a trip.

[adrenalinejunkie]

When I'm not going to the range more than once in a month, i'll clean it after every trip. The rare amazing times where i'll be shooting 6 or 7 times in a month i'll save the cleaning until after the last trip and just oil it between range trips, or every 500 rounds or so.

I always separate the upper from the lower, clean the chamber and bore with a chamber brush and bore snake, oil the barrel, strip the BCG to its bare components, clean and oil them, clean and residue off the inside of the upper and lower/magwell, and oil the trigger/hammer/buffer springs. I use gun oil and not grease because I think grease just attracts too much debris and a good gun oil won't rub off without some prolonged use. When I take my time with it it takes around 15 minutes.

Put it all back together, function check it, and you're good to go.

Where in CA are you located? I'd be happy to come by and go through the cleaning process if that'd help and you're close enough haha.

[milotrain]

I shoot every saturday around 100 rounds. I clean my AR after each session. Usually the same day, sometimes the day after.

1. Pull the BCG, disassemble it and stick it in a ziplock with CLP
2. Shoot Birchwood casey gel foam in the barrel and stick it upright with a rag under the muzzle (flash hider protects the crown).
3. After 15 min or so I run a bronze brush down it, unscrew the brush pull the rod and do it again. I do this 1 time for each 10 shots, so 10 times usually.
4. Clean the bronze brush
5. Wrap the brush with a patch, hit it with a little Kroil run it through the barrel, remove the brush. Do this until I get a clean patch.
6. Wrap the brush with a patch, soak it with Kroil, run it through.
7. Take the BCG out of the bag, rag it off, re-lube it with CLP, reassemble it and stick it back in the upper.

Put it away. Tops this is 20min, usually less. Much shorter if I shoot the gel into the barrel before I leave the range.

Some notes:
The Dewey rods are worth their weight in gold.
Buy bags of bronze brushes, not singles. They go fast.
You don't need a jag because you can wrap the brush in the patch.
Cotton patches are worth 10x more than paper patches, luckily they are not much more expensive.
Take care of the crown, take care of the crown, take care of the crown. Long live the Queen.

[CHS]

Proper lubrication is A MILLION TIMES more important than any amount of cleaning.

Properly lubricated, an AR will go for literally thousands and thousands of rounds. A .22lr will usually go around 2000-3000(max) with proper lubrication before needing a real cleaning.

However, if you are getting any kinds of malfunctions the first thing to do is strip everything down and give it a good and proper detail cleaning AND THEN properly lubricate everything. Begin your troubleshooting at that. But if things are running well, just lubricate it and either don't clean it, or clean it when you feel like it.

Cleaning doesn't help a gun run any better (except for .22lr's) as long as you keep it properly lubricated.