Myth? Inverting the M1A for cleaning.

[QuarterBoreGunner]

I and the girl went and blew things up at the LARG 40yrd tin can range yesterday; why my 5'2", 130lbs sweetheart loves the relatively ginormous M1A so much I'll never know (she has a sweet recoil bruise on her right shoulder) but she does love that .308

Later at home I was swabbing out the barrel and I recalled something I'd heard many years ago - that you should clean the bore of the M1A with it upside down; that is, empty magwell pointing up. The reason being that way solvent wouldn't run into the gas cylinder/piston area. Never really thought about it that much, but I can't see how it would be that much of a concern.

Anyone else ever hear this?

[polygunner]

Oh yes,
I always clean my M1-A's upside down, Unless the gas system is removed from the barrel.
Solvent in the gas system is a no no.It is supposed to be run dry, no lube and no solvent.
pg

[QuarterBoreGunner]

Mmmm..... I wonder if storing the rifle vertically for a while will help; I didn't soak it, just a little Hoppes on a patch.

[polygunner]

When I clean my guns it takes days, no bushes, just patches and solvent.
If they go into the safe durring the cleaning process they go in muzzle down, just to keep the solvent from seeping into the action/chamber.
If you're not storing them I think upside down is just fine.

For scoped M1-As' I insert a mag to keep the action open. For M1-As' without a scope I insert a stripper clip into the guide to hold the bolt open. If the action is not field stripped, that is.
Happy cleaning.
pg

[QuarterBoreGunner]

Thanks for the tips; I don't use brushes on my bench guns either.

[Turbinator]

Fascinating question; the inverse of this would be, never clean your AR upside down, so as to prevent solvents from accumulating in the gas port and gas tube.

Hmm!

Turby

[polygunner]

Correctamundo,
AR's right side up. I would think if solvent got into the gas port on an AR after the first round it would be into the bolt/carrier which is lubed already.
pg