[Houndawg]

How would you clean under the float tube? I'm a stickler for clean rifles, so not being able to pop the handguards off to clean the barrel would bother the heck out of me. One of these days I plan on getting a White Oak service rifle upper and I can just imagine the crud that will be accumulated under the float tube after a while.

[Sheldon]

If you get a service rifle type free float tube, it will use the standard handguards and they will go on and off as usual. Some guys glue the handguards together to keep a solid feel, but you don't have to. Unless you drop the rifle, there should not be much to clean under the guards anyway. Now if you want to clean the barrel itself, then it is a different story for most of the float tubes I know of. I believe most will have to be taken off with the barrel nut (which is part of the tube itself) to take the tube off to access the barrel surfaces.

[wanderinwalker]

Free-float tubes on the AR? Easy, don't worry about cleaning under the float tube. My Armalite NM is about 2 years old now and has been fired frequently. I think I've pulled the handguards once, and that was after shooting in the rain all day. Otherwise, don't worry about the outside barrel. I figure it will go to White Oak or CLE before too long, so not being able to clean the outer length of the barrel doesn't seem like a big deal IMO. Just keep the rest of the rifle clean and it will be fine.

[Joe Demko]

I have a carbine with a float tube. When I think it needs cleaned under the tube, I hose it out with an aerosol like gunscrubber and then spray it down again with a protectant. I will add that this has never, strictly speaking, been really necessary; I've just chosen to do it from time to time.

[Chris Rhines]

Best solution is to not worry about it. Second best, find a shop with a rifle-length ultrasound cleaner and take it to them every few thousand rounds.

Float tubes usually unscrew from the barrel nut (unless you're like me and you glue them on with Loctite...) Unscrew it, wipe the barrel off, replace it.

Oh, wait... You've probably got a front sight tower on your AR, I keep forgeting that most people do. That makes things a bit more difficult. You might try a long stick with a rag on it, soaked in solvent. Don't use Break-Free or any other kind of lubricant, unless you want your barrel to give off lots of nasty-smelling smoke.



- Chris

[30Cal]

You'll probably shoot the barrel out or clean it to death long before rust could ruin it from the outside. I wouldn't worry about it.

Ty