Share tips for AR15 Cleaning

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mshootnit

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I remember seeing a video out of Russia that the school children were taught to disassemble and reassemble the AK74 quickly.
Well today I taught my son how to disassemble and reassemble the AR15 quickly. So pound sand Ruskies! And since we live in a free country, next we will move on to the AK, and he will know that one too.
I told him I never had any formal training in cleaning these rifles, just picked up on some things over the years.
If you have a routine you always follow or some tips, please share!
I will pry him off of XBox and make him read it about noon when he wakes up.
 
Real Avid makes some really nice cleaning tools that help clean AR15s and usually has videos on how to properly use them also.

I also like their new Real Avid Smart Drive 90 gunsmith screwdriver set.
 
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Squirt oil on the moving bits and keep shooting. When the need to clean comes along, clean as you would any other firearm.

I don't clean mine all that much. Wipe off the bolt and carrier from time to time and clean the barrel, but I don't believe that a firearm must be spotless to be clean. Over cleaning is just as bad as never cleaning. If you shoot it enough it'll let you know when it's happy and when it's not.
 
You can use a stripper clip to remove built up carbon on the bolt. Other than that, just keep it wet and it'll keep running.
 
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Isn't that what the G.I.s in Vietnam said???
It all depends on your powder, IMO.
I run mine with 4198 or 3031, and I do clean it occasionally, but it’s never really “needed” it. there is something to be said for running it wet, too. Nothing really hardens up that way
 
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Isn't that what the G.I.s in Vietnam said???
That was a powder issue. Yes it got people killed, but we have learned from our mistakes and made better choices in regards to powder. I run IMR 4895 and 4064 and I've found that if you keep it well oiled with quality oil it will run just fine filthy. You might get some black gunk on you but it will continue to hum right along.
 
IMR 3031 does run very clean. IMR 4064 isn't any dirtier that I've noticed. Never tried IMR 4198 or IMR 4895 in .223. As Robert mentioned, a wipedown of the bolt and carrier are all that is needed, and scraping the bolt when you get the chance. I tend to be a bit more meticulous myself being a former Armorer, but that's just me.
 
This is what i do with mine, i disassemble it, throw WD-40 on it, brush it off with hard toothbrush, clean the barrel with a snake-brush, wipe everything clean with a old tshirt or towel and add a oil it with a 1/4 Mobil-1 Synthetic oil i got a while back. Fast and simple.

ETA: i use the same method for AKs.
 
Never stick anything in the gas tube you don't want taking up permanent residence there

For the most shooters, there is absolutely no need to clean the gas tube.

The only time that I have ever saw a need to clean the gas tube was with M16A1/A2 rifles that were used extensively with blanks.
 
I suppose I’d clean it like any other gun.

Take it apart.
Scrub it clean.
Oil it.
Put it together.

Most of the time I skip the first two and the last one. Most of the time, it’s not that dirty...

Gotta like pistons...;)
 
I keep mine squeaky clean- I only own one and it's just a defensive tool. I know I could get by cleaning only every few years but I keep that rifle at the ready and I don't wonder if it'll run. A couple times a year I'll take it out and run 10 mags just to check zero & function. Other than that, it waits for if it's ever needed.

"Ain't nobody gonna get my pinto beans" - a wise man I knew a long time ago.
 
That was a powder issue. Yes it got people killed, but we have learned from our mistakes and made better choices in regards to powder. I run IMR 4895 and 4064 and I've found that if you keep it well oiled with quality oil it will run just fine filthy. You might get some black gunk on you but it will continue to hum right along.


I thought they were told that they didn't have to clean them and that was part of the problem too?
 
In Afghanistan I used a pressure washer on most of the gun, blew it dry with compressed air cleaned the bolt group the old fashioned way.

We didn't have a pressure washer. Or any running water really.

Don't stick cheap Q-tips to clean out the trigger assembly in the lower receiver. It will get ripped up and then you will get a crash course in putting a trigger group back in. In the field with no internet, made it tougher. Speaking from experience.

AR15s can run pretty dirty before they have to be cleaned. I always kept mine as clean as possible so I would not have to find out how much dirt spells failure on the 2 way range. With enough CLP, you can wipe off all the crud from the BCG, upper receiver etc slap it back together and keep shooting.
 
I do find the Avid scraper/multi-tool useful for cleaning caked on carbon deposits from the various nooks and crannies of the bolt. That stuff often resists coming off with just a brush and solvent.

I'll admit that I have used those star-shaped cotton felt biscuits to clean between the lugs of the barrel extension. They are undoubtedly overpriced and a small brush probably works as well, but they do make the job go faster.

I use an AR specific brush to clean the chamber. Otherwise, I just use my Otis cable and standard jags, patches, and .22 cal brushes along with Hoppes 9 to clean the bore.
 
I am more concerned about the barrel. One lost accuracy. A bore scope showed copper build up. I had cleaned it but not to well. It took a lot of scrubbing. I used Wipe out, KG copper cleaner and Bore shine on it and a bunch of patches. I am stuck at home but hope to get to a range soon to see how it worked.
 
One item that makes ALL firearms easier to clean, spray inside the barrel when the warm after firing (not HOT, warm). Makes cleaning easier when you get home.
 
I help out at the safety orientation for a rifle match I shoot. Probably 90% of the rifles people bring out are ARs of one flavor or another.

ARs will run absolutely filthy as long as their wet. Dry ARs have problems functioning even when they are clean.

I’ve seen numerous occasions when a guy’s rifle wasn’t working (usually short stroking) during the shooting part of the orientation and was made functional again by simply adding lube.

I have never seen an rifle that had too much lube to work.

BSW
 
The lower receiver rarely needs to be cleaned. Take the upper off the lower and clean the upper. A gun vise makes the job easier. I use Hoppes #9, a Dewey one-piece bass cleaning rod, bronze bore brush, a jag with cotton patches, a chamber brush, and a toothbrush. I don't scrape carbon off the tail of the bolt. I doosh the bolt tail with Hoppe's, let it sit for a few minutes before I use an old bore brush to scrub some of the carbon off then wipe it "clean" and apply oil over the remaining carbon as a preservative. After I scrub the chamber with the chamber brush I wrap the chamber brush with a cotton patch and use it to wipe the dirty solvent out of the chamber.
 
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