Confusion on cleaning an AR-15

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eptreyg

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I write this with some trepidation because I know many folk feel their way is superior. Being new to the AR world, this is a creature where I have little to go on. I keep reading conflicting ideas.

I grasp the concept that the rifle should be cleaned in the same direction of bullet travel. What I don't grasp is "how." And this is why:

Some state that if you use a rod it should not go outside the crown of the muzzle because you could damage it. If this is true- do you just push the patch forward enough to grasp it? (This seems problematic in itself if you have a large brake/flash hider)

Others state you should insert the rod from the muzzle end and attach the patch/wad/whatever that way and pull it through the barrel. It would seem, to me, to be far messier that way.

Google, being my friend, showed me the archives where Bartholomew Roberts started a thread on how he cleans his AR. There were number of replies on which solvent/oils/methods versus the actual technical cleaning for dummies.

I'd greatly appreciate any help and please, be gentle. I'm new!
 
This is how I generally clean my M4. I generally will take the cleaning rod, without the handle attached, and drop it down the barrel until it comes out the muzzle. Then I attach the handle and pull it through.
 
Always clean from the chamber to the muzzle.

Either drop the rod thru like COMPNOR said or just use the rod from the breech end.

It's not a $1000 barrel after all. You're not likely to damage it from regular cleaning.

BTW, copy of a basic AR manual is here: http://www.box.net/shared/tlxri3l1ic
 
Cleaning is one thing. Overcleaning is another. Those steel rods that are army issue sure don't help matters. That bird cage helps prevent banging the muzzle end. My preference? Tipton cleaning rods. They are built so as not to prevent damage to the muzzle. Yes always clean from the chamber to the muzzle. Don't forger the chamber itself. Its most overlooked.
 
I very much agree that the army in general is so obsessed with cleaning that they don't care if they cause damage from OVER cleaning.

I use a boresnake on training unit rifles that I don't care whether or not they ARE clean, just that they LOOK clean. (No one's life is hanging on those rifles.) When using a rod, I run it down empty from the muzzle end, screw in either the patch or the brush and pull it out. For say a special-barrelled varmint rifle which I AM concerned about the crown, I believe I saw somewhere (probably the Brownell's catalog) a rod guide made for AR uppers. That with a one-piece cleaning rod would ensure that neither the rifling nor the crown get dinged up.
 
agree with these guys.

the tipton or dewey coated rods are great.

also the brass rods are pretty nice, just use common sense.

i also sometimes use a bore snake, but not very often. mostly cleaning rods, brass jags, cotton patches and hoppes.

i wouldnt put a steel cleaning rod in my rifles.
 
Boresnakes work amazingly well, but if they get old they can break, leaving you a bore full of snake! Replace them fairly often and they're fine.

When i use a rod, I separate the upper and lower and use a tipton from the chamber end. Be sure to use a brush a time or two as well as patches.
 
Another myth/concern is foaming bore cleaner. The concern is the foam will get up in the gas tube and corrode it. I call it a myth because you'll get solvent up there no matter what you use. For me, I use gunslick foaming bore cleaner and use my finger to cover the gas tube in the upper receiver. Once I clean using a nylon brush (FBC will do the hard work) and an aluminum rod, I spray out any remaining FBC from the gas tube with CLP powder blaster. The powder blaster is so volatile it'll rapidly evaporate leaving the gas tube dry. I finish with a bore snake with the end dipped in gun oil to oil the chamber and bore. I try not to use anything brass as the FBC will rapidly eat any copper it comes in contact with.
 
Bore-Snakes are the spawn of the devil.
There is no possible way to clean a bottleneck rifle chamber with a bore-snake.
It is especially poor for use on an AR, as a clean chamber is key to them working right.

Get a one-piece cleaning rod, and clean from the rear.
Get a .223 chamber brush to get the carbon fouling out of the chamber.
https://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1234/Product/M16___AR-15_CHAMBER_BRUSHES

rc
 
hey guys, question. how does a brass cleaning rod damage a steel barrel? just wondering.
 
A clean rifle is the sign of a sick mind. Actually, if you are careful with the rifling/crown innerface, it don't matter much which end you insert the rod into. Cleaning the chamber, bolt and gas system is probably more important than cleaning the bore.
 
how does a brass cleaning rod damage a steel barrel?
Click to expand...
It doesn't.

Constant wear from grit & dirt is what wears out a barrel.
I have seen old Winchester lever-actions with no rifling left in the first 1 1/2 of muzzle due to cleaning rod wear.
And they used wood or brass jointed rods mostly back then.

Jointed rods, whether steel GI, or cheap aluminum or brass ones, carry dirt & grit in the joints. Just like lapping compound.

A solid Stainless Steel rod will not allow grit to become embedded, and there are no joint over-laps to catch on the crown.

Even though stainless steel is very hard stuff, it is still softer then a rifle barrel and slick as owl dodo, so they won't hurt the barrel.

http://secure.armorholdings.com/kleen-bore/onepiecekits.html

rc
 
I use either an Otis kit (flexible rod) or a Patchworm (flexible plastic rod). Both are easy to use and allow cleaning from the breech on any design.

I might do differently if I had a $1000 barrel and shot benchrest with 0.2" groups, but I don't. For now my skill is the limiting factor in my accuracy. YMMV.
 
Guess I'm the stupid one here..I still use the GI ramrod, clean from the rear, but always pull back after it clears the flash hider, except when using the wire, it clears an I take it off. Haven't lost any accuracy....on an intersesting note...they took a Garand an asked the question how the steel rod wore down the muzzle an upset accuracy....?....so they took a Garand with muzzle of 2.0...took turns ramming the rod up an down, trying to be as hard as they could to wear it down...it took several worn out rods an 66,000 strokes to wear it down to 3.0 ! They then shot it with reloads at 100yds an grouped less than 1". I wouldn't want to do that with my AR though!!!
 
It's not just the rod, but also the grit (carbon) that gets embedded on the rods surface. As you note, it takes quite a while, but it's an issue. As I understand it, it's even more of an issue on softer barrel steels, I.E., .22LR barrels.

To the OP: There is an outfit in the upstate that is doing all sorts of handgun and AR training. No idea on competence, but they "seem" pretty squared away.

www.presidiodefense.com
 
as i've stated previously, i don't clean my rifles much anymore, but i always always clean from the chamber to the muzzle.

break the action open
clean the chamber with a chamber brush, hose off with brake cleaner
insert a bore guide in the upper receiver
run a dewey rod all the way through from chamber to muzzle,
remove the dirty patch from the muzzle
then i hold the end of the rod up with my fingers so it doesn't bang on the crown and gently pull it back until it clears the muzzle, then yank it on back
repeat until satisfied
 
Azizza makes me giggle. "......cleaning? You mean the gun, right?"

My dad cleans his guns once after each war. Of course, he's trying to hit the vitals of large animals at ranges of less than 300 yards with high magnification. And oh yeah, THESE ANIMALS AREN'T SHOOTING BACK. I decided to clean his guns for him once. There was so much copper in the bores, they were green. I couldn't brush it out. I plugged the ends and filled them with foaming bore snake. He shoots them and says he can't tell any difference.

So when my E-2 assistant armorer, who was a DMV clerk in a former life, keeps digging at the bast of the gas tube where it enters the upper receiver with a q-tip looking for black stuff, I have to bite it off. This does NOT affect how the rifle functions. All it does is keep the sergeant-major off of your back. Clean it, lube it when it's time to shoot it, great, but I honestly think that 99% of the good we do in cleaning weapons is in the first 30 minutes of the three MANDATORY hours they make us spend cleaning them.
 
How come people hate bore snakes so much? Should I go back to Wally's and buy a rod+patches+brush? I opted for a bore snake because I just needed SOME sort of barrel cleaning aparatus.
 
Bore snakes aren't very effective and they catch and hold dirt until they're washed. Would you run the same dirty patch through your barrel repeatedly? IMHO they are marketing over substance. Also, the Otis kit and Patchworm are almost as easy to use and a lot more effective.
 
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