Grease Those AR's

[Tin Gizel]

I just got finished with a Fighting Rifle class from Tactical Response. I had my RRA AR lubed up with CLP, stopped working on the third mag. I was frustrated and about to go to my AK when the instructor broke out the High Temp Lithium Bearing Grease.

We used about as much grease as would fit on the end of a Qtip and only applied it to the 4 rails of the bolt and a little around the gas rings. It ran without a hitch for the remaining 1,500 rnds without any cleaning or relube. Of all the AR's at the class none of those which were greased had any issues. Those that weren't did.

Best part is, it's also the cheapest lube i've ever found.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

How much CLP were you using when the gun stopped working? Was it fairly wet or was it dry?

AR15s need to be run wet.

 

[PTK]

I usually put enough CLP on the bolt and carrier to make it splatter out on the first three shots or so. Not one failure in over 3k rounds now.

 

[MechAg94]

Hmmm...I have had stoppages trying to use too much lube. Attracts too much grit and grime. I normally keep it fairly dry these days. Oil everything up and wipe it down. The little bit of grease you are talking about might be fine though.

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

CLP has been what I have used in my AR15's, and they've always worked fine...

 

[Tin Gizel]

My AR was still wet when it had it's FTF, others were having FTE and double feeds.

If CLP works for you, use it, I'm just trying to share my experience with grease, it's what I'll use from now on....

 

[Zak Smith]

I've shot several TR rifle classes, other carbine classes, and lots of high round count matches. I apply a small amount of FP10 to the BCG of properly-built uppers and have no issues.

 

[Jeremy2171]

AR15s need to be run wet.

Unless you are in the desert...then they like to run dry.

 

[rcmodel]

CLP isn't a particularly good lubricant.
It was developed to be a Cleaner, Lube, & Protectant that could be carried into combat in a single bottle, and do a fairly good job for each use.
For strictly lubrication, there are other products that will do a much better job.

Here is a link to some lube tests I did a couple of years ago.
I sure opened my eyes to some long-held beliefs about firearms lubrication.

http://www.ktog.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=104&action=display&num=1119987390&start=0


rcmodel

 

[Obiwan]

CLP tends to "burn off" more so than other lubes

I use Slip2000 and have zero issues

"Unless you are in the desert...then they like to run dry"

That urban legend has been well debunked

In sand chamber testing wet guns ran much better than dry ones

 

[USMC Tanker]

Obiwan, take it from the Iraq vets...a wet M16/M4 in a desert environment will jam horribly.

I'm not trying to stomp on you or anything, that's just my real world experience.

A sand chamber test is one thing, but several days of exposure and firing in a sand storm environment is another. If you can't see your hand in front of your face, count on it being in your weapon's operating parts as well.

 

[Onmilo]

M-Pro 7 CLP is a GREAT general use weapon lube cleaner.
It won't kill your liver like Break Free either.
I also apply grease to my AR rifles as I do with my other Mil Type rifles.

Like any weapon, you lube the rifle according to the environment.
There is no written in stone, only one, right way to do it.

 

[rcmodel]

but several days of exposure and firing in a sand storm environment is another.

In a combat environment, I'd be cleaning the sand out of it way more often then that if it was me!


rcmodel

 

[f4t9r]

FP10 and away it goes without a problem. Glad you found something that works for you.

 

[jpwilly]

...a wet M16/M4 in a desert environment will jam horribly.

If your referring to Oil / CLP etc I completely agree. I've tried the "extra oil" and the problem is that once the oil gets dirty it's more like goo and it doesn't take much sand to change the thin oil coatings consitancy. But synthetic lithium grease seems to keep mine running all day even with sand/dirt in it...it's just gritty grease but remains slick! That said I've never been to the sand box defending freedom and shooting at BG's either. And even with the above I want to stress my AR has not had any stoppages with the exception of a bad magazine from PRO MAG!

 

[USMC Tanker]

In a combat environment, I'd be cleaning the sand out of it way more often then that if it was me!


rcmodel

You clean your weapon WHENEVER POSSIBLE.

 

[CobraF100]

I started using Crane Engine Assembly Lube and put a Good coat on the main contact points and have had NO problems sense I started doing this.

Sense I saw how well this was working in my AR I started putting it in my Pistols also and they all Slide Very Smooth and feels like it slides faster..

 

[Jeff White]

A sand chamber test is one thing, but several days of exposure and firing in a sand storm environment is another. If you can't see your hand in front of your face, count on it being in your weapon's operating parts as well.

Keep a magazine in the well, the dust cover closed and carry a rag to wipe the outside of the weapon down. Wrap the weapon up in something when it's not in use. If you kick your rifle around on the floorboard of your vehicle, get it covered with sand and grit, the pick it up and try to use it, it will jam. Lube it to standard, keep the dirt and grit out of the action, and it'll run just fine in the desert.

If you see a group of Infantrymen who are covered with mud and dust everywhere, but their weapons aren't, you're looking at soldiers who know what they are about and probably have good leadership.

Jeff

 

[jpwilly]

I'd think some press and seal + American ingenuity could help keep actions clean...it's weak enough to come right off and it seals well enough to keep dirt out - Worth a try?

 

[Evil Monkey]

It's threads like these that scare me away from AR15's. "Run them dry", "run them wet". A weapon should run no matter what!

Then you have a spring loaded ejector. They say it get weak over time, the spring break because of thermal shock, it may pop out, etc.

I've heard about a gas ring that's supposed to go on the back of the bolt to stop gas flow? What the hell? So that's another part that has to be replaced because it'll burn off or something.

Somebody mentioned you need a different buffer spring for every barrel length? Great.......

At one point, an AR15 was something I just had to have. After many years constantly reading about its high maintenance, unreliability, and its complexity in comparison to other weapons, I've lost all interest.

My dirty WASR AK runs no matter what. I've put about 500rds in it and never cleaned it properly. Only once or twice I've ever cleaned it, if you can call what I do "cleaning". All I did was disassemble the rifle and wipe the bolt face and piston head with a dry rag. I then cut a peice of a T-shirt and run it through the bore, and take a Q-tip to the trunnion locking lugs to wipe some carbon out. That's it. No oil, lube, synthetic wonder potion, nothing. There's still a bunch of red lacquer all over the rails and FCG and it's going to stay that way. I'm not going to clean all that. But the next time I take it to the range, it's going to fire. Can I do that to an AR15 and get away with it?


If I can get away with treating an AR15 like that and have it still work, I swear I will buy one instead of a SIG556.

 

[atblis]

yeAH

My AR was still wet when it had it's FTF, others were having FTE and double feeds.

Sounds like your AR is a piece of crap.

Never had a problem with the old Colt Sporter II. Breakfree CLP (commercial not military)...no issues. Oh, and I don't clean my plinking guns very often.

 

[Zak Smith]

Everyone and their brother makes AR-15 parts, and even more people assemble them. As such, there are AR's all over the map in terms of quality and reliability. You can find ones that won't run one magazine without malfunctioning, and you can find ones that will run pretty much indefinitely without cleaning. My AR's are solidly in the latter category, and it's no mystery how to get one of those as opposed to the former category. It's all detailed in the forum sticky links here in the Rifle forum.

Much is made of the carbon fouling of the gas impingement system, however, this generally does not cause malfunctions.

 

[HorseSoldier]

At one point, an AR15 was something I just had to have. After many years constantly reading about its high maintenance, unreliability, and its complexity in comparison to other weapons, I've lost all interest.

My Lewis Machine and Tool has clocked 2000 rounds without cleaning to date. Just squirt some CLP into the BCG and it just keeps running. I guess I'll clean it eventually, but at the moment I'm kind of interested in seeing how long it keeps kicking without it.

A quality AR is infinitely less maintenance intensive than the reverb from the internet echo chamber would lead one to believe. Like Zak Smith said, if the weapon in question is of inferior quality, performance may not live up to that.

But the same is true of bottom end AKs and everything else.

 

[GreenWolf70]

Dry Lube works best in the Sandbox

I used Mil-Tech's dry lube when I was last over there and it works well. Just lay out the BCG is the sun (usually only a couple of minutes) to heat it up and then wipe down with Mil-Tech. The heat opens the pores of the metal and lets it soak up the Mil-Tech better. Also, if you are in the box, you can go to their website and they will send you a bottle free (at least they did in 2005).

I also noticed that when I wiped down my pistol (which had the most exposure to Iraq) with Mil-Tech it attracted a lot less dust.

For you guys not in the Sandbox, you can use a hairdryer to do the same thing.

 

[Exposure]

Evil Monkey said-

My dirty WASR AK runs no matter what. I've put about 500rds in it and never cleaned it properly.

I'm not trying to be rude but 500 rounds is nothing. It's kind of like saying, "I drove my new car 20 miles and nothing fell off of it!"

I have an M16 that I run dripping wet with either Militec or Rem Oil. 1000 Rounds and beyond between cleaning is not uncommon at an MG shoot or when taking friends to the range. On more than one occasion I have run it hard enough to make the handguards so hot they can't be touched. Recently I got it so hot that I unthinkingly set it down in my plastic Bushamster rifle case and the barrel melted through the foam and into the side of the case.

Even after all this disgusting abuse and failure to maintain what is a very fine rifle I have yet to have even ONE failure of any kind!

Run those puppies wet. That's how they like it.