How thoroughly should I clean my AR15 after 25 rounds?

[TonyAngel]

Just keep it properly lubed. The only time my AR gets cleaned is when it's too dirty to inspect the parts to see if anything needs to be replaced.

How much you have to lube depends on what lube you use. I use Slip 2000. It doesn't evaporate or cook off, so I usually don't worry too much about that either. I'll lube every 500 rounds whether it needs it or not.

 

[leatherneck448]

you dont need to.

I like to clean mine every couple hundred, but frankly you dont even need that.

these guns will run VERY dirty if you keep them lubed properly.

look at pat rodgers from EAG, his filthy 14 is around the 35,000 round mark with lube and very minimal cleaning.

unless you shot something corrosive, 25 rounds isn't worth breaking out the cleaning supplies over in my opinion.

 

[Welding Rod]

I would just push an oiled patch down the bore and call it good until next time, unless next time will be more than a year down the road.

 

[TexasRifleman]

Clean mine every couple of thousand rounds or so I would guess.

Lubing, that's something completely different. I run mine fairly "wet" and lube often during a heavy use time like a class or something.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I agree with Al Thompson, taliv, TR, and most of the other cleaning recommendations in this thread, with one caveat.

Many of those guys shoot frequently. A rifle that is shot frequently can get by with less cleaning attention than one that is stored for a long period of time. If you don't shoot your rifle that often (less than 3 times a year for example), then cleaning it before you put it back in storage is probably a good idea even if you wouldn't normally clean after so few shots.

Remember, the main things you are trying to achieve with cleaning are:

1. Clean dirt and grime from parts so they can be inspected for wear and tear and replace said parts before they cause problems
2. Providing lubrication
3. Remove excess fouling from the bore
4. Corrosion protection

Assuming the rifle has good parts to begin with and was properly lubed, then you don't need to inspect parts after 25 shots. You don't need additional lubrication yet. There is no excess fouling to be removed (assuming you aren't trying to wring out that last 0.05" of accuracy from the barrel) - so the only reason it would need cleaning is to protect it from corrosion during long term storage.

However, I think taliv had a good point that since it is a new rifle, it doesn't hurt to inspect the parts and look for unusual wear and tear - not to mention just familiarizing yourself with what normal wear looks like on the rifle and at what rate it happens.

 

[HARV6]

ehanger,

Looks like you and I are in the same boat. I just took my first AR out for its maiden voyage the same day you did. I put 28 rounds through mine though! Anyway, I'm new to AR's but not guns in general. All I have to go by is prior experience with pistols and shotguns, what i find on youtube, and scouring this site and a couple others to see what everyone else is doing. Last night I finally got around to cleaning it. It was interesting to see how much was left behind from those few rounds. I didn't lube it or do anything to it before hand, though now after reading more I understand I need to lube it properly. Anyway a thin black film was on everything. I doubt any harm/rust would have developed if I wouldn't have cleaned it. Seems like a lot of people are dumping a bunch of ammo through theirs without any problems. From my experiences with other firearms I think its more beneficial to clean it often so I know, how it works, what "normal" looks like, and how to take it apart. So to answer your question a little better...all I did was take out the charging handle, took the bolt out and apart, and just wiped those off with a rag sprayed with some Rem Oil. It didn't really needed it, but since I was in there I did it.

 

[Slamfire]

I am of the camp that believes weapons should be clean at all times, regardless of whether is it a .22 or a .50 caliber. I payed what is to me a lot of money for each of my guns (even the humble little $75 .22 rifle) and want to maintain them as well as I can.

Guess that makes two of us.

Firearms are just machines. I keep mine clean and lubricated. I don't like rust and powder deposits attract moisture and holds that water against the surface of the metal.


The guys who don't clean, when you pull their rifle out of the gun cabinet, where it has sat for the last five years, it will have issues.

 

[chaser_2332]

Clean? What's clean all my rifles like to play dirty

 

[Sky]

Post 30 by Mr. Roberts and a bunch of others are 100% correct by the available information we all have in our experience and research.

This being your first AR and you wanting to get to know it; tear it down!! Look at every part closely!! For the next few times you go to the range TEAR IT DOWN get used to looking and seeing what the inside of the beast looks like. If you are shooting frequently then you do not need to clean very often as so many have stated. I know of ARs that have 1000s of rounds through them and other than a few squirts of Breakfree CLP they get nothing!! Never have been cleaned in three years that I know of!! ( not mine gun range rentals )

Depending on how long the AR is going to be idle in a safe or a shelf has about as much to do with cleaning as round count does. So easy to run a bore snake yet there are those who hate bore snakes!!! hahahah Welcome to the world of Black rifle madness!!

 

[Tirod]

The guys who don't clean, when you pull their rifle out of the gun cabinet, where it has sat for the last five years, it will have issues.

If it's a cheap steel and wood gun with no surface coatings, maybe.

We're talking AR. Barrels are chrome lined, so is the "tightly toleranced" bolt carrier, which is actually the gas piston and cylinder. The anodized aluminum upper and lower won't rust or corrode, neither will the synthetic stocks. Most steel parts are parkerized to prevent rust when exposed to the environment on a daily basis for months at a time.

It's not going to grow hair and seize up sitting in the controlled, heated and air conditioned environment of a gun cabinet at home. Leave an old pump .22 Stevens takedown out in your van for three years, it'll get trashed. Not so much a gift when given to me. Lost 85% of the finish, carbon blued steel is the American gunmakers planned obsolesence.

Please don't drag in old school commercial gun care into a combat weapon discussion. You do have to clean those old things after every shoot, the AR15? Nah. Wipe the mud off and lube it.