New AR-15 Owner - Cleaning Advice Needed

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SullyVols

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Picked up my first AR-15 today. It's a S&W MP15 chambered for .223/5.56mm. There were a lot of choices but owning several S&W revolvers I at least know who I'm dealing with so I decided to go with them.

I'm currently in the process of breaking it down for an initial cleaning and have it in four pieces. I have the top part of the gun with the barrel, the lower portion where the trigger assembly and magazine our housed, the charging handle and the bolt assembly. The lower portion was what I cleaned off first. I just wiped it down and used a clp soaked q-tip to lightly go over the springs and exposed points in the trigger assembly. The charging handle I just soaked with clp.

I'm unsure of how I should be cleaning the bolt assembly. On my desert eagle I just soak it down with rem-oil to clean it then wipe down the exterior with clp. Would a similar method be OK here or should I just wipe down the outside of the bolt with a patch soaked in clp (or grease or whatever)?

I would greatly appreciate general advice and opinions on what cleaning products to use and any cleaning methods.

Thanks
 
http://www.ar15.com/content/swat/keepitrunning.pdf


All I do is: Field strip, possibly disassemble bolt, wipe everything off, maybe run a patch of copper solvent/dry patches/itzy bit of lube through bore, judiciously apply more lube, re-assemble. Takes maybe 10 minutes? I use FrogLube, and the bore is the only part that gets anything other than the FrogLube, but the same treatment ought to work for a lot of other lubes that are out there as well.

Do not be afraid of using too much lube. Far, far more malfunctions occur from too little lube than too much. In fact, I still believe that, especially in terms of the bolt carrier group, too much lube is pretty much impossible.
 
I see too many guns that are overlubed. Excess lube gets slung down the bore when the bolt slams home and the oil in motion stays in motion. The burnt oil gets blown into the gas system and carbons everything up. I leave my lower oil free. If it is a new gun I would wipe the bore and go to the range.
 
adelbridge said:
I see too many guns that are overlubed. Excess lube gets slung down the bore when the bolt slams home and the oil in motion stays in motion. The burnt oil gets blown into the gas system and carbons everything up. I leave my lower oil free. If it is a new gun I would wipe the bore and go to the range.
Click to expand...

I don't recall hearing anything of the sort before, and when guys like Pat Rogers say that they see far more problems from too little lube than too much, I tend to believe them.

I also do not oil the lower. I might put a dab of oil, or grease, on the hammer and trigger springs when the rifle is brand new, or when installing a grand new fire control group (FCG), but after that...the lower should be plenty of lube from what gravity pulls down out of the upper.

The BCG is what you really want to make sure and lube well. Including the lugs and the rings.
 
Don't get all caught up with the cleaning process. It is not as daunting as described.
Click to expand...

+1

Cleaning to please a DI vs. cleaning to have a reliable rifle next time out is a different ballgame :)

Actually I don't spend a lot of time cleaning my ARs until they start malfunctioning (which rare). I just wipe things down with an oily rag, clean the bolt locking lugs and under the extractor, a few solvent patches down the bore, followed by a few bore snake runs and a few drops of oil on the carrier where it touches the upper is all I generally do every 200-300 rounds (typical steel plate session).

If you like cleaning guns don't let me stop you, but if you shoot much they will pretty much always be a little dirty unless you are obsessive. Obviously I'd be singing a different tune if I knew I was heading into battle tomorrow, but experience has showed me I can grab any of my ARs and all the ammo I can carry and expect it to work until I'm out of ammo.
 
I always do a thorough cleaning of the actual bolt of an AR. Gently use the firing pin to knock out the extractor retaining pin. Use pipe cleaners to clean up through the bolt and firing pin housing. Brush off any carbon with a nylon brush and use a light coat of oil on the inside of the bolt.
 
Here is a good video that I followed when I was new to AR's.



You actually don't have to break down the bolt further into its smaller parts. But you can if you want to.
 
some cleaning advice for an AR would be if you know a dental hygienist get her to clean it lol even though I know you can fire an AR 40000 times under water in a volcano without it jamming but you do have to clean it once every 20 years
 
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