Now I know why they call AR-15 a fragile toy gun...

[Wanderling]

... not that it really is fragile or a toy I am sure that with proper care it is just as reliable as any battle rifle.

However, as someone who's been drilled on field stripping and reassembling an AK-47 since 6th grade or so, and only yesterday stripped and cleaned AR-15 for the first time... wow. In the voice of the famous Doge, "Much small part... much little pin... small tool need... not hammer ready.."

 

[chicharrones]

small tool need

The pointy end of an unfired cartridge works pretty good.

 

[FL-NC]

Operator level disassembly shouldn't require anything except a small punch, or item to be used as a punch like chicharrones posted above. As for the small parts like the BCG components, placing them in a container like a magnetic tray from Sears or even a cap for a can of spray paint works well to keep them in during cleaning so they don't get lost. Any AR owner should keep a spare cam, firing pin retaining pin, extractor complete and extractor pin, stashed away in case a part does get lost. The total cost of these spares I'm sure is less than $20. I keep mine in a taped up skoal can.

 

[bnolsen]

... not that it really is fragile or a toy I am sure that with proper care it is just as reliable as any battle rifle.

However, as someone who's been drilled on field stripping and reassembling an AK-47 since 6th grade or so, and only yesterday stripped and cleaned AR-15 for the first time... wow. In the voice of the famous Doge, "Much small part... much little pin... small tool need... not hammer ready.."

Have to admit I was horrified the first time I cleaned an ar15 after having owned a few ak47 action rifles. The ar180, while not quite as solid as an ak47, is much more similar to the ak47. Crappy russian steel cased 5.56 barely fouls the chamber of one of those, needing only a very simple wiping of the chamber...the piston takes all the crap.

 

[MistWolf]

Nyet! Is AK. Opposable thumbs not needed

 

[Jackal]

Just dont clean it. People obsess over cleaning a rifle that very rarely needs cleaning. I haven't cleaned either of my AR's in 2 years and a few thousand rounds.

 

[briansmithwins]

Don't forget to get a spare bolt if you shoot a lot. Most bolts last 10,000 rounds but very few will last 20,000.

Admittedly, 10k cartridges fired may be more than a lifetime for some people, or it might be a couple years.

BSW

 

[243winxb]

Hose out the trigger group with WD40, spray the bolt, shoot some up the gas tube. Done.

Barrel #9 then CLP for storage. M16A1 from 1979 to 2011 when i sold it. No problems.

 

[HB]

Field strip of an AR means remove bolt to me? It's about the same as an AK unless charging handle replacement is too difficult...

Use a tooth brush to remove fouling then reassemble.

HB

 

[Mosin Bubba]

Just dont clean it. People obsess over cleaning a rifle that very rarely needs cleaning. I haven't cleaned either of my AR's in 2 years and a few thousand rounds.

This. I think guns as a whole are a bit tougher than we tend to realize.

A guy I shoot with has a Ruger Mk II pistol he bought in the 80s, and admits he's never broke it down for cleaning. I'd guess it's seen north of 10,000 rounds in that time. If it spits carbon out the side, he wipes the bolt face with a paper napkin, if the action starts to lag, he wipes off the bolt raceways and puts a drop of oil on them.

30 years and tens of thousands of dirty rimfire rounds, and the pistol is still a tack driver that eats everything you feed it.

I've never put that kind of round count through any of my rifles. But unless it shoots corrosive ammo, I only clean my plinkers when they quit working, and I haven't cleaned any of them in a long time.

 

[Llama Bob]

There's no reason to do anything with any pins other than the take down pins when FIELD stripping an AR.

 

[LoonWulf]

Wait...you need tools to do a general clean on an ar? hhrrrmmmmm.......

I remove powder fouling from the barrel and wipe down any steel parts after every use of my ar. Once every few months i take my buffer system apart clean the old grease apply new and reinstall.
Dont need tools for any of this.

The maintenance is necessary here in hawaii, atleast where i use my rifle, might not be elsewhere.

The only part of the AR design i really consider suspect is the charging handle, ive put a pretty good bend in one yanking on it from the left side. Its pretty much the cheapest charging handle you can get tho.

 

[Wanderling]

Field strip of an AR means remove bolt to me? It's about the same as an AK unless charging handle replacement is too difficult...

Use a tooth brush to remove fouling then reassemble.

HB

In the user manual, it goes under "Special component disassembly - Bolt Field Stripping". So yeah, S&W at least calls it "field stripping". But their cleaning instructions are, shall we say, minimalist. As opposed to the Glock manual that is about as detailed and step-by-step as it gets. So I wasn't really sure if cleaning the bolt and the firing pin was required.

There's no reason to do anything with any pins other than the take down pins when FIELD stripping an AR.

Probably. I intended the post in jest but it may have not been obvious. But even without the firing bolt disassembly, there's a very profound difference vs the AK system.

We were taught - in the middle school, mind you, as part of the Civil Defense class - to field strip and re-assemble an AK in 45 seconds per each operation, with eyes closed. There's no way to do it with AR, with these takedown pins, the way the charging handle must be aligned, the way the bolt would only go in one way & the pin in it must be orientated just right, etc.

Now I am not knocking the AR. I am actually pretty fond of the system, it's a pleasure to shoot. But I do see how it may seem fragile or at the very least not very sturdy to someone who's used to an AK. Heck, our cleaning procedure after a day of shooting in the bootcamp started with rubbing the end of the piston on the sole of a boot to remove residue. (Running around with an AK in mosquito infested swamps for 3 weeks as a prerequisite to getting my civilian college degree had given me a bad aversion to both that gun and anything green for a loooooong time).

 

[12Bravo20]

I've seen M16 rifles go through some severe abuse and survive while I was in the Army. I've seen a M16A2 with M203 get ran of by a 2 1/2 ton truck and still shoot straight (rifle was leaning at an angle against a concrete curb).

Field stripping the AR15/M16 for cleaning consists of removing upper from lower, removing and disassembling the bolt carrier group, removing buffer/spring to clean, and removing hand guards. Nothing else needs to be removed by the operator for cleaning. There is no need to disassemble any further than that.

 

[herrwalther]

Spend enough time in a combat arms MOS and you learn the difference between "keep the gun clean enough to shoot" level of maintenance and "The General is coming by to white glove inspect some rifles" maintenance. I have done cleaning on my rifle while in the back of a moving truck on patrol, after it got dirty in an extended 2 way range argument. I "shotgunned" the upper from lower, rubbed some CLP on the bolt carrier, wiped it off on my pants. A few drops in the star chamber, brush around with a toothbrush. Slam it all back together correctly. Whole process took about 20 seconds. Yeah ARs are indeed picky compared to their Soviet brethren, but I'll take my AR any day to a fight.

I also had a friend believe Vaseline was all he needed to clean a weapon. He bathed his Chinese AK in it. I never thought it was possible for 2 people to spend 5 hours cleaning an AK so it would shoot again.

 

[Choctaw]

My sons each own an inexpensive AR. They hunt very hard with them and only wipe them down every now and then. The guns have operated flawlessly and will digest ANY ammo fed to them. These aren't used as range toys so I guess they don't know the difference. lol

 

[Creature]

However, as someone who's been drilled on field stripping and reassembling an AK-47 since 6th grade or so, and only yesterday stripped and cleaned AR-15 for the first time... wow.

....

Yet the AR patter rifle is regularly deployed to combat zones and has done for many many decades.

 

[Wanderling]

I've seen M16 rifles go through some severe abuse and survive while I was in the Army. I've seen a M16A2 with M203 get ran of by a 2 1/2 ton truck and still shoot straight (rifle was leaning at an angle against a concrete curb).

My sons each own an inexpensive AR. They hunt very hard with them and only wipe them down every now and then. The guns have operated flawlessly and will digest ANY ammo fed to them. These aren't used as range toys so I guess they don't know the difference. lol

....

Yet the AR patter rifle is regularly deployed to combat zones and has done for many many decades.

Again.. I am sure the AR is way sturdier than it may seem. I am not saying it's actually fragile. Merely that I can see how it may appear fragile to someone initially familiar with AK.

Field stripping the AR15/M16 for cleaning consists of removing upper from lower, removing and disassembling the bolt carrier group, removing buffer/spring to clean, and removing hand guards. Nothing else needs to be removed by the operator for cleaning. There is no need to disassemble any further than that.

So disassembling the BCG is required ?

 

[redneck2]

Yet the AR pattern rifle is regularly deployed to combat zones and has done for many many decades

There are hundreds of thousands of dead enemy that would think the AR works too well

 

[mshootnit]

Whenever you clean you should take apart the bcg and clean and lube it. clean the bolt and inside the carrier and lube it. All it takes is a bullet tip, tip of a pen, tip of a knife etc. your cleaning kit and about three minutes. I like to ensure the gas ring slots are not aligned.
Agree that the design does not seem as robust as some. For the most part if the rifle is built right to begin with, and quality mags are used, then no issues. And very accurate to boot

 

[nipprdog]

Hose out the trigger group with WD40, spray the bolt, shoot some up the gas tube. Done.

 

[Nightvisionary]

Hose out the trigger group with WD40, spray the bolt, shoot some up the gas tube. Done.

Barrel #9 then CLP for storage. M16A1 from 1979 to 2011 when i sold it. No problems.

That is very bad advice. WD-40 should NEVER be used in a firearm. It leaves a residue when dry and offers very little corrosion resistance. The gas tube is self cleaning and should not be sprayed with anything, especially WD-40.

 

[Robert]

No, just no. We are not doing the billionth iteration of AR v AK. No.