Quick, Dumb AR cleaning time question

[John G C 1]

There is a guy who shoots a lot of AR's where I shoot pistol and he is always telling me to get an AR and get into shooting on the 100 yard lanes. I only shoot at 25 yards with pistol, and I have not owned a rifle for 45 years.

I did shoot one of his AR's and it was fun, and with the scope it was a cakewalk at 50 yards.

He mentioned that cleaning the type of AR that blows the gas back into the entire gun can take about an hour, so I would be better off with one of the newer pistons that does not cycle gas through the whole gun. (Sorry I do not have the correct terminology here.)

Is that true? Or does that sound like ocd type cleaning? Very curious.

I have been thinking about a target rifle to shoot when the rifle people are at the range, but a bolt action rifle always seemed very easy to clean and I would not want a rifle that took an hour or so to clean after each session.

 

[<*(((><]

Just keep a standard gas AR’s BCG on the wet side with lubricant (this keeps the carbon from caking) and there is no need to clean it for at least a 1,000 rounds. About the only thing I do in between shooting is run a boresnake through the barrel and put a light coat of oil afterwards in the barrel, and wait until it gets really dirty to spend the hour to clean it thouroghly. And cleaning them is very easy as everything comes apart with ease and only if they’ve gone a lot of rounds in between cleaning would they take a complete hour. And an hour cleaning a gun in between 1-2,000 round cleanings isn’t that big of a deal to me.

Just think of the military 95% of them use standard gas (Direct Impingement, and yes I know it’s not technically DI) do you think they would continually use them if the gun was a pre-Madonna about cleaning?

Your friend still has to clean his piston AR it’s just that the majority of the gas is captured in the piston assembly, which he has to take apart and clean.

In not so many words...

Your first AR, just spend 500-800 on a reputable companies offerings. Stepping up to a piston AR doubles the cost in most instances and in some cases more than that. Cleaning ability is the least of my worries when picking out an AR.

 

[primalmu]

OCD cleaning. For regular trips to the range that's completely unnecessary. However, if you go to the range so you can do mag dump after mag dump and send 500-1000 rounds down range in a session, sure, the cleaning will take a bit longer. I don't think it should ever an hour once you are familiar with how to disassemble and reassemble the rifle, though.

 

[FL-NC]

OCD cleaning. My $ says that guy was in the military, where the same is practiced. They do need to be reasonably clean and well lubricated, but no need to go crazy. Also the piston guns cost significantly more, and are generally less accurate.

 

[Speedo66]

What do you clean the bolt assembly with? Assuming you're outside and doing it safely, can you just swish it around in a container with a solvent like gasoline?

 

[primalmu]

Take it apart and wipe it down with regular ol' Hoppes just like any other part. I would encourage you to do a quick Youtube search on how to disassemble the bolt -- it's quite easy.

 

[SteadyD]

I used to meticulously clean my guns but it made shooting unenjoyable for me. My ARs get a 15 to 20 minute cleaning and they haven't caused me any trouble.

 

[LoonWulf]

most days i just clean the barrel and wipe down the bcg. I shoot larger rounds than .223 tho, and a "busy" day for me is about 100rnds.
Getting lead out of your bcg sucks tho......

 

[Rshooter]

Even a Marine Corps cleaning does not run an hour. Just remember to get the firing pin retainer back in after cleaning. I prefer DI, it is a little messy but it is not that difficult and more accurate than a piston in my belief.

Speedo, no, I do not recommend cleaning the BCG with gasoline. Disassembly is not that difficult, use CLP and you can lubricate as you clean.

 

[ms6852]

Not necessary to clean that long. At a certain point you are just cleaning over the cleaned spot already. At most I run a patch with solvent, let it soak about a minute, run a brush than a couple of patches with oil than a dry patch. The bolt carrier group pipe cleaners solvent and oil. Should take about 5 minutes, 10 if you are BS'ing with your buddies.

 

[primalmu]

Honestly, the most difficult part of cleaning an AR, in my opinion, is the chamber. Chamber brushes are clumsy and annoying. But, that's really a minor deal, and certainly preferable to cleaning a Ruger MK II .22 LR pistol...

 

[FL-NC]

What do you clean the bolt assembly with? Assuming you're outside and doing it safely, can you just swish it around in a container with a solvent like gasoline?

You COULD, but I wouldn't. For a DEEP total cleaning (full de-greasing, etc.) once a year or so, I will use carb cleaner. Others use simple green. This of course will remove ALL carbon and lubricants from the rifle. I tend to shoot about 5-6000 rounds a year through my "beater" yearly, much of it that dirty cheap russian stuff.

 

[ColoradoMinuteMan]

It's honestly not rocket science. It's no more complicated to clean than any other semi-automatic centerfire rifle. With a gas piston AR, SKS, AK, etc. you still have to clean the gas cylinder and piston. If you've done it a few times you can easily get it done in half that time or less. It's incredibly easy to disassemble and assemble. Much easier than a lever action. If you want easy to clean, then get a bolt action.

 

[sbwaters]

To me the cleaning is short and easy, with the toughest part remembering where to grease the BCG. Googled an easy chart on the Interwebs to be sure I got them all.

 

[Walkalong]

Just keep it oiled unless/until it starts having issues, then give it a modest cleaning. They don't need to be squeaky clean to run.

 

[milemaker13]

Where did you find that grease chart? I'd like to find that..

 

[someguy2800]

I'm new to AR's myself but I've found about 500 rounds is the point where it's filthy enough for me to want to clean it. I just take the bolt carrier apart quick and hose it down with CLP and let it soak while I patch the bore. A quick tooth brushing of the bolt carrier parts and back together. Mabey 15 minutes. I'm just knocking off all the crud, I'm not worried about trying to polish everything to perfection. Not really any different than cleaning my auto pistols.

 

[Everready73]

There is no need to go with a piston over DI. They are generally more expensive and are not any more reliable. If you do decide on piston most of the better manufacturers such as LMT and PWS are not cheap.

I lube my BCG and run a bore snake through mine after the range. Every 1k rounds or so I will take a bore brush to the chamber and clean up the BCG. Google "Filthy 14" these things can run a long time without a detail cleaning. Colt 6920/6720 would be my recommendation for under 1k. If you wanted something more precision oriented you could build if you or someone you know is capable, or look into a complete upper from somewhere like White Oak. 6.5 grendal can be built using most ar15 components and is more suitable than 556 for longer range shooting or medium game hunting

 

[SpruceSniper]

While I agree with the above posters, for whatever reason, I go Private Pyle on my weapons after range day and polish them "really clean".

An hour? Either OCD or he's getting older. Definitely get the regular AR-worrying about the gun not working after an average range day for most shooters, just...isn't really a thing. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[CapnMac]

that blows the gas back into the entire gun

Ok, let's clear this up.
Not the entire gun.
The bolt carrier has an extension tube which fits over the near ed of the gas tube.
On firing, gas passes back to that tube, which then drives the bolt carrier back.
Now, at some point, the tubes disconnect and some gas vents into the upper & lower receivers. Typically more in the upper.

Really, most commercial ammo burns clean enough to not make a lot of soot/carbon.

The bolt actually has rings, just like piston rings, on it to help scrape away carbon inside the bolt carrier.

It's really an elegant and simple system.

For cleaning, I typically run some Bore Blaster aerosol cleaner down the gas tube and let it run out the muzzle. Then, clean the bore. Lastly, a quick brushing with the GI-issue brush on the bolt. Time taken depends on how fast I go; slightly faster using a snake over a rod. Also faster if I'm not watching tv at the same time.

 

[Demi-human]

The cartridges are shoved in the chamber and ripped back out in an identical fashion, wheather with an external or internal reverse piston. My concern is the bits of brass directly from the case. This will happen regardless the system.

My Adams Arms piston setup runs right with a friends Rock River Varmint setup as far as accuracy is involved, and does it three pounds lighter. His will run bullets faster but the paper didn't ask and the prarie dogs didn't care one way or the other.

I shoot mine more than he, so we clean at the same time. Really though it is hard to tell the difference, it isn't like his is so carboned up it wont function.

I got a piston to just be different, yet they are unremarkablely similar. I postulate that most of the shmutz comes straight from the chamber on extraction, rather than the gas, but only know my own rifle that well.

 

[Orcon]

Meh, wipe the BCG down, inspect the rings and patch the bore once in a while. That's about all there is to it. It's more important that the proper lubrication is applied than how clean it is.

 

[Charlie98]

I was in the Army, so I learned how to clean and already clean weapon. Having said that, my DI's would be horrified if they saw my AR's... I don't clean them. That is not to say they are abused, or that they are not serviceable... they run without problems, but I've got something around 3000rds through my RRA since it's last breakdown and clean... and it's fine. A little CLP on the bolt, a drop in the trigger... and away we go.

There is one thing you can do to help cleanup on an AR... that's get a chrome (or coated) bolt carrier group (BCG.) Carbon wipes right off... it's amazing! Where were those when I was in the Army???

 

[entropy]

Just keep a standard gas AR’s BCG on the wet side with lubricant (this keeps the carbon from caking) and there is no need to clean it for at least a 1,000 rounds. About the only thing I do in between shooting is run a boresnake through the barrel and put a light coat of oil afterwards in the barrel, and wait until it gets really dirty to spend the hour to clean it thouroghly. And cleaning them is very easy as everything comes apart with ease and only if they’ve gone a lot of rounds in between cleaning would they take a complete hour. And an hour cleaning a gun in between 1-2,000 round cleanings isn’t that big of a deal to me.

Just think of the military 95% of them use standard gas (Direct Impingement, and yes I know it’s not technically DI) do you think they would continually use them if the gun was a pre-Madonna about cleaning?

Your friend still has to clean his piston AR it’s just that the majority of the gas is captured in the piston assembly, which he has to take apart and clean.

In not so many words...

Your first AR, just spend 500-800 on a reputable companies offerings. Stepping up to a piston AR doubles the cost in most instances and in some cases more than that. Cleaning ability is the least of my worries when picking out an AR.

Yes, I do. When originally issued, they were issued without cleaning kits because troops were told they did not need them. Men died because of this. But by then, the MIC had too much invested, both financially and in face, to change rifles when they just did. And Robert McNamara wasn't going be caught with egg on his face over it, so it was re-designed, adding the forward assist and changing the rate of twist. The AR needs to be cleaned, with attention to particular areas. (As Orcon mentions.)
How do I know this? I was an Armorer. I've seen every way an AR can be made to not work, and improper cleaning is one of them. The cleaning regimen you espouse is better suited for an AK than an AR. Run an AR 1000+ rounds wet and leave it sit until the next range trip, and you may have rock hard carbon buildup cause malfunctions. You might not, but why risk it?

I do think an hour is a bit excessive. That's how much time I took with my issue M16A1, but OCD is my middle name.
pre-Madonna. Well it was a primadonna before Madonna hit it big......

 

[Sistema1927]

swish it around in a container with a solvent like gasoline

Never use gasoline as a solvent. When I was at Ft. Knox in the 1980's an NCO was using a tiny amount of gasoline to strip off boot polish prior to re-polishing. He was doing it in the kitchen, and the pilot light of his oven flashed the gasoline and killed him. There are plenty of other examples showing that it is not safe to use gasoline in this way.