Cleaning your AR15

[Jlburger]

I put my first few hundred rounds through my AR and am now ready to clean it. I've been on line and have read countless articles on people cleaning their AR's. I cant seam to find one that takes you through it step by step. I want to make sure I don't miss anything when it comes to cleaning/oiling my rifle. Does anyone have a suggestion on where I can find a good write up on this?

 

[SEIndSAM]

This is the best that I found.....Maintenance & Cleaning - AR15.COM

 

[joncon]

Good info on that website.

 

[M67]

Use Slip2000 EWL and don't worry about cleaning it until you get a couple thousand through it

 

[Jlburger]

I'm gathering that there is no real standard on how often you clean. More of just a personal preference. Thanks guys.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

For those of us who served with the AR platform in the military the standard of cleaning is to clean ASAP, clean hard, and get it perfect. Once you are out and have your own you learn that although all guns need cleaned every so often, the urgency and anal tendency to do all you can to get it perfectly "inspection ready" is greatly relaxed. You don't want it to gunk up too much, but "clean" is kinda subjective and you'll find that a well built AR is not as maintenance intensive as the internet (or military) would have you believe.

I have found that they like to be run wet. This, and a coated BCG (mine are chrome) leads to easier cleaning. Again, not needed so long as you have good parts, just easier to clean after. I only clean mine every so often using the highly scientific method of "Well, it's been a while."

 

[223 Gunner]

The term "wet" is also subjective. I go by the rule on my bolt carrier group (BCG), that you want it wet enough to leave a finger print, but not dripping wet.
Hope this helps.

 

[SSGSAD]

I put my first few hundred rounds through my AR and am now ready to clean it. I've been on line and have read countless articles on people cleaning their AR's. I cant seam to find one that takes you through it step by step. I want to make sure I don't miss anything when it comes to cleaning/oiling my rifle. Does anyone have a suggestion on where I can find a good write up on this?

I am Ret., Mil., get a hold of me, I'll show and teach you, how to clean an AR.....

 

[wsenefeld]

AR-15s need cleaned?

 

[SSGSAD]

AR-15s need cleaned?

YES, their NOT glocks .....

 

[Jlburger]

Thats funny

YES, their NOT glocks .....

 

[paintman]

I have gone about 1000 rounds of mixed steel and brass with no cleaning. No problems. I don't run it soaking wet but u can tell I have oiled it. I run a palmetto and I love it. Its my favorite.

 

[Woobie]

For those of us who served with the AR platform in the military the standard of cleaning is to clean ASAP, clean hard, and get it perfect. Once you are out and have your own you learn that although all guns need cleaned every so often, the urgency and anal tendency to do all you can to get it perfectly "inspection ready" is greatly relaxed. You don't want it to gunk up too much, but "clean" is kinda subjective and you'll find that a well built AR is not as maintenance intensive as the internet (or military) would have you believe.

I have found that they like to be run wet. This, and a coated BCG (mine are chrome) leads to easier cleaning. Again, not needed so long as you have good parts, just easier to clean after. I only clean mine every so often using the highly scientific method of "Well, it's been a while."

This is so true. I have cleaned and cleaned and cleaned these things, only to have an NCO take a dental pick to some crevice or stick his pinky in the star chamber and come out with a smidgen of black. I have been on the other end of that transaction as well. It's all a big waste of time.

Think about what makes that rifle work, and keep that reasonably clean and well lubed. It will never fail you. Here are some tips:

Take the bcg apart. Then take out the dowel pin that holds the extractor onto the bolt. Take a dental pick to the carbon around the bolt face where the rim of the cartridge sits. Take a brass brush to the bolt lugs. Soak the gas rings in solvent then carefully (the gas rings can be damaged) knock out any big carbon deposits. I like to run a pipe cleaner through the bolt, but that is unnecessary. It just helps the firing pin move freely. Take a pick and remove any carbon deposits where the extractor rides inside the bolt. I do not remove the ejector, but you can try to get some kroil or 0W oil down around it to make sure it doesn't seize. I've never seen that happen, by the way. Inspect the gas rings (they'll need replaced around the 2,500 round mark). If you have an o ring around the extractor spring, inspect that as well as the spring. Lubricate all of the parts of the bolt and assemble it.

There are two spots on the bolt carrier I pay particular attention to: the area behind where the gas rings on the bolt ride, and the area where the firing pin seats. There are specialty scrapers that can get carbon out of these spots, and do a great job, but I usually use an appropriately sized bore brush and dental picks. Basically we are making sure the bolt and firing pin are not impeded from their full range of travel by carbon deposits. It would take a crap ton of carbon, but you could theoretically have a failure for the bolt to completely lock, or light primer strikes if enough carbon were built up in the aforementioned areas. While you have the bcg apart, remove the carbon from the shelf on that firing pin, and take a brass brush to the cam pin. Lube the bolt carrier, firing pin and the cam pin and re assemble.

Take a star chamber brush and clean out the star chamber (not actually a chamber, it is the lug recess for the bolt) and the actual chamber. Get some lube in that star chamber. You can clean the bore as well. If your bore and chamber are chrome lined, this will be a quick and simple process. Getting that star chamber perfect is the task of hours. Getting it good enough should take less than 5 minutes.

Check the bolt catch, magazine release, safety, disconnector, trigger and hammer to make sure they move freely, then apply some fresh lube if everything looks good. I also like to lube the charging handle latch and buffer spring, just because I like things to be smooth.

Nothing should really be wet with your lube of choice, except for the bcg. You can get that thing as wet as you want. Vickers has a video where they dunk a rifle in a vat of 30w and commence to run the weapon. They get oil all over themselves, but no malfunctions. The point is, there really is no such thing as too wet, but there is such a thing as too dry. As someone else said, if you can leave a finger print in the lube on your bcg, you're just about right. I will say, though, when you think about what lube to use, just remember that certain types will get gummy in cold weather. This can be dangerous, or at least lead to less than desirable performance in the fire control group. I once lubed a safety with some of the solid frog lube. It got cold, and that safety was a gummy mess. It moved slowly, and had no definite "snick" as the detent seated. So just use some common sense. The big criticism is that these things "crap where they eat." A well lubed DI AR-15 will go for a looooong time without a good cleaning and still run like a champ, with regular reapplication of lube. But knocking out the worst of the carbon every few hundred rounds is cheap insurance, and gives you a chance to inspect the parts for damage or excessive wear. If I have been unclear, or you feel I've left something out, shoot me a pm, and I'll get you a phone number so we can talk. Good luck!

 

[TWalker]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzVr7JXVxH4

 

[CPT Nervous]

Why the hell would you clean it?

 

[natdscott]

Why the hell would you clean it?

So it friggin runs when I have to have it run. And that is all the time.

I personally clean and change the oil on the rifle after no more than 150 rounds. It's not strictly necessary for function, but it is surely easier to clean a DI gun earlier rather than later.

-Nate

 

[M67]

So it friggin runs when I have to have it run. And that is all the time.

I personally clean and change the oil on the rifle after no more than 150 rounds. It's not strictly necessary for function, but it is surely easier to clean a DI gun earlier rather than later.

-Nate

If you clean and oil your guns after every 150 rounds, how do you know exactly how durable they are? Dependable they are?

One of my ARs has over 2200 rounds though it since I cleaned it. It's DI, and about 700 of those rounds have been suppressed. Runs perfectly fine and shoots just as true as day 1. I'd feel more comfortable with my dirty proven dependable gun than a squeaky clean one

Only DI gun I have that's disgusting is an 8.5" 300 blackout I've shot nothing but suppressed subsonics in. 5744 doesn't burn 100% so there's granules everywhere. Kinda funny IMO but it keeps right on trucking

 

[Hop]

I just detail cleaned one of mine that hasn't been cleaned for a couple years & ~400 rounds. YUCK! What a gummy mess. I must have gotten oil on my Froglube.

The reason for the cleaning... I installed a PSA enhanced trigger. Not bad. Clean break, nearly no creep but a touch heavy.

 

[natdscott]

I'd feel more comfortable with my dirty proven dependable gun than a squeaky clean one

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

I can certainly trust my rifle, it can certainly trust me, and we work pretty "okay" together as a team, so I'm told.


Have fun with that hard-rock carbon mountain!

-Nate

 

[CPT Nervous]

I used to clean my ARs after shooting, immediately after. I am former military, so I guess it was drilled into me, but now, in the real world? Not so much. My suppressed 9mm AR gets a wipe down after shooting, and the 5.56 gets a mild cleaning every so often. I don't really have a set round count.

Whatever floats your boat, I suppose.