How often should I clean my AR after shooting?
- Thread starter Alfonso
- Start date
Wear, erosion, semanticsMostly true - but what you describe is throat wear not throat erosion.
Throat erosion is caused by the explosion of the cartridge and increases in length towards the crown as more rounds are fired.
More throat and bore wear is caused by cleaning rods rather than bullets.
A good chamber bore guide is essential - then, any kind of cleaning rod can be used since the rod has no contact with the barrel interior.
Chrome lined bores that are copper fouled shoot well, precision barrels usually dont until the copper fouling is removed.
"IGNITION~EXPLOSION~EXPANSION~EXPULSION" - Festus
What is erosion anyhow? It's the wearing down of something over time The point of the post was to give a crash course to the OP in the reason behind why some posters were avoiding cleaning their barrels. Whether the posters were actually familiar with throat wear or just plain complacent about their barrels is another question...
I do it after every session.
I rarely use bore brush and use nylon one if I do.
Bore, with patch apply Mpro7 bore gel, dry patch out after letting it sit a while...I notice this stuff removes copper too. Then spray wipeout, let sit for hours or overnight, dry patch out, oil then dry patch.
I shoot a piston AR so I scrub the inside of gas block and the piston.
BCG, Mpro 7 and wipe with patches, it is very clean with a piston gun.
I rarely use bore brush and use nylon one if I do.
Bore, with patch apply Mpro7 bore gel, dry patch out after letting it sit a while...I notice this stuff removes copper too. Then spray wipeout, let sit for hours or overnight, dry patch out, oil then dry patch.
I shoot a piston AR so I scrub the inside of gas block and the piston.
BCG, Mpro 7 and wipe with patches, it is very clean with a piston gun.
Gunnerlove
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vancouver Island
Not really - the bolt has to be kept bathed in clp (not cleaned) otherwise the gun dries to a grinding halt -
Remember - it sh!ts where it eats.
The clp (or oil or smegma or whatever) allows the carbon to keep from turning into cement, and helps to blow it out the ejection port --
Whatever, I cleaned my rifle in July and have been shooting it daily since then. Kind of like I do every summer. I have not taken the bolt carrier out or even opened it in 4 weeks and won't for another week or so.
Good ARs are very reliable.
diesel_weasel666
CGN Regular
Often, its an AR not an SKS or 858
What is the definition of keeping it "well lubed"? Is there a link or can someone explain the process and parts/ lubrication for this process? Thanks again...
Lubricate generously the 4 contact rails on the BCG, the entire bolt (not the bolt face), the cam pin. That's it. Put a drop on top of the hammer where it contacts the BCG, too. If it's shiny lube it, otherwise don't.
Oh and by the way, CLP is a very poor lubricant, good for preventing rust tho. I use Castrol Syntec 10W30 to lube, doesn't drip or burn off and a lifetime supply costs next to nothing.
Gunnerlove
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vancouver Island
I don't lube the hammer as it just transfers oil to the ammunition.
LIGHTLY lube it. Everything that sees friction should see oil, not necessarily a lot, but enough to keep the surface from being dry.
CLP a very poor lubricant ?
Doubt it - its use by the military belies that assumption. The U.S. military extensively tested many types of goo - CLP came out on top.
As a matter of fact - Break Free CLP (a thicker version once sold as stainless CLP) is used in Vulcan mini-guns.
It was the only lube that kept the carbon in suspension (blows out of the ejection ports more effectively) and prevent it from gumming up the works.
CLP stands for cleaner lubricant preservative.
Motor oil may have more lubricity but I doubt it has the cleaning quality of CLP. Also, the teflon like stuff in CLP remains in the metal when the gun is dry, (just like seasoning a cast iron fry pan) increasing lubricity when the oil has dried up, congealed, run off or evaporated.
Having said all that -- for civvie use - ANYTHING (motor oil, soap, neats foot oil, vagisil, walrus blubber, smegma etc. will do just fine.)
mudgunner49
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
CLP a very poor lubricant ?
Doubt it - its use by the military belies that assumption. The U.S. military extensively tested many types of goo - CLP came out on top. (1)
As a matter of fact - Break Free CLP (a thicker version once sold as stainless CLP) is used in Vulcan mini-guns.
It was the only lube that kept the carbon in suspension (blows out of the ejection ports more effectively) and prevent it from gumming up the works. (2)
CLP stands for cleaner lubricant preservative.
Motor oil may have more lubricity but I doubt it has the cleaning quality of CLP. Also, the teflon like stuff in CLP remains in the metal when the gun is dry, (just like seasoning a cast iron fry pan) increasing lubricity when the oil has dried up, congealed, run off or evaporated. (3)
Having said all that -- for civvie use - ANYTHING (motor oil, soap, neats foot oil, vagisil, walrus blubber, smegma etc. will do just fine.)
(1). Don't be a doubter - CLP is NOT the best lubricant, there are many lubes that are better (TW25B, Slip2000 EWL, MotoMaster wheel bearing grease, etc). And the Army doesn't always use what's best, cost, availability and "Made in Canada" also come into the equation;
(2). Talk to guys who use the Bushmaster 25mm - pretty sure that CLP is a last resort. I've seen them GREASE the GAU-8 and the Vulcan, never seen anyone use CLP;
(3). Grease does it better. If you're not in the green machine and can choose the best CLEANER and the best LUBRICANT, I doubt you'll be picking CLP.
Good for a bunch of stuff seldom means great at any one thing, and the discussion is about lube specifically...
blake
CLP a very poor lubricant ?
Doubt it - its use by the military belies that assumption. The U.S. military extensively tested many types of goo - CLP came out on top.
As a matter of fact - Break Free CLP (a thicker version once sold as stainless CLP) is used in Vulcan mini-guns.
It was the only lube that kept the carbon in suspension (blows out of the ejection ports more effectively) and prevent it from gumming up the works.
CLP stands for cleaner lubricant preservative.
Motor oil may have more lubricity but I doubt it has the cleaning quality of CLP. Also, the teflon like stuff in CLP remains in the metal when the gun is dry, (just like seasoning a cast iron fry pan) increasing lubricity when the oil has dried up, congealed, run off or evaporated.
Having said all that -- for civvie use - ANYTHING (motor oil, soap, neats foot oil, vagisil, walrus blubber, smegma etc. will do just fine.)
You think everything the military does or uses is the best out there? Hahaha poor guy...
Man, the tangents people get onto in these threads are hilarious!
First guys are saying: "You can practically ignore cleaning an AR15",
Then someone says: "Use CLP, it'll do everything you need",
Then people say: "Oh my god! Never use CLP, it's not awesome enough to keep your AR15 in working order!"
Seriously?! Come on guys, that totally runs counter to what we've already told the OP. You can't say looking after an AR15 is easy and then say that the most widely used CLP product out there is garbage.
Look, there's no perfect do-all all-in-one cleaner lubricater protector, but I never have seizing, I never have carbon buildup and I never get rust, so Breakfree CLP stays on the shelf. All my guns get CLP because it's relatively cheap and it does a good job.
The one thing CLP cannot possibly do is remove copper, and this is why my guns get wipe out once a year.
First guys are saying: "You can practically ignore cleaning an AR15",
Then someone says: "Use CLP, it'll do everything you need",
Then people say: "Oh my god! Never use CLP, it's not awesome enough to keep your AR15 in working order!"
Seriously?! Come on guys, that totally runs counter to what we've already told the OP. You can't say looking after an AR15 is easy and then say that the most widely used CLP product out there is garbage.
Look, there's no perfect do-all all-in-one cleaner lubricater protector, but I never have seizing, I never have carbon buildup and I never get rust, so Breakfree CLP stays on the shelf. All my guns get CLP because it's relatively cheap and it does a good job.
The one thing CLP cannot possibly do is remove copper, and this is why my guns get wipe out once a year.
Agreed
There are always intraweb commando duellist gunputzers who like to argue about nothing, misquote and misunderstand original posts and even contradict themselves etc. (just ask in a post whats the best bore cleaner - you will get dozens of conflicting answers and not find out your answer LOL).
However - after wading through the nonsense, there is always a lot of good information to be gleaned.
We are fortunate that the experiences of shooters across Canada are available here.
America has so much more knowledge and experience but unfortunately has no comparable one stop shopping info site.
There are always intraweb commando duellist gunputzers who like to argue about nothing, misquote and misunderstand original posts and even contradict themselves etc. (just ask in a post whats the best bore cleaner - you will get dozens of conflicting answers and not find out your answer LOL).
However - after wading through the nonsense, there is always a lot of good information to be gleaned.
We are fortunate that the experiences of shooters across Canada are available here.
America has so much more knowledge and experience but unfortunately has no comparable one stop shopping info site.
