AR-15 Hacks: How to Make clean Your Rifle Like a Dominate

   09.18.14

AR-15 Hacks: How to Clean Your Rifle Like a Boss
The most tedious part of AR-15 cleaning is the bolt. Fortunately there are tools to help, like this OTIS B.O.N.E. tool.
The most ho-hum part of cleaning an AR-fifteen is the bolt. Fortunately at that place are tools to help, like this OTIS B.O.North.Eastward. tool.

While no one really knows for sure, industry sources judge that there are more than than 10 1000000 AR-type modernistic sporting rifles in the United States. That's a lot of rifles, a lot of ammo, and a lot of cleaning!

Inspired by the popularity of the modern sporting rifle and its many variants, and the fact that I merely like them, it'south fourth dimension to embark on a series of AR-fifteen hacks. Over the next month or and so, we'll take a closer look at all sorts of tips and tricks that will assistance y'all with cleaning AR-15s , maintaining, using, and fifty-fifty customizing your AR-15.

To first things off, allow's take a closer look at cleaning tips. If you lot heed to the internet forums, you might believe that cleaning an AR-15 is a tougher job than scrubbing the boilers of the Titanic. According to some, the design is so bad that more grime collects in the activity from each and every shot than that deposited by all the gas semiautomatic shotguns on South American pigeon hunts over a year's fourth dimension.

A lower receiver vise block, like this one from Brownells, makes cleaning and maintenance a lot easier.
A lower receiver vise block, similar this one from Brownells, makes cleaning and maintenance a lot easier.

Yeah, the AR-15 direct impingement pattern does vent hot, dirty gas into the receiver and smothers the commodities and carrier with each shot. Merely in the scope of things, it'south not nearly as bad as information technology sounds. If your solar day chore is strolling through wadis in Afghanistan, where the airborne dust resembles talcum powder, and then your results may vary and daily cleaning is probably a necessity. Here, I'yard referring to recreational and abode-defense AR use.

If you're using your rifle for range fun, competition, or as a home-defense option, yous tin can take a more practical approach to your cleaning chores. If you lot own a rifle of at least moderate quality, it'll run when it'southward dirty. Just for fun, I've been boycotting a cleaning job on a Smith & Wesson M&P15 OR rifle I picked up last fall. That's right, almost a twelvemonth ago. Why? I'grand deliberately letting information technology go without cleaning merely to run into how forgiving it is as it starts to go grimy. To engagement, the rifle has somewhere around 1,500 rounds through it in all sorts of weather, even so it runs. Contrary to popular belief, your rifle does non have to be babied to run reliably—within reason of course.

I'll assume you already know the basics on how to disassemble your AR-15 rifle, and then I won't get over that hither. We'll focus on tips, AR-15 cleaning tools, and cleaning products that will make cleaning easier.

Setting up

If we're going to talk most doing things the easy way, step 1 is to figure out how you're going to hold rifle parts during cleaning. Unlike a traditional rifle, the AR-15 hinges open, and fifty-fifty separates into multiple parts when y'all open one or both takedown pins. Holding on to a hinged-open AR that's flopping around with one manus while you're trying to scrub with the other is kind of like hitting a baseball with a Slinky.

The respond (for me) is a lower receiver vise cake. This is a not bad niggling gun maintenance tool that inserts into your magazine well and locks into place. The idea is to put the lesser of the vise cake into a workbench vise so the burglarize is supported. They're not as cheap as yous'd expect, but adept AR-15 cleaning tools rarely are. If you have more than than ane AR rifle, or are planning to practise more tweaking of your burglarize, it's a expert investment—you'll use it forever once you accept it.

The all-time function is, with the lower receiver solidly supported, when y'all open the rear takedown pivot, the upper receiver will hinge downwardly towards the floor. This is of import for cleaning the barrel.

With the rifle in a vise block, it's easy to clean the bore from chamber to muzzle as gravity works in your favor.
With the rifle in a vise cake, it'southward easy to make clean the diameter from bedchamber to muzzle as gravity works in your favor.

Barrel cleaning

Ideally, you desire to make clean a burglarize bore from the bedchamber to muzzle then all the pulverization residue, chemicals, and miscellaneous crud dribbles out the muzzle rather than dorsum towards the activity. That's why I'1000 in favor of the OTIS cleaning system. In the case of cleaning the AR-15 rifle, at that place's another, more specific, reason. The barrel extension is peradventure the hardest role to clean in an AR-xv. Buried deep within the upper receiver, it makes yous work simply to become to it, and in one case you do, yous're confounded by a three-dimensional maze of bolt lug recesses and hard-to-achieve nooks and crannies. It's a hurting. If y'all're dredging solvent and grime towards the sleeping room, gunk will collect in those hard-to-reach barrel extension recesses.

The semi-rigid coated cables of the OTIS system work sort of like a cleaning rod, although yous pull patches and brushes through rather than pushing. With your burglarize open and supported by a lower receiver vise cake, just feed the OTIS cleaning cable through the diameter with a wet patch, get the loose stuff out, then switch to a brush. Finish with a make clean or lightly lubed patch according to your preference. Couldn't be simpler, and no wet and nasty grime will finish up in the butt extension or worse withal, the activity. But remember to put an former towel or rag on the floor to catch any excess cleaning solvent oozing out the muzzle.

Bolt cleaning

OTIS provides another time-saving tool for bolt and bolt carrier cleaning. Information technology's called the B.O.Northward.E. tool. It's designed to scrape carbon deposit from the within of the commodities carrier, the bolt tail, and the firing pin. You lot can buy it separately or a function of the OTIS AR-15/M16 MSR/AR-fifteen cleaning kit organisation. 1 end of the tool is perfectly sized to the interior of the bolt carrier—just rotate the scraper and quickly remove carbon buildup. Inside the opposite end is an inverted, bolt-tail shaped scraper which removes the fouling from at that place. While we're talking most the bolt tail, don't become too worked up about getting every flake of carbon off of information technology. Some residue there has no impact on function and you probably won't every get information technology perfectly clean. A hole in the B.O.N.E. tool scrapes the exterior of the firing pin. The B.O.N.Eastward. is money well spent, equally it makes brusque work of cleaning the bolt components.

One end of the B.O.N.E. tool handles the inside of the bolt carrier.
I end of the B.O.Northward.Due east. tool handles the inside of the bolt carrier.

Buffer tube cleaning

Unless you're shooting in a dirty, nasty surroundings, you don't really need to make clean the inside of your buffer tube every time you lot clean the diameter and bolt. Too, it's intended to exist a "dry" part surface area. You're non really supposed to lubricate it either, and so traditional cleaning methods aren't appropriate. I use a shotgun bore mop to remove any clay and dust from the inside of the buffer tube. It's quick and like shooting fish in a barrel, yet effective as the soft mop grabs and removes loose dirt. The spring and buffer assembly tin can just be wiped off with a (relatively) clean rag.

Lazy? Yes, but effective for cleaning the inside of the buffer tube.
Lazy? Yes, but effective for cleaning the inside of the buffer tube.

Trigger grouping cleaning

I've saved the easiest for last. The trigger group, including trigger, hammer, sear, and associated springs, are no-lube parts! To clean that area, y'all don't really demand to detach anything, simply spray information technology out with a degreaser like restriction cleaner or Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber. Don't oil anything after you make clean—that volition just attract dust and powder. Later in the serial, we'll take a expect at dry lubricant options that may or may not brand sense for trigger parts.

These are some of the shortcuts I apply. How virtually you? Got whatever killer cleaning tips, other AR-15 cleaning tools or know of the best AR-fifteen cleaning kit and would like to share with the residue of u.s.a.?

Tom McHale is the author of theInsanely Practical Guides book series that guides new and experienced shooters alike in a fun, approachable, and practical way. His books are bachelor in print and eBook format on Amazon.