AR cleaning kit?

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Just ordered my first AR, but far from my first firearm. I have a fairly comprehensive Hoppes cleaning kit which I've used for my long arms for years now. Any mandatory cleaning accessories for the AR platform? Looks like pipe cleaners and a bore snake are pretty commonly used.
 
Bore Snakes I've watch people ruin their guns with them. They step on them in the dirt and drag them through their bore with the dirt. Some people take a lot of training to make it through life. Get a good rod and a bore guide. Along with some good cleaner like Bore Tech!
 
I've actually never heard of a bore guide before having come from the shotgun and pistol worlds. Sounds self-explanitory but do you have any recommendations? I'm not running a match setup by a long shot if that means anything.
 
AR15.com and M4 carbine.net have exhaustive information on the AR series. Let me caution you about the AR no one owns just one.
 
I use a bore snake, the few times that I want to scrub out the barrel.

But I like to run my guns dirty. Obsessive cleaning is an artifact of people who went through basic training in the Army where they use gun cleaning as a form of routine/discipline.

The weekend gun owner probably never needs to clean their modern gun. These things are engineered to run when dirty.

When I do clean, it's just a dab of CLP on an old cloth to wipe everything down.


(let's see how many people get triggered by my methods LOL)
 
Get a bore/chamber brush such as this one:

AR-15 Bore/Chamber brush

And from my own research, don't pour or stick anything down the gas tube. Just leave it be. Look up Otis on Amazon or other online retailer. They make some very good AR cleaning kits. Also, ARs seem to like being "wet". Not sopping or drippng, but a nice sheen of lube is good. They don't tend to like being dry. YMMV, but that's usually the consensus.
 
I was at Walmart today and noticed hoppe's boresnake prices have been rolled back; $9.94 for regular; $12.90-ish for Viper. I really like the Otis cables for pulling patches through. With one of the best solvents of all time; shooter's choice MC#7(so good it cleans Muzzleloader crud rings with ease). I like to pull a snake through lastly;

If you pull the snake through first it will get much dirtier much faster. But the snake is very capable of cleaning a dirty Barrel on its own. If I use solely boresnake; I put MC#7 forward of bristles. Pull it through a couple times. Then I put a good oil(hoppe's elite or rem oil; something that leaves a thin coat and not a thick one) just rear of the bristles. Pull it through once. You're good.
(most of the oil will be wiped clean with the bulk of the snake that is dry. So you're basically just treating the steel and not leaving much behind. But I still believe it's good for the steel; whether you put the gun up for 5 years or you shoot it tomorrow.)

But I prefer a nylon brush with MC#7; followed by patches with MC#7, followed by boresnake. Boresnake with oil rear of the bristles. The boresnake is excellent for cleaning up any tiny fibers the patches may have left. To this date the boresnake is the best product for Mirror finish with no particles visible to the naked eye. I have purchased Otis ripcords but have not tried them.

If there are hundreds of rounds down the barrel I would probably run some sweets 7.62 or Barnes CR-10 on patches. Then MC#7, then oil.

I'm not trying to say I have it all figured out; or push my methods on anyone. There's more than one way to skin a cat. but I've been cleaning guns for 30 years, and it is something I'm quite anal about. I never put a gun back in the safe with a dirty Barrel even if it's just two rounds. I'm just sharing a routine I have come to find very effective.
 
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Was just reading the posts on running dirty! LoL! My drill instructor stuck his finger in my chamber with a white glove!! It took me several tries; he was about to thrash me on the quarterdeck over it.

There's two kinds of people in the world. Those who maintain Equipment, and those who run it til it fails. Now I will admit; those who maintain still have failures, and then to the other extreme, there are people who have never serviced a rear end or transmission in their life and they never experience mechanical problems. I could never have that luck! (You'll pay if you don't change oil though. This is all in fun, not intended to offend).

I primarily worry about the barrel; heavy use can cause copper build-up in the grooves. That is what Barnes CR-10 or sweets 7.62 is for. Nylon brush should be first here, then Pull the patches through till the liquid stops turning blue. When it's pulling copper it reacts and turns blue.

Other than that I would definitely disassemble the bolt carrier group as gas operated systems do have deposits after hundreds or thousands of rounds especially. And it will set up like concrete if you neglect it. Same goes for gas operated Auto shotguns. The Piston rings and the gas Port entry area into the Piston assembly. Which is the ring attached to the bottom of the barrel that slips over the magazine tube(I'm sure it has a name). I could not tolerate neglecting those areas. The barrel too

I ain't trying to talk too much guys. I'm a third shift worker with a rare night off; wide awake and bored.
 
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The AR platform doesn't require anything different in the way of cleaning equipment or supplies than any other rifle does. A cleaning rod, a brush, (either nylon or bronze), patches, and solvent. I don't worry much about copper fouling in any of my AR's, because I've never found copper fouling to be a detriment in either performance, or accuracy. And since I've switched to CFE 223 Powder, it's all been eliminated anyway. That stuff is fantastic at getting rid of copper fouling. One of the few products out there that actually works just as advertised, or better.

I keep all of my AR's heavily lubricated while at the range. So my cleaning regiment mostly centers around washing all of the dirty lube and fouling out of the gun. I do this with clean Kerosene. It's cheap and effective at removing old, dirty lubricant, along with the fouling it's contaminated with. And it will not damage anything made of plastic. Especially after a long range session involving several hundred rounds. I always disassemble and soak the bolt carrier group in Kerosene while I'm cleaning the rest of the rifle. There is a bit more to clean on an AR, just like any other semi auto rifle. But it's not that bad once you develop a "system", and move right along. But I don't waste a lot of time on the barrel. Just a good brushing, followed by enough wet and dry patches until they come out clean.
 
Bore snake, Hoppes, rags, q-tips (helps with the BCG, but you don't need it), and bearing grease for lube.

You don't have to eat off it. You just have to keep it from getting gunked up. Good enough is good enough.
 
Originally Posted By: ATex7239
Bore snake, Hoppes, rags, q-tips (helps with the BCG, but you don't need it), and bearing grease for lube.

You don't have to eat off it. You just have to keep it from getting gunked up. Good enough is good enough.


I use the same but don't use Hoppes. Bearing grease? I use a bunch of different lubes. They call seem to work fine. Using CLP or some other equivalent stuff in a spray can.

I enjoy cleaning my guns.
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
But I like to run my guns dirty. Obsessive cleaning is an artifact of people who went through basic training in the Army where they use gun cleaning as a form of routine/discipline.
The weekend gun owner probably never needs to clean their modern gun. These things are engineered to run when dirty.


Same here.
I clean mine once a year.
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
I use a bore snake, the few times that I want to scrub out the barrel.

But I like to run my guns dirty. Obsessive cleaning is an artifact of people who went through basic training in the Army where they use gun cleaning as a form of routine/discipline.

The weekend gun owner probably never needs to clean their modern gun. These things are engineered to run when dirty.

When I do clean, it's just a dab of CLP on an old cloth to wipe everything down.

(let's see how many people get triggered by my methods LOL)

Eh, I used to just chuck my M16A2 (broken down) into the ultrasonic with the turbine parts.

A little compressed air and some TW25B on the sliding parts and you're right as rain.
 
I am going off things I heard and read about years ago; things change; myths debunked, better powder; I really only use the copper cleaning stuff after 3 days of prairie doggin'; other than that; I don't shoot, just to be shooting; not if my rigs are tuned in.

Now in my youth; rounds we're flying down range. All the cleaning supplies I've mentioned have been around awhile.
 
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IF you really want to invest in a cleaning kit - OTIS makes one. Amazon Link I have one - it's nice and convenient just because it's small and can easily be tossed in any range bag, ammo can, glove box, etc. Otherwise, just follow the advice already provided. Cleaning rods (soft metal or plastic), bore brush (brass or nylon), dry swatches (or a cut-up t-shirt in my case lol), your preferred CLP (or solvent and oil if you prefer to separate them), and I personally like a dental pick as well (soft metal).
 
You dont need an AR cleaning kit.

The MOST important thing to clean an AR is the chamber with an AR chamber brush. Some people just run a bore snake down the barrel, or a .22 caliber bore brush, which completely misses the entire chamber portion of the rifle.

AR chamber brush
p_084116025_1.jpg


I have 100K rounds down range in AR15 platform rifles and I have not once cleaned the barrel of copper. I run a bore snake down the barrel 3 or 4 times, clean the chamber with a chamber brush, clean the bolt carrier group, and that's it. The only people that should be worried about copper build up is those with high dollar precision stainless barrels, that shoot in matches. If that is not you, then dont worry about it.

One tip that I have learned over the years, is that the they sell "Star chamber" cleaners to clean all the gunk out of the barrel extension area where the bolt locks to the barrel. These "star chamber" cleaners are about worthless. Just find a pressurized can with those little red straws (I used Remoil aerosol can, but brake cleaner would work fine too), invert the upper so the flash hider is on a cleaning rag, on the floor, and blast the area with the little straw. Any carbon, gunk, metal shavings, and goo will be blasted down the barrel, and the receiver extension will be spotless. Quickest and easiest way to clean it.

So all you really need to clean an AR15 is

1) AR15 chamber brush
2) aerosol cleaner with little red spray straw
3) cleaning rags
4) bore snake
5) cleaning rod handle for the chamber brush

Brownells sells this upper receiver cleaning kit. The handle is REALLY high quality and will last a life time.
p_084223015_4.jpg


http://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-ch...rer_1=brownells
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: ATex7239
Bore snake, Hoppes, rags, q-tips (helps with the BCG, but you don't need it), and bearing grease for lube.

You don't have to eat off it. You just have to keep it from getting gunked up. Good enough is good enough.


I use the same but don't use Hoppes. Bearing grease? I use a bunch of different lubes. They call seem to work fine. Using CLP or some other equivalent stuff in a spray can.

I enjoy cleaning my guns.


Yep, high temp grease works great on cars and guns.

I do not enjoy cleaning my guns. To each his own.
 
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