AR Maintenance/cleaning questions

[Kaiser7 33]

I remember someone posting a while ago that it's good to "run your AR wet". Now my question is, what oil should be used, where should it be applied, and how much should be used, and how frequently.

 

 

Furthermore, not that I need to yet, but what's the proper procedure for cleaning an AR?

 

 

Thanks Ya'll, I'm planning on taking mine out as soon as I get my sights for it, so I want to make sure I'm doing it right.

[HKHockey 5]

http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=35490 is a good start

 

As for lube there are literally dozens and dozens of options ranging from light lubes and to pastes. Alot of people are also using Mobil 1 too lol. I think the fotm right now is Froglube.

[TheLugNutZ 21]

I just ordered an upper myself so i am "in" for some answers here as well. Where do you shoot? Maybe we can "break" these suckers in together lol

[BlackOps Badger 52]

Step 1- Throw away AR

Step 2- Buy Saiga

Step 3- ????

Step 4- Profit

[Kaiser7 33]

I just ordered an upper myself so i am "in" for some answers here as well. Where do you shoot? Maybe we can "break" these suckers in together lol

 

I don't have a home range, I'm torn between R14 because it's cheaper/has airsoft as well, but much further, and SJSC which has more ammenities and is a lot closer, but is $260, and lacks airsoft. It's quite a conundrum.

[Kaiser7 33]

Step 1- Throw away AR

Step 2- Buy Saiga

Step 3- ????

Step 4- Profit

 

I want to be able to hit something beyond 200 yards, otherwise I would have gone with a mini30, or mini14, which I like far more than AR15s. lol

[TheLugNutZ 21]

Well I usually shoot at R14 but my membership needs to be renewed. Ill prob be going in the next few weeks after the upper comes in so if you want to join you are more than welcome to come as a guest...

[Holeshot 3]

Step 1- Throw away AR

Step 2- Buy Saiga

Step 3- ????

Step 4- Profit

[Kaiser7 33]

Well I usually shoot at R14 but my membership needs to be renewed. Ill prob be going in the next few weeks after the upper comes in so if you want to join you are more than welcome to come as a guest...

 

I'm totally down man, let me know when. I have a VZ24, and a Savage MkII as well.

[TheLugNutZ 21]

Sounds good, i have a few more toys as well... Ill shoot you a PM when i know what day i am going. It would typically be a weekend day since im a 9 to 5 er

[Old School 611]

I want to be able to hit something beyond 200 50 yards, otherwise I would have gone with an AK, mini30, or mini14, which I like far more than AR15s. lol

 

Fixed that for ya!

[Turbotezza 1]

For lubrication, all you need is a drop on each of the guide rails on the carrier. These are located below the gas key and the bottom edge of the bolt carrier. Don't put any on the bolt itself and this includes the "3 piston rings". Anymore than this is a waste and only results in a spray of oil in the face as the gun cycles.

[Old School 611]

PM sent

[EchoMirage 137]

For lubrication, all you need is a drop on each of the guide rails on the carrier. These are located below the gas key and the bottom edge of the bolt carrier. Don't put any on the bolt itself and this includes the "3 piston rings". Anymore than this is a waste and only results in a spray of oil in the face as the gun cycles.

 

this is completely wrong and will only result in jams and at worst case a broken/completely stuck gun. every single manual, video, first hand account and myself says otherwise

 

the bolt NEEDS to be HEAVILY lubed. its the single most important part of an AR, traveling in both a front/back and rotating motion with every shot. if youve ever noticed the two small holes on the right side of the bolt carrier....which are visible when the ejection port cover is open? that is so you can OIL the bolt itself, without needing to strip the gun completely.

 

when stripped, lube the bolt HEAVILY. put a coating on the cam pin itself, then lube the rails. thats all you need. the entire lower can be run bone dry if you want. too much oil there will only attract dirt.

 

personally, i use M Pro-7 on the bolt and cam pin. its a heavy weight oil that doesnt drip or sling off like others will. for any rail - rifle, pistol, shotgun, i use grease, such as birchwood casey sno grease. some people have used simply synthetic axle grease on the bolt, pin and rails, with perfect results.

 

during a class last week in the rain, several people were having jams. the cause was suggested the high humidity and rain on/in the guns, along with their lube or lack thereof, was causing the bolt to move too slowly and short stroke. several people used froglube and said it gets sticky with use, especially when wet, and didnt like it. my gun, with my lube, rain flawlessly. it had the same moisture and flat out rain falling on/in it, and got dirty from dirt/sand/mud, and i never had a single issue, and never added a drop of lube during the day.

[Turbotezza 1]

LMAO!! Almost peed myself!!! Shows how much you know!!!

 

the bolt NEEDS to be HEAVILY lubed. its the single most important part of an AR, traveling in both a front/back and rotating motion with every shot. if youve ever noticed the two small holes on the right side of the bolt carrier....which are visible when the ejection port cover is open? that is so you can OIL the bolt itself, without needing to strip the gun completely.

 

 

[checko 180]

http://www.weaponevolution.com/forum/showthread.php?1606-AR15-LUBE-POINTS

[raz-0 1,259]

the bolt NEEDS to be HEAVILY lubed. its the single most important part of an AR, traveling in both a front/back and rotating motion with every shot. if youve ever noticed the two small holes on the right side of the bolt carrier....which are visible when the ejection port cover is open? that is so you can OIL the bolt itself, without needing to strip the gun completely.

 

The holes are there to vent gas they are not particularly good places to apply lube.

[alowerlevel 77]

http://www.weaponevo...R15-LUBE-POINTS

 

This^^^^^

 

Cleaning, whats that? Havent cleaned mine in the last 1k+ (mostly russian steel cased stuff), just kept well lubed with Slip 2000 EWL

 

This was written back in 2010, AFAIK this rifle now has well over 45k+ through it http://www.slip2000....zine-filthy-14/

[Old School 611]

The holes are there to vent gas they are not particularly good places to apply lube.

 

raz- That was always my understanding. Vents to get the gas away from the shooters face and reduce pressure in the bolt in the event of a ruptured primer

[EchoMirage 137]

LMAO!! Almost peed myself!!! Shows how much you know!!!

 

uh huh....you think that scooter. you have 'M16 armorer' in your sig, yet you actually think you should run the bolt itself completely dry?? as far as the holes, i HAVE added oil there a few times and nothing has blown up yet. i defy you to take a poll and see how many people would rather add oil to the holes, rather then run the bolt bone dry.

[A-Tech 8]

Got my vote on lube in the holes. Chris Costas and Magpul did that "Art of the Carbine" series and he lubes there, as well as liberally lubing the bolt. I've always done this and haven't had a problem. If its good for him, its good for me.

[Old School 611]

You guys baited me into this thread that I've been kind of avoiding.

 

 

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=0/sid=811/schematicsdetail/Bolt-Carrier-Assembly

 

Guys quit the pissing contest and look at the drawing of this machine.

 

Now Uncle Sam doesn't like real wet bolts because they collect gunk.

 

But does want the weapon to function and if it wears prematurely He has an unlimited amount of weapons.

 

The holes that you are describing run to the bolt where it runs in the carrier, a good place lube right?

 

In a baby powder environment I don't know how wet I would want my bolt...Dry lube anyone?

 

Running steel in aluminum for my purposes gets run wet. But I clean every couple of hundred rounds.

 

I'm not in Kombat Kamite. You're going to run a jungle rifle different than a baby powder rifle...Understand?

 

A rifle in the back of a patrol car i guess you need presereved.

 

Different strokes...

[Turbotezza 1]

You make a point here, but actually those holes are to vent the GDI gas after it unlocks the bolt. Similar to the vent holes in AK gas tubes.

 

raz- That was always my understanding. Vents to get the gas away from the shooters face and reduce pressure in the bolt in the event of a ruptured primer

[Turbotezza 1]

Son, I never said anywhere in my posts to run it dry, all internal parts should have a film of oil for corosion resistance. What I said was not to put drops of oil on those parts.

 

Of course, you can put oil anywhere you want, it is your gun. The point of contention was what those holes are designed for and not where you squirt oil.

 

uh huh....you think that scooter. you have 'M16 armorer' in your sig, yet you actually think you should run the bolt itself completely dry?? as far as the holes, i HAVE added oil there a few times and nothing has blown up yet. i defy you to take a poll and see how many people would rather add oil to the holes, rather then run the bolt bone dry.

[raz-0 1,259]

 

uh huh....you think that scooter. you have 'M16 armorer' in your sig, yet you actually think you should run the bolt itself completely dry?? as far as the holes, i HAVE added oil there a few times and nothing has blown up yet. i defy you to take a poll and see how many people would rather add oil to the holes, rather then run the bolt bone dry.

 

It doesn't blow anything up. It is just not effective. When the bolt rotates, the gas seal moves to allow the gas to vent That seal is tight, it prevents gas from getting past too easily, much less viscous liquid. When you apply thousands of psi, the lube just gets blown out and makes a mess. You have access to much more useful lube spots through the ejection port by simply locking the bolt back.

[KpdPipes 388]

I just ordered an upper myself so i am "in" for some answers here as well. Where do you shoot? Maybe we can "break" these suckers in together lol

 

My personal preference is Slip 200 Extreme Weapons Lube. M-Pro 7's lube is good, Frog oil is also good..whatever you use has to be liquid, NOT a Grease, and with a relatively low viscocity, you dont want it trapping fouling and grit in there and causing undue wear..... Remember part of the job of the Lubricant is also to carry out crap that gets in there.

[Kaiser7 33]

What grease should i use, and where should i put it?

[GRIZ 3,369]

I usually use Breakfree as a lube (not a cleaner) on everything. I have a universal procedure I use in lubing and that to put a liberal amount on the interior and spread it on everything with a small brush. I do this so its shiny wet not drippy. I will make the cam pin drippy. You will get lubricant on areas that don't need to be lubed like the interior of the upper or slide on a pistol but I think that also makes it easier to clean as you have the crap fall on lubricant instead of dry metal. This system has worked for me on handguns, shotguns, ARs (including full auto M16s and M4s), and MP5s. I've never had to relube on the range even after firing close to and maybe exceeding 2000 rds.

 

The "best" lube for an AR type rifle IMO is Dri-Slide. It is a dry molydendum disulfide lubricant in a liquid vehicle that evaporates leaving a coating wherever it was applied. The original Dri-Slide would leave what looked like soot on the part (which was the dry lube) and that's probably why the military never adopted it. A properly lubed weapon that was "dirty" when you touched a lubed part! However if you dropped that lubed part in the sand...it didn't pick up any sand!

 

I used it during my tour in Vietnam on M14s and M16s. It works well in a dry environment as I used it on my M16 when I worked in AZ and I'd put that and the Vietnamese dust against any so called Iraqi moon dust as far as its ability to screw up a rifle. Dri Slide worked everywhere. Its hard to find but you can order it on line. Break Free is almost as good.

 

 

[Tactical Turtle 11]

I run mine dry. 3 drops on the bolt carrier and I spread it around and I'm done. Shot 400 rounds straight with out an issue. Had the same bottle of oil for the last year easy and still have half left. I also clean my gun everytime I shoot. So "adding lube" isn't happening.

[Vlad G 345]

Based on this thread I should run my gun dripping wet, bone dry, and anywhere in between. God forbid we let each gun tell us what it needs and act accordingly.