Hmm, this is bringing up a couple of AR questions in my head, but I'll put them in a separate thread. I may be reconsidering them in my next rifle purchase, because there's a lot to like about them, but the reliability's been a big concern of mine.
J.Ja
Owner/President of Titanium Crowbar, LLC
A properly spec'd AR is probably the finest tactical rifle in the world. Accurate, reliable, modular, lightweight, controllable, low-maintenance, with easy and cheap parts availability. Just learn how to make the most out of the system, use good magazines, and keep it lubed.
I concur.Originally Posted by Jay Cunningham
I usually put about 2000-3000 rounds through my DI ARs before I think about cleaning them. Never had a problem. My former Army Paratrooper background has me WANTING to keep my weapons clean but honestly out of sheer laziness I don’t. I guess over time I’ve learned that if you have a quality weapon, it just isn’t that important to keep it white glove clean.
Also, there is a big difference between “Only ever shoot my AR at a range” dirty and “Take my AR to the field” dirty. Take your AR/M16/M4gery to the field for more than a day and you will discover all sorts of crap (besides lube & carbon) in it that will make your weapon less reliable.
Short list of crap found in my issued M16A2 musket or M9: Sand, soil, pine needles, strange organic matter, bug excrement, MRE cracker crumbs, ants and more sand.
"Take the message to Garcia."
Boresnake in the bag with your ear pro.
Feed it through the mag well and out the barrel and you've "cleaned" your feedramp and barrel.
I'd consider it "cleaned" after my range session.
My pistols get cleaned whenever I'm so bored at home I'm ready to go nuts (happens maybe once a year not counting being sick), malfunctions start to happen, or the gun is so darn dirty that handling it covers your hands in sludge. My MKIII Target finally got cleaned last month after ~4 years and ~25,000 rounds through it. Whenever the bolt got sluggish I just put a drop or two of oil/clp on it and went back to shooting. I actually only cleaned it because I had the barrel threaded and I was threatened with dismemberment if I didn't first.
My ARs get cleaned every once in a while if I feel like it, lubed more often, and definitely cleaned a bit more stringently after I run a couple bricks of 22's through one with a conversion kit.
Cleaning guns just isn't a zen experience for me. When I'm hammering it at the range I help run, I love being able to field strip a gun for a non believer and let them get their hands covered in carbon gunk while freaking out. I've convinced more than a few people of the importance of good lube over lots of cleaning.
Here in the sandbox, I keep my ar lubed as well as my glock lubed also. I changed out all the springs in the glock, now it runs great. I clean them whenever i feel like and I shoot almosts every day.
How long before rust/pitting develop if you dont regularly or at least clean your pistol/rifle after shooting?
A least on the barrel and slide if we are considering a glock here.
It depends on what the gun's made of, and what treatments or coatings it's had, what kind of environment you live in, and a lot of other factors.
I know guys with a pH balance to their sweat that'll freckle a stainless steel revolver after a summertime range session. I've got hundred-year-old rifles laying on a shelf in a basement that occasionally has trickles of water on the floor and they've absorbed so much grease over the years that they don't rust.
While I'm sure it's possible to make a Glock rust, because anything made of a ferrous metal can oxidize, I don't think I ever have seen one rust.
Does a boresnake that's been used a couple times actually do any cleaning? Seems like wiping one's posterior with used toilet paper.
If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever. -George Orwell
Your TP has an embedded bronze brush? That sounds horrible!
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