How many rounds between AR Cleanings??

[knighthawk06699]

How often do you guys/ladies clean your AR's? Every how many rounds??

[Guns4Fun]

I usually clean my AR's after every range trip - sometimes, i let it slide to every other trip. That could range from 100 - 500 rnds.

In my mind, there isn't any reason not to clean it. Hell, i clean all my guns every year even if they have not been shot. Nothing like having fresh, clean, and oiled weapons at the ready.

[mojo]

I usually clean my AR's after every range trip - sometimes, i let it slide to every other trip. That could range from 100 - 500 rnds.

In my mind, there isn't any reason not to clean it. Hell, i clean all my guns every year even if they have not been shot. Nothing like having fresh, clean, and oiled weapons at the ready.

Yep that's typically what I do also.

[ForwardAssist]

It's about more than just powder residue. It's a chance to visually inspect for wear and damage.

I guess it depends on what you do with your AR and if your life depends on it or not. As long as the ammo is non corrosive it shouldn't damage your firearm. Just make sure it's wet before the next range trip.

[knighthawk06699]

Tore her down and gave her a thorough bath. She is in 100% shape and well lubed. *Sigh* Feels good to be back.

[Asmodeus6]

I clean everything I shoot back to new every outing. Period. Even the AK's. As I see no reason not to, and if I have to go an extended period without cleaning, such as a SHTF... I'm not bugging out the door with dirty weapons.

I will mention that I do shoot everything extensively each outing... typically between 200-500 rounds each trip. And put anywhere from 25 to 60 shells through the 12g etc. I usually bring more than one toy and shoot for a few hours. (Not at a range so I can literally shoot for hours on end.) So everything I have NEEDS cleaned after a trip out. While I could possibly get away with every other, I see no reason to. And I don't always take the same guns out. So some could sit with fouling on them for quite some time. So I just naturally clean them to the best of my ability each time. I don't always break the AR bolt down. (completely) But I have mastered getting it 90% clean without pulling the extractor / ejector etc.

This is why despite what people say, aerosol based cleaners WIN. I scrub gas tubes on the AK's typically every other or so. But all bores get cleaned 100% each trip out. Mechanism's cleaned as needed and lightly lubed as needed.

Everything gets inspected for wear. IMO it only takes one KB to turn this from a hobby to a hospital visit.

[DPB]

If it's going back in the safe and out of rotation for a while, it gets clean enough that you could perform surgery on it. Otherwise, they get cleaned enough that they keep running. Which means they'll occasionally get lubed and, if necessary, wiped down. I've run into the thousands of rounds with minimal cleaning, and never had a gun start choking on me.

If your guns won't run dirty, you need to get different guns.

If I performed a complete cleaning on every gun I shot every time I went to the range, I'd have to get someone to pay me for it because that's all I'd ever have time to do.

There are a great many cases where repeated disassembly and reassembly is harder on guns than actually shooting them.

You can visually inspect all you want, but none of the catastrophic failures I've seen showed any prior signs of trouble. If you are really concerned about parts failure on an AR, carry a spare bolt, and possibly a trigger group. That will handle 99.99% of any and all parts breakage, and probably about 100% more than you're going to see.

[RONNIE77]

I too normally clean mine after every range trip.
But sometimes it goes to every other range trip... (About 100-300rds)

I have gas piston AR's, so they tend not to get that dirty, but I don't wait for a failure to clean them.. I just have to give them a good wipe down in and out, and even if I don't give them a though cleaning after I shoot them, I always clean the barrel after shooting.

After 500rds, I like to really break it down and give it a thorough cleaning..
Meaning I take off all of the accessories, the rail and I take out the hammer & trigger components. I give it a good cleaning and oil it up!

[LittleRedToyota]

If it's going back in the safe and out of rotation for a while, it gets clean enough that you could perform surgery on it. Otherwise, they get cleaned enough that they keep running. Which means they'll occasionally get lubed and, if necessary, wiped down. I've run into the thousands of rounds with minimal cleaning, and never had a gun start choking on me.

If your guns won't run dirty, you need to get different guns.

If I performed a complete cleaning on every gun I shot every time I went to the range, I'd have to get someone to pay me for it because that's all I'd ever have time to do.

There are a great many cases where repeated disassembly and reassembly is harder on guns than actually shooting them.

You can visually inspect all you want, but none of the catastrophic failures I've seen showed any prior signs of trouble. If you are really concerned about parts failure on an AR, carry a spare bolt, and possibly a trigger group. That will handle 99.99% of any and all parts breakage, and probably about 100% more than you're going to see.

this pretty much describes my approach to AR cleaning as well.

[Guns4Fun]

I too normally clean mine after every range trip.
But sometimes it goes to every other range trip... (About 100-300rds)

I have gas piston AR's, so they tend not to get that dirty, but I don't wait for a failure to clean them.. I just have to give them a good wipe down in and out, and even if I don't give them a though cleaning after I shoot them, I always clean the barrel after shooting.

After 500rds, I like to really break it down and give it a thorough cleaning..
Meaning I take off all of the accessories, the rail and I take out the hammer & trigger components. I give it a good cleaning and oil it up!

Ronnie, i'm no expert but i don't know that i would be pushing the trigger / hammer pins in / out of the lower every 500 rounds. That would put undo wear on the lower and could cause the pins to get loose and walk out.

I clean the hammer / trigger parts too but i do not remove them. I spray them down good with clp and use a brush and q tips on them - that gets things pretty darn clean.