Hey guys, I recently bought my first rifle, and it's a Colt M4 AR 15. I had previously bought a gun cleaning kit so I could clean my pistols with the knowledge that I would eventually get a rifle, so I got a kit that came with a metal detachable barrel rod. I sat down to clean my AR for the first time only to find out that the barrel rod I have won't fit even when I cut my patch down to a tiny size. It will fit with my .22 cal nylon bore brush, but not with a patch attachment. So anyway, after doing some research, I found out that I should get a barrel rod that is coated with nylon anyway so as to not damage the bore lining. And also the salesperson set me up with the wrong size chamber brush... I'm frustrated now with a barrel full of cleaner I can't get out til tomorrow and thought I would ask for some advice and product recommendations for cleaning an AR well. Do you guys know of a good plastic bore rod for an AR? Also if you know of any particular tools or brushes that get to the cracks and crevices I'd check em out, as it looks like I'll have to shop online for them. The stores around me don't sell nylon hand brushes as stand alone, they come as a kit with copper brushes that I don't seemingly need. Any other tips and tricks to doing a nice job would be welcome. Thanks.
Spez: Nice, thanks for the info everyone. I got a bore snake today sized for .22, but I've heard other people complain about just how tight an AR barrel can be. I've done some metalwork restoration before and know how easily you can wear into metal if you're aggressively cleaning, so I always lean towards nylon and not forcing things nowadays. Has anyone used a smaller bore snake or rod with any good results? Like a .17? wild_injun I'll have to check out the fiber glass rods you mention, I found a Dewey nylon coated rod at Brownells.com here: http://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-chemicals/cleaning-rods-amp-accessories/cleaning-rods/dewey-22c-40-sku234000047-5641-44039.aspx Don't know if y'all have any experience with those, seemed legit.
I'm definitely going to go with a rod guide and a plastic/nylon/fiberglass rod, so that should solve most of my problems.
Thanks for the other tips and info. Hickock45 had a pretty nice video going over his cleaning process, so that helps to see, just kinda going over what needs to be cleaned and what's not really necessary.
Thanks again and happy shooting
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[–] Shillhunt42 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I got the Otis AR specific cleaning kit, comes with everything you need for maintaining and cleaning your rifle. Uses cables instead of rods and it comes with the B.O.N.E. tool for scraping and cleaning your BCG.
[–] zaitcev ago
I heard from people who had a head of the boresnake separate and become stuck inside. In addition sometimes in the field you need to pound out a stuck case. For these reasons, a sturdy rod is still necessary to keep around, although of course if you have a cable, use that in preference.