The AR-15 is a highly reliable rifle as long as the owner maintains it. In most cases, a simple cleaning and maintenance routine will keep your rifle working properly, but what can you do to extend the expected life of the firearm? Most will say “clean and maintain the rifle more often” — but what does this actually entail? As RailScales offers premier gun accessories, we also recommend using the best ar-15 cleaning kit you can find.
At RailScales, we want you to use and enjoy your rifle for a long time. We offer premium machined AR-15 accessories that are easy to clean and even easier to maintain. For the most part, once you upgrade your gun with any one of our RailScales® products or accessories, you won’t need to do much with them.
Nonetheless, in this post, we’ll be sharing four maintenance tips to extend the life of your AR-15.
Four AR-15 Maintenance Tips
When it comes to your AR-15, you’ll want more than your standard maintenance and cleaning components from your original packaging. Sure, these components can get the job done, even in an emergency, but do it right if you want to extend the life of your rifle.
Tip #1 - Must-Have Cleaning Tools
Start with purchasing a great cleaning rod - Consider getting a nylon coated rod with a rotating ball-bearing handle. This will reduce the chances of your rod growing thick with residue and damaging your barrel during cleaning.
Use a bore guide - The tube will seat in the chamber at the upper receiver. Traveling in the same direction as the bullet, you can push the cleaning rod down the barrel. The direction you push can have an effect on the barrel and if you damage it.
Get a chamber brush - At the rear of the barrel, a chamber holds female lugs that male lugs sit in. Residue can build up here, and you’ll want to clean it out during every routine maintenance session. Cleaning this specific area greatly reduces the chance of malfunction and negatively affecting rifle performance.
Choose an upper-receiver cleaning kit - The bolt and the bolt carrier need to be cleaned regularly. You want to go with high-quality patches and swabs to get the best results. Lint, strings, and thread are terrible if left inside your gun in any capacity.
Tip #2 - Clean Your Rifle In A Specific Order
Consider the following order of operations when it comes to cleaning your rifle. Granted, if you’ve been cleaning and maintaining your AR-15 for a while, you probably have your own system.
Consider cleaning your chamber first. This way, when you go to clean your barrel, nothing from the chamber will find its way into the barrel, thus making you have to clean components twice. Finally, never clean your AR-15s gas tube. When the gun functions, high-pressure gas travels through the tube effectively cleaning it. Replace your tube if you have any doubts about it.
Tip #3 - Lubricate. Lubricate. Lubricate.
It’s common to find that ARs will run dirty, but they won’t run dry. Something like 20,000 rounds can be put through your AR-15 without cleaning it, and it will probably still function if you’ve lubricated it properly over those thousands of rounds. Nonetheless, lubricating your rifle where needed more frequently than not is going to extend the lifespan of the firearm. Focus on areas that see friction in any capacity.
Lubricate generously!
Tip #4 - General Maintenance Tactics
While you clean and lubricate your AR-15, make sure and inspect all components and hardware for breakage, cracks, or abnormal wear. Check the extractor, ejector springs, gas rings, gas key, trigger and more. If you’ll be using your AR-15 rifle during fieldwork, keep a small, mobile cleaning kit on you.
Although in an emergency the AR will fire in most situations, it will need to be cleaned from time-to-time to continue functioning properly. Nonetheless, keep spare parts in your field kit like a firing pin, retaining pin, cam pin, gas ring, and an extractor spring. Depending on the type and intensity of work you’ll be putting your rifle through, you may be able to take less or more spare components.
Explore RailScales Premium Machined Product Line
Now that you’ve got your rifle cleaned, how about an AR15 accessory upgrade? There’s always room to improve accuracy and increase control while firing. Why not do both with a hand stop or forward grip? Shop our products online now! Our products are easy to maintain and clean as well as rust-resistant. Our G10 line needs nothing but a little brushing and some gun lube or the equivalent to bring them from dry and dirty to clean and looking new again. Our aluminum line of products needs only a wipe down from a rag or brush to get them back into shape as the type 3 anodizing is a solid protector from scrapes, corrosion, or rust. If you truly want rust-proof AR15 parts then look no further. RailScales offers products that are American-made from design to manufacture.
