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Page AR-15 » Maintenance & Cleaning
AR Sponsor: bravocompany
Posted: 7/12/2014 2:46:49 PM EDT
If it's good for the military, do I have anything to worry about?

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile
Link Posted: 7/12/2014 4:20:59 PM EDT
[#1]
Yes.
No Match shooter or shooter who cares about his guns will ever use a jointed rod as anything other than an emergency rod.

These rods never screw together perfectly.  There's always a slight mis-match between the sections that can easily catch on a muzzle or chamber and do serious damage.
If you care about your guns use only polished stainless steel or carbon fiber one-piece rods.

Keep a jointed rod for actual emergency use only while in the field.

If the military damages a rifle with a screw together rod, they'll give you a new rifle.
We have to buy our own.
Link Posted: 7/12/2014 4:30:35 PM EDT
[#2]
not good get a one piece rod for sure if you care about your rifle.
Link Posted: 7/12/2014 4:37:28 PM EDT
[#3]
even if it's a soft brass rod?  what kind of damage are you realistically going to do to a 4150 steel chrome-lined barrel with brass?  seems like worry over nothing.  for a match rifle maybe, but for a regular AR, really?
Link Posted: 7/12/2014 5:13:41 PM EDT
[#4]
I have been using standard, sectional USGI type cleaning rods for my AR's for years with no problems what so ever.   As long as you use them properly you should be fine especially for chrome lined AR barrels.  FWIW sectional rods have been used for decades and faded from popularity IMO when other systems came on scene and became popular with the military.  Competition rifle cleaning kit and procedures are a different animal all together from what I can tell.  Short answer OP nothing to worry about IMO.  Edited to add content.
Link Posted: 7/12/2014 6:25:39 PM EDT
[#5]
I use a boresnake for everything but my rem 700 .308 that gets the one piece coated rod. I do keep a standard milspec rod with me to push out stuck cases.
Link Posted: 7/12/2014 6:47:31 PM EDT
[#6]
Get an otis kit for 556
Link Posted: 7/12/2014 6:58:27 PM EDT
[#7]
....we shoot brass plated and worse (hell, my k31's bullets are steel jacketed...) bullets through our barrels behind a shitload of powder, yet you are worried about a sectional brass cleaning rod damaging their bore?  The brass is going to destroy your steel+chrome when it's part of the middle of a cleaning rod but it's no big deal if it's a bullet?
You worry too much.  Use a bore guide and clean away.
Link Posted: 7/13/2014 1:27:34 AM EDT
[#8]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
....we shoot brass plated and worse (hell, my k31's bullets are steel jacketed...) bullets through our barrels behind a shitload of powder, yet you are worried about a sectional brass cleaning rod damaging their bore?  The brass is going to destroy your steel+chrome when it's part of the middle of a cleaning rod but it's no big deal if it's a bullet?
You worry too much.  Use a bore guide and clean away.
View Quote


Relax bro this is arfcom.  It is what it is.  I would rather have someone ask vs. someone assume and not ask resulting in an issue/problem.
Link Posted: 7/14/2014 10:09:48 AM EDT
[#9]
Quoted:
If it's good for the military, do I have anything to worry about?

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile
View Quote



Bomin,

I use them all the time on my AR's! I never had any problem using them but then again I don't have any that are match target either.
For general cleaning there's nothing wrong by using them at all.

Impala
Link Posted: 7/15/2014 5:07:09 PM EDT
[#10]
As long as you're not jamming the rod in crooked like a jerk off you're good. I use a boresnake to clean, followed by my GI rod for the rest of the process. Never had an issue. And ,I can confidently say I never will.
Link Posted: 7/19/2014 3:31:16 PM EDT
[#11]
Depends. If I'm cleaning a "beater"- like a cheap delton or dpms that I sling cheap ammo through, sure. If it's something nicer like a Larue or JP, I use an otis kit.
Link Posted: 7/19/2014 9:21:39 PM EDT
[#12]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Yes.
No Match shooter or shooter who cares about his guns will ever use a jointed rod as anything other than an emergency rod.

These rods never screw together perfectly.  There's always a slight mis-match between the sections that can easily catch on a muzzle or chamber and do serious damage.
If you care about your guns use only polished stainless steel or carbon fiber one-piece rods.

Keep a jointed rod for actual emergency use only while in the field.

If the military damages a rifle with a screw together rod, they'll give you a new rifle.
We have to buy our own.
View Quote

Hmmmm...but if soldiers were steady tearing up their bores using jointed rods wouldn't the military stop using them? And has anyone come across a case where a jointed rod was directly responsible for ruining the rifling?
Link Posted: 7/20/2014 6:58:49 PM EDT
[#13]
An aluminum rod has a Rockwell hardness of approximately 20-40 depending on type used.
A yellow brass rod has a Rockwell hardness of approximately 55 .
A phosphor bronze bore cleaning brush has a Rockwell hardness of approximately 78.




Link Posted: 7/24/2014 3:27:33 PM EDT
[#14]
No, I've never seen this happen on a military weapon. Every M4, M16, car15, etc. I have ever inspected with an unserviceable barrel was due to overheating (retard factor) or just "shot out", which overwhelmingly begins with chamber erosion (highest pressure area). Of course, this doesn't include weapons that were damaged from things like vertical drops, explosions, or other traumatic events. For this reason, I have seen many weapons with coded out chambers that still functioned and grouped properly, but I've never seen one that didn't function/group that had a good chamber. All military weapons, virtually all using issued cleaning rods, though I'm sure some individuals procured their own otis kits or whatever.
Link Posted: 8/3/2014 2:43:47 PM EDT
[#15]
Jointed cleaning rods are just fine for an AR if you use them correctly.  The damage is caused by the rod flexing and the joints rubbing the rifling.  If you don't push the rod through, it won't happen.

Assemble the rod and drop the handle end through the upper from the chamber end.  Pull the jag/brush through and repeat.
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