Alright, so my nephew just got through basic training for the Marines (very proud of the kid!) and we were talking about how much time the spent cleaning his M16 (pretty much every day for a couple hours) and he said something that I had never heard before.

He said they were told to NEVER use CLP on the inside of the barrel?!  He said they used it everywhere, even used it on the outside of the barrel and comp, but all they ever did with the inside of the barrel was bore snake it dry.  Are they using a different CLP than the spray CLP Breakfree that I'm using?

Can someone help me out with this one?  All I've ever read is that CLP Breakfree is great for putting down the barrel to help clean it out and leave a little lubrication on it.  I guess I could see how having lubricant in their could attract dust/flakes/etc. to stick to the inside of the barrel, but I'm confused why he was told to NEVER use it inside the barrel?  Is this a precision shooting thing?  Is it different for the M16 vs M4?

Thanks for any info...I apologize ahead of time if these are all extremely stupid questions...I've always been told/read that CLP was fine for putting down barrels and that you SHOULD use it to help clean the barrel.  If I shouldn't be using CLP down my barrel someone please tell me now!

Also, it was interesting to hear him say they cleaned their M16's pretty much daily, and did a full and intensive clean every time.  Is it just that they are shooting so many rounds at a time during basic or is this just something they do during basic to help them learn the rifle and get in the habit?

It's a modern retard thing.

CLP, while not the greatest military product, is the current standard.  Rifle bore cleaner and LSA, while authorized, haven't been used on a large scale since the 80s (it saves the military money to buy and move only one bulk product).

Some jackass (perhaps on a local shooting team) heard or read something from a guy who shoots a tricked-out National Match M16 with a stainless barrel and now spouts it as gospel that you shouldn't use it in a chrome-lined M16, M4, or M27's bore.

Nothing wrong with CLP, it is a mild solvent but shouldn't cause any problems even for storage. I've moved to Mpro7 LPX because it has been proven to be a better CLP and has also been proved for better corrosion protection, it's also less of a solvent and is safe in bores as well.

Maybe they are avoiding a bore obstruction? I believe having a bore filled with CLP can cause an obstruction? The excess oil is also a magnet for unburnt powder, dirt, and other crud. A CL or melonited bore doesn't even need anything other than a few cleaning patches or passes with snake. But it's ALWAYS a good idea to run a dry patch down the bore before shooting, maybe they feel lube in the bore isn't really needed so it's ready to roll?

CLP of any amount in the bore is fine, provided you dry patch before use if you applied it thick.

Now CLP in a match grade rifle capable of groups well beyond my ability you will see group shift until the CLP is burned off and the bore resettles.

Many years ago in the precision shooting community the military CLP had PTFE's in it which were believed to embed themselves into the metal and cause accuracy problems.   That might not be 100% correct but that's how I remember it.
I think it was that white shit that settled at the bottom that people these days say was the "good/older" CLP.

Couple drops on a patch and about 6-10 patches run from the chamber out the muzzle.  Followed by as many dry patches as necessary until they came out clean.

Yeah, that's BS.  We bought CLP by the 5 gal can and used it liberally in the bore of everything from the main battery guns to .45s

That's just stupid. Clean and protect the bore with CLP.

Probably something to do with dirt sticking to it, and 15 years of fighting in the Middle East.

Thanks for the responses, everyone!

It didn't make much sense to me, except that possibly it's a perceived logic that if there is something wet on the inside of the barrel it will attract dust/sand/etc. easier between shooting.

Good to know I wasn't crazy!  

Sincere Thank You for your service.

You are not crazy.
You really don't need lube in a barrel that will be shot shortly.

Ditto.

OP Congratulations on your nephew.

M2C, if you are cleaning that much you are developing a very deep understanding and memory of what it feels like and looks like.  They know every part just by touch and can automatically orient the part for putting I back together efficiently.

I think the Marines know what they are doing.

They also have stress cards in boot now.

Take anything you hear with a grain

Thank you, bmyk!  I very proud of him.  I have the utmost respect for our men and women who have served, and currently serve, in the military.

Yep, everything.  Even Stress Card BS

I swear a while back I read a article about the downside of teflon in rifle barrels. I think it was from one of the target shooting communities.

You can use it down the barrel.  It's fine.  Probably some POG DIs passing bad word.  

When I was in Afghanistan training Afghan soldiers how to shoot the M16, they would let dirt get in their chambers and bores.  We would squirt CLP down the chamber and bore, tip the rifle to the muzzle and allow it to run out and carry the sand with it, and then start them shooting again.  Worked fine.

Even the military comic book stated to not pour liquid into the bore. So this isn't "new" information.

If I had a theory I would say they're less concerned with it blowing the gun up and more concerned with dust collection and being unable to clean it out in the field. Years back the military always taught people to keep everything bone dry or nearly bone dry. They don't even really teach how to correctly apply to friction points. They just say pour it here and rub it there and you're done.

I do notice the military sure loves their brochures. They got a brochure for everything even on how to properly take a dump.

However you don't have to fill out anything. They just give you a brochure about it.

At the individual rifleman level, in basic training that might not be the worst advice.  I have trouble imagining why but it may be due to CLPs tendency to 'creep'.  It -can- find its way anywhere including in with a powder charge which might result in a misfire.  We're talking planetary alignment, favorable wind and downhill on a Sunday combination of conditions, though.

It could be as simple as an inspector wants to see if your bore is shiny - WITHOUT the sheen of a light layer of oil on it.  Who knows?

It's the service; not everything you get asked to do (especially in boot) is going to make any sense whatsoever.

I just put some on my boresnake and run it through 5 times or so.  I've never figured that was a problem.  It's not oozing all around, but I'm sure it gets the bore a bit coated with it.  

This is news to me.  Sinister, are you saying it's not a good idea for SS barrels?

The reason you keep military weapons dry is for the infamous white glove type inspection. A dry weapon is hard to get carbon off of. It's idiotic but does help pass pointless inspections.

CLP is definitely a dofer barrel cleaner for me, but it gets the job done.
Done as well as Butch's? Nah. But done.

True. I mean another fact here is if CLP causes your barrel to explode, I would imagine the military would be the first to experience this considering how many people uses it there everyday in many parts of the world.

Modern day guns are proofed a little over what is realistically expected. With that said, gas expansion follows the path of least resistance. So when a barrel blows up, something has to stop the gas from going forward. A small coat of CLP in the barrel isn't going to do that.

PTFE doesn't stick to anything. So that's a giant mythbuster.

I use CLP in my CHF noveske and BCM  barrels for cleaning on my boresnakes, run them through 2-3 times and call it a day shoots fine same groupings etc

The Marines were also told that we went into Iraq because of WMD, do you believe that too?

No comment

What people are told in the military is a perpetual source of authoritative-sounding misinformation about small arms.

Yes there is a reason why benchrest or other precision target shooters don't use CLP or some other kinds of products in their barrel bores.

Those reasons are utterly irrelevant for 99.99% of shooters.

Boresnaking the barrel dry with the same dirty boresnakes would cause more problems by several orders of magnitude than using CLP in the bore, but they apparently couldn't see that forest for the blade of grass.