What certain things I need to keep in mind when I get my new Bushy A3 Carbine? I know to clean it first before shooting it, but what else? Is it safe to dry-fire it?

Thanks, still learning.

i would take it apart and get familiar with all the parts if this is your first AR,,i would lube up everything fairly well (my choice is BReakFRee CLP),,and jus shot the snot out of it..and yes ya can dry fire it til your lil fingers turn purple..in the USMC , we spend a week , up to 4-5 hours JUST dry firing..i only do it on occasion..but if itll make ya feel safer get a good snap cap..it also helps ya cycling the action and stuff.good practice..other than that BE SAFE..use common sense and have fun..

[b]DON'T[/b] even begin to fool yourself into thinking this one is the last!

DarkNite, I think his is in the initial statges of the AR sickness...does not realize his addiction yet:)

Don't start taking a dremel to the polished parts trying to make the trigger pull a little lighter. Not personal experience mind you.[;)]

Yeah, fools with Dremels have ruined lots of triggers.

Anyway, dry firing will not hurt your AR. (Dry firing some double barrel shotguns can result in  damaged and stuck firing pins.)  Go on and practice away.

DON'T:

Store the firearm in the foam lined BM case.

Forget to pass a patch thru the barrel prior to shooting.

Use a jointed steel cleaning rod.

Put your finger on the trigger unless the weapon is pointed downrange and the target is engaged or, in the case of dry-firing, assuring an empty chamber.


DO:

Read the manual.

Use Breakfree CLP like its going out of style.

Get a black T shirt for use as a gun rag.

Buy shitloads of military ammo.

Have a means of securing your weapon.

Read AR15Com like its the daily newspaper.

Maintain a membership in the NRA.

Have fun!

Take a kid to the range. Teach him/her gun safety and let him/her have fun.

What KODoc said!

Don't:
use cheap steel mags

put neon colored furniture on it

stick anything (like long pipe cleaners) in the gas tube

<<<<
What about a jointed aluminum cleaning rod?

Also, just for my info, why not a jointed steel rod?


Thanks in advance.

Jointed cleaning rods will ruin the bore.

Welcome to the 'Black Rifle Club'!

Ditto everything above.

Get yourself the USMC M16 book from your local ARMY/NAVY store - the marines know all about the AR15/M16!

When you decide to mount a scope - I like the ARMALITE scope base very much.

I just bought an A3 Bushy Shorty AK.  Haven't shot it yet, or even taken it apart for its initial cleaning.  

What is the best cleaning rod to use?  I was going to use a jointed one, but it doesn't sound like that's the right thing to do .....

why will an joined alumminum cleaning rod ruin an AR?

Jointed steel can leave an exposed edge which can damage the bore.
Aluminum being a soft metal is unlikely to damage the bore.

I have always heard that aluminum rods are soft and will pick up metal shavings, which will be run up and down the bore.

Don't use stainless steel bore brushes.

Use a one piece coated rod, like the Dewey

I also recommend the AR rod guide and the action link. Check out [url]www.sinclairintl.com[/url]

Edited to add, I also like the Parker Hale jag with 1-3/8" square patches. Also, get one of those $45 cleaning vises, it makes it alot easier.

DO's ***

Make sure the chamber is empty before running around the house making you'r best BLAM, BLAM,BLAM noises.

Make sure to put the gun on the inward-side of the bed while sleeping with it.( keeps you from knocking it to the floor when getting up to take care of 3am "buisness")Also keeps the wife from spooning too close.

Make space in the bathroom for all the Gun, Surpluss, and ammo related catalogs you'll now be reading every day.

Get a comfy chair to sit in while hanging out here and cleaning you'r gun. As these will now occupy all of you'r non-shooting time.

DON'T ***

The only one I can speak of from experiance is when I used to live in the city:
Don't take you'r gun outside in daylight to cut the lawn, sprinkle, get the mail/paper, hang out on the roof, or any other situation this new mental sickness might convince you as rational behavior in front of the general public.  The AR is a scary "F" ing black "ASSAULT WEAPON" to non-gun people and they will call the cops!!!

Welcome to the sickness [whacko]

i dry fire mine alot......not a problem!

Get a coated Outers rod from War-Mart - the rod is blue with a black handle, which say Outers in yellow letters, IIRC. It's 26" long which will be fine for your shorty. They are great and not too expensive ($12?).

The make a dry fire device that you can order just about anywhere, that keeps the hammer from striking the pin. Also cocks it with only having to move the charging handle a fraction of an inch. slips into the bolt, and out again in a jiffy. Only costs about $7.00 and I wouldn't take for mine.

Do:

1) Keep it clean and happy with CLP (Break Free or FP-10).

2) Keep in a safe when not home.

3) Wear eye and ear protection.

4) Use quality USGI mags.

5) Have fun and be SAFE.


Don't:

1) Jack up your car with the barrel when fixing a flat.

2) Use USA or non-USGI mags.

3) Show it off to the postman.

4) Booze it up when shooting or get all hopped up on drugs...ever.


That's all I can think of.  Have fun and enjoy the new rifle.  I really love both my Bushy M4s.

I'm sure some will disagree but CLP is the nastiest smelling stuff on the shelf. G96 works well in all the rest; how does it work for an AR?

Why?

Because in certain climates (like where you live) condensation is trapped in the foam and your bbl rusts.

BTW, I bagged the cleaning rods and went to the bore snake a long time ago and have never looked back.  Nothing better for cleaning a service rifle.

KODoc:
What's the pb with the foam lined case?
Thanks

Foam is a great material to transport firearms in because of its obvious shock absorbant properties. Unfortunately, shock isn't the only thing it absorbs. Even relatively mild temperature changes can cause moisture to form and become trapped in the foam cells which are in direct contact with the firearm. Oxidation may follow.


Transport? Yes
Store? No

Addendum: BTW I do not believe the condensation trapping problem occurs with closed cell foam. (Bushy cases are open cell foam.) I have yet to hear of rusting of ASP batons or buffer tubes under the foam overtubes of ARFX stocks. Maybe someone can confirm this for me?
Thanks.

I like the [url=www.otisgun.com]Otis[/url] pull-through kits.  

Be careful with the snap-caps if you use them.  Last (only) time I tried one in my AR it stuck in the chamber and it took some serious pulling to get it back out.  (It was one of the clear red ones with brass ends.  Maybe other brands are better.)

The AR15 has a very distinctive profile.  I would not be seen in the front yard, even carrying the AR to the car for transport to the range.  Put it in a case, wrap it in an old towel, something.  A passerby might make note of your location for later burglary.  A neighbor might make a "man with a gun" call to 911.  Don't flash it around.  

This is one of the best threads i've read for us newbies! Thanks guys

I do have a safe, but cut out the shelf with the holes to accomodate barrels because I ran out of holes. To minimize the potential for nicking and scratching from the firearms resting not against padded safe walls, but against each other, I put them in beatheable, silicone impregnated gun socks.

You could pull out the foam and store it in a gunsock in the hard lockable BM case until your safe/locker is ready

Or I could pull the original foam out and replace it with closed cell foam??

I believe so, but not I'm not absolutely positive. I posed a similar question in this thread a few posts ago. Waiting for some replies.

Addendum: I believe the bottom line is to try to maintain low humidity if possible and enable air circulation.

Should I used the Break-Free on EVERYTHING on my AR? Including the bore? And how do you get rid of your current lube? (I'm using Clenzoil right now in my AR, but want to switch to CLP).

Clean it with BirchWood Casey Gun Scrubber then apply CLP.
Use CLP for all metal surfaces.

This is important if you are converting to CLP after using other cleaning agents. CLP contains more than a dozen different chemicals which "can" cause nasty reactions when exposed to other chemicals from other cleaners.

It gets dark in there, scares the rifle.

[b] It's too late you've already committed the biggest DON'T of all. You bought an AR . There's no going back now brother, your screwed . Every last penny you have will go into those awful things.

Darkknight it right brother don't fool yourself . Good Luck  We'll be preyin for you[/b]

Figure out WHAT you want before you buy it!!! How many folks, after the purchase, figured out they want a different twist rate, chromelined, flattop with a detachable carry handle etc...

Ask questions.

Place a LIGHT coating of oil on your weapon. PILES of anything will pick up grime. If you get grime on your trigger surfaces, you will begin to lap them down, lowering your trigger pull, but at the same time lowering hammer/trigger life.

Hey Guys,
Just bought a RRA AR15 home yesterday.Thanks for all the great info.I even got my "Wood is no good,Black is beautiful ball cap." Ammo & mags,ammo & mags.Right?

Don't bother with the metal rods--coated or not--and the bore guides.
Buy a Bore Snake.
It won't scratch anything and it gets the rifle a lot cleaner than a patch and it's quick!  
The ad says it has 200 times more cleaning surface than a patch alone--don't know if that's true--but I've put away all my cleaning rods and I only use the Bore Snake on all of my firearms.

what exact model of bore snake do you use?? I am interested in getting one and would like your recommendation

Hoppe's manufactures the Bore Snake.
They usually run about $15 for rifle versions.
WalMart sells a similar product made by another company (can't remember the name) that is a few dollars cheaper.

Do spend more money on ammo in the first few months than you spend trying to make your rifle look like the latest, greatest thing seen on ar15.com.

Do shoot that ammo downrange. (something I haven't been able to do much lately)  

Do realize that the barrel gets HOT.

Don't put a hot barrel into anything foam or plastic.

Do join a private shooting range if you don't already have a spot to shoot at home.  If you don't want to join a private range, at least go to a public shooting range.  

Don't simply drive off into the country and shoot at cans by the railroad tracks (or someones house).

VERY GOOD POINT, FOR OWNERS OF *ANY* FIREARMS.
TRUST NO ONE, NOT EVEN THE "GOOD NEIGHBOR".

Bore snakes rock!!!  However I have found that about 2 times a year I have to break down and give the gun a good ol fashioned cleaning.   Sweets comes in handy then.  You would be amazed the copper left behind by ordinary cleaning products.  Just a thought.  But dispite that.....Hail to the mighty inventory of the bore snake....you have saved many a crown!

Where did you get the "wood is no good, black is beautiful" hat?  Do they have shirts?

Now that these guys have suffciently scared you, here's the skinny.

It's a military rifle and tough as nails.  Unless you plan to competition shoot and if you missed any of these before points don't worry about it.  The rifle is designed to take abuse. That's why the Army uses them. It always kills me with laughter when I hear these guys say, OH CRAP, I dropped my rifle or treat it like it was a computer with delicate parts.

I know plenty of guys who have taken them out of the box and just fired away with no issues.  The weapon is test fired at the factory.  Good idea to clean her up but don't fret if you didn't.

Careful of new mags for most initial jam issues are caused by the mag being new. A little wear or sanding of the top of the mag will typically solve the problem.  Some mags work better than others and since this is a military rifle it's a good idea to use military mags when possible.

Read the manual with the same grain of thought you give to any gun manual. It's a tough rifle and a bit more complicated than a bolt action but still not rocket science.

You will get brass marks on the deflector, that's why it's there. It will come off with a little rubbing but does give the rifle character.

Polishing triggers to lighten the load is a proven technique.  This is not recommended if you haven't done it before or are not mechanicly inclined. A dremmel with a grinder is not a good idea for it removes metal way too fast.  Technique I have used is a buffer pad smoothing the burrs and ripples but not enough to remove any paint. That's why it's call polishing.

Read the assembly instructions on this site, it will give you insight to the rifles function.

Don't let these guys hang you up in store it in a safe with humidity control and keep it away from........  It's a rifle made with the most modern materials available.  I have rifles that are over 50 years old without any rust that have been stored with nothing more than a light coat of oil which I periodically check to make sure is still there and replinish.

There's alot of good ideas here but don't get hung up on them for you can take a joy and turn it into a pain.

[b]It's best to always worry more about what you are shooting at rather than what you are shooting.[/b]  Always try to figure out where the round is going to end up and hopefully not in one of your neighbors.  The guys tend to spend way too much time discussing the does and don'ts of rilfes and tend to neglect the does and don't of shooting.  

Muad Dib had some good pointers especiall the barrell gets hot.

Welcome to the Black Fever and enjoy your rifle.

Tj  

I enjoyed this answer but would like to add it gets lonely too.[:D]