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Posted: 4/18/2009 3:56:59 PM EDT
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Hi, I got an AR50 off the EE here at ar15.com. It supposedly had never been fired but I ran a patch down it when I received to verify and it was filthy. It took me nearly 2 hours to get it clean. Today I finally got to fire it and sight in my scope. I shot 8 rounds and called it a day. I cleaned it for another 30 minutes and it still wasnt completely clean so I sprayed some foaming bore cleaner in it and left it for the evening and will finish the job later. Im just wondering is this normal take take this long to get these guns clean? I'm wondering if I should do alot more scrubbing with the stainless steel brush. Currently I'm running it down the bore once then a patch.
Here are my cleaning components. aaa-amunition rod aaa-ammuntion bore guide aaa-ammo ss jag aaa-ammo patches Monatana Xtreme Copper Killer solvent Hoppes No 9 Bwonells Stainless Steel brushes Here is what I do: 1. run a patch with Hoppes no 9 down the bore once 2..run dry patch down 3. I alternate 1 and 2 until I see some improvement 4. I run a SS brush down soaked in No 9 5. Repeat 1 and 2 6. I run a patch down with Monatana Xtreme 7. Run a dry patch 8. Run a SS brush down once with Monatana X treme 9. Repeat 6,7, and 8 until its clean 10. Run a patch with clp down Should I be running the SS brush down like 5 and 6 times before I go back to a patch? Currently I run it down the bore once and go back to patches. Suggestions appreciated. |
| I'm not going to give advice on cleaning but when I got my AR50 it was dirty. It took forever to get it clean. I broke mine in and cleaned between each shoot. (Some say to break it in, some don't) It took atleast that long between each shoot. I think it's just the nature of the beast when new. Good luck. |
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I don't think it's abnormal to take a couple hours to clean a 50 BMG. Especially if it's pretty new. As they get older and get a few hundred rounds down the tube, they'll foul less.
I also think you need to skip all the dry patches. Ammonia solvents aren't going to do anything to your bore over a few hours. I think everytime you run a dry patch through you are killing your soak time. Here's how I do it. 1. Run a couple wet patches down the bore with powder solvent. Hoppes #9 is fine, SLIP 2000, or the nitro solvent of your choice. 2. Run a stainless brush down the bore 2-3 full strokes. I run both directions and call that 1 stroke. 3. Repeat 1-2 until the gun is damn near free of carbon fouling. 4. Run a couple dry patches through. A. Run a couple wet patches down the bore with 28% aqueous ammonia, BoreTech Eliminator, or Montana Extreme 50 BMG. B. Run a clean stainless brush down the bore, wet with one of three above copper solvents ( I use 28%ammonia) about 2-3 full strokes. Wait 3 minutes. C. Repeat A-B until there is very little blue on patches. D. Run a couple dry patches through. E. Repeat 1-2 in case there is another layer of carbon fouling. F. Run a couple dry patches through. G. Run a 3-4 patches wet with KANO KROIL through the bore to neutralize any remaining solvents. With 300 or so rounds through my ALS, this all takes about 45 minutes now. It took as much as 1:30 to start with. And I suggest avoiding the CLP all together. It's great for AR's with chrome-lined barrels. That teflon causes more problems that it's worth in a match-grade gun. All the FCSA guys I know avoid it like the plague. Afterall, I don't know of a commercial sovent to remove teflon. Stick wtih KROIL, RemOil, or even non-synthetic motor oil but don't go teflon. -David Edgewood, NM |
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Understood on the CLP, thanks for the tips, makes alot of sense. I wasn't pulling the brushes back through and I can see where running a dry patch down immediately after the Montana Xtreme would essentially not allow it to work. I think I was getting in my own way there. I'll try these tips out later and see if my cleaning skills improve. Thank you.
Another question. Once broken in, how many rounds can be fired before accuracy will suffer? If I'm plinking on the range can I shoot 10 -20/30 shots without accuracy going bad? I realize match shooters clean more often than that and rightly so. Just didnt want to waste a bunch of range time when I could be shooting, But dont want to waste ammo being all over the target either. Thanks. |
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I clean after 1 day of match shooting. That could be 25-30 rounds (1 class) and could be 50-60 (2 classes). But I do clean each night.
I don't know anyone that cleans more often than every 25-30 rounds (1 class). I do know a few folks that won't shoot a second class without a quick cleaning in between. Thing is you often only have 15-20 minutes between two classes. Not really enough time to do a good cleaning on a 50. -David Edgewood, NM |
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