So I posted about these in the Knob Creek retro score thread but got them today from my friend.

It came from a guy with deep ties to Colt and is involved with the reissue M16A1s and XM177s but he also bought out a bunch of stuff from Colt when they were cleaning house. He had tri-walls of stuff from the custom shop closing. They were originally planning a 601 until Armalite wouldn’t play along with using their logo.

Anyway, he had this:
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It’s steel, parkerized, haven’t had a chance to check thread pitch yet. It was packed in a stapled ziplock bag. Park looks dry or maybe old?

What the hell is it? It has the knurled handle like a 601 cleaning rod. Reproduction for the reissues maybe?

I need to ask him the backstory on them but in the meantime what’s anybody think?

Colt included that style of cleaning kit with their rifles for a long time.  In fact the last Colt I bought came with one.

They suck to use.  I give them away, most people I knew that had them threw them away.

n

Correct, it is a Colt commercial cleaning rod

Weird, never saw them without the T handle before. And yeah, without it I could see them being a pain in the ass to use.

I bet they would work perfectly, if you pull them and not push them.

If you have a tight patch, you have next to nothing to hold on too.  The pitiful knurling on the rods gives little purchase.

You have it backwards - they work fine if you PUSH them, but do not work well if you pull them.  I usually push them against a piece of wood or my boot.

Curtis had a bunch of them on his table. I looked at them. Like others said, they are the newer type for commercial Colt guns.

Friend bought me 10 based on his description. Guess I got a few to try and sell now though I do have a few newer Colt’s that probably don’t have them.

Been cleaning M16s since 1987 by pulling 3 pieces of the current cleaning rod, without any knurling, from the chamber end out the muzzle just the exact way my very first squad leader taught me. Never push the steel rod through, always pull it.

Yea, and your probably using the small USGI sized patches.

As I said, if you use a tight patch, you need more purchase to be able to pull it through the bore.

And that is the correct size patch to use on the 5.56, since at least 1968ish. No need to fight your equipment.

Let me clear up the "confusion" on these cleaning rods.....

They ARE....original Colt cleaning rods made long ago for the M-16 rifle under Government contract. They are not commercial rods or reproductions.

These are the original M-11 cleaning rod assembly Government Part # 11010020 and were later replaced with the M-11E3 rods with the "T" handle.

This information comes from the company that bought them along with many trailer loads of obsolete parts directly from Colt.

The rods are clearly shown in the early Government printed M-16 Technical Manuals.

They are exactly the same as my original M-11 rods that I have had for over 40 years.

Here are photos of the M-11 cleaning rod assembly that I have had for over 40 years. I was given three sets of them along with the case for them from a friend in the National Guard long ago.

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Jim

May want to brush up on the variations. Willp used to be one of our "deepest" researchers and has lots of good info.
For the record, my unfired in box Nov, 1964 SP1 came with a straight handle cleaning rod, and so did my Buddies 1978 SP1 he bought new. There are variations of the straight handle rods.
This is not bible, just my own rule of thumb, if the park is a rich deep gray it's GI, if more like charcoal gray/black or black it came with an SP1. Nothing but my own observation of known SP1 rods.
Colt, when they supplied the Military with 601s wanted and did supply the rifles as a complete set to include the specific 601 sling, the "lightweight" cleaning rod with energa site packed together. The 601 rods are assumed to be aluminum but may be some other light alloy (remember Armalite was space age stuff at the time), the waffle mags, and mag pouches. All bundled up as a package deal.
http://imageevent.com/willyp/firearmsalbums/uscoltarmalitem16ar15556/m16accessoryitems/cleaninggeartools

ETA, if you use the correct size patch, I personally have never had a problem using these straight rods pushing or pulling.

I seem to remember the timeline going something like: the lightweight 4 piece 601 version, then the 3 piece steel M11 with short threads, then the modified (why M11 sets are so rare) M11E1 with longer threads, then the long t-handle M11E2, then the early (different hole location) 4 piece M11E3, and finally the current M11E3.

Seems like, for a close enough replica 601 set, you could mix and match the Colt sets to get enough sections of the correct length.

Wouldn't work for an M11 because the handle section is 11.5" and the other 2 pieces are 9.5"

Also the commercial and military rods have different thread pitches. I think commercial was #8-32  and military was #8-36 (except  the first M11 three piece rod set were the commercial thread pitch).