It's easy to want to OVERCLEAN the weapon too. You shouldn't have to worry about the port or the gas tube very much. Eventually you might have carbon buildup, but if you want to deal with it, try soaking in CLP for 30 minutes before brushing. Make sure to lubricate the bolt face and extractor well and use a spent cartridge to get CLP down in there good. This is a really good thing to get in the habit of.
For the real nitty gritty on cleaning try:
old.ar15.com/books/TM9-1005-319-10.pdfAlso, look in the cleaning and maintenence forum here on AR15.com.
www.ar15.com/forums/forum.html?id=7Browse around in there. Just about any question that can be asked has been. Our own Dave_G is the local master when it comes to cleaning and maintenance. Use his vast expertise.
That weapon should serve you well for well over 20,000 rounds if you are nice to it. It should also be very accurate!
You might want to stick a foam earplug in the hole at the top of your grip where it meets the bottom of the trigger guard. That always pinches my finger. Not sure if your Colt has the same gap, my Bushmaster does. There's also a special part that goes in there but I think the earplug adds a certain panache to my weapon.
Nothing is better then standard GI magazines that are in good shape, I think. If your just target shooting buy yourself 5-6 20 rounders. They are the most reliable in my experience. You might try georgia precision for those, though I guess they are backlogged right now.
www.georgiaprecision.com/cats/catarmag.htmTroy is the master of Magazines. Take a look at the mag forum here. Lots of info there.
www.ar15.com/forums/forum.html?id=17You might also look at the Equipment Exchange here. Generally this is a good community and you can find great deals in there.
www.ar15.com/forums/index.html?board=3Ammo. If you really want accurate then you probably want heavier Sierra Match King rounds which your rifle will handle just fine given the 1:7 twist. Rounds topped with Matchkings are outstanding. Federal Gold Medal Match is recommended often. Hornady’s A-Max are a good pick too. Heaver Matchking topped rounds tend to take honors at Camp Perry every year. All of those match rounds are expensive, however.
For less serious play, try any of the newer 62gr M855/SS109 stuff. Olympic has some stuff going around now that apparently shoots nicely. Any of the Lake City M855/SS109 is also great stuff. It's not made for civilian sales anymore and Lake City is considered the "gold standard" of ammo plants so perhaps you'll want to keep what you buy, rather than shoot it all up. :)
I am a huge fan of M193 ammo. It's cheap. It's available. There is a lot of it in new manufacture. It is a bit lighter though (55gr) and that may or may not be to your taste in that 1:7 in barrel. It is loaded hot, to milspec, and in my view (but this is a VERY contentious point) it makes for the best self-defense ammo. Winchester sells Q3131a and there is Lake City's M193 also. (Again, Lake City can't make it for civilian sales anymore but the Q3131a is close to the same).
For just general plinking you can't beat South African surplus battle packs. They are really cheap and milspec. Probably not quite as accurate as LC, but the difference is minor at best- and for the price: yummy!