How to Clean an AR

Cleaning an AR is a little bit science, and a little bit art. With the right tools and knowledge, you can clean an AR like a pro.

While you are cleaning your AR, you should be inspecting key components for wear and damage. Identifying issues early can help extend the life of the components and, when necessary, prompt replacement before catastrophic failure occurs.

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AR Cleaning Myths

MYTH: I don’t need to clean my firearm.

Well…I mean…hmm…

Absolutely. If you don’t ever fire it.

If you keep it lubricated and out of the dirt, maybe?

But, cleaning is more than just removing grime, though it is definitely a good idea to periodically remove the buildup of crud. It is also an opportunity to inspect the components and identify developing issues before the gun explodes in your hands. Cracked hammer, fractured bolt, missing bolt lugs, chipped firing pin. All of these are hard to spot if you don’t disassemble the gun. If its disassembled, you might as well clean and re-lubricate it.

If you believe this myth because you hate cleaning your gun, there are some things you can do to make cleaning easier. If you’re using the right lubricant in the right place, cleanup should be easy.

MYTH: I need to clean my firearm every time I fire it.

If you are using a modern, cartridge-based firearm and not sloshing through mud, salt water, or grassy fields with it, you probably don’t. That doesn’t mean you can’t; it just means you don’t need to. If you enjoy it, go for it.

How often should you clean your AR? We recommend basic cleaning of an AR every 600-900 rounds (every 20-30 thirty-round mags), just to have the opportunity to inspect the parts for wear and damage.

Now, if you are relying on the firearm for combat, duty, or defense, its a good idea to make sure its in tip-top shape at all times. Keeping it clean (and lubricated) is in your best interest.

What you SHOULD do at all times is make sure that the AR is adequately lubricated. If the reciprocating mass is dry, it can lead to excessive wear of the bolt carrier group and upper receiver, and could cause cycling issues.

MYTH: I need to clean my gas tube.

The gas tube is subject to extraordinary pressure and heat. Under normal circumstances, you do NOT need to clean your gas tube, because it cleans itself.

If you are firing blanks or firing lubricated (i.e. cast) bullets, your entire gas system will tend to get fouled up and this may be a reason to clean it (or reason to not fire blanks and lubricated bullets…). However, do not go out of your way to clean your gas tube if you are using your firearm as intended. That said, any crap that might make its way into your gas tube WILL end up in your bolt carrier and bolt. So be sure to clean your bolt and the rest of the bolt carrier group well.

Cleaning Tools and Materials

What It Is	Why You Need It	Part Number	PB Pick
General Cleaner/Solvent¹	Breaking up carbon and copper fouling, and removing dust and debris.¹	CLP	Break Free CLP Lubricant
Bore Cleaner	Breaking up carbon and copper fouling, and removing dust and debris.	No9	Hoppe's No. 9 Bore Cleaner
Compressed Air	Blowing debris out of tight spaces, especially in the lower receiver.	IVR10014	Innovera Compressed Air, 4pk
Cleaning Mat	A dirty AR is dirty. A stripped AR breaks down into 12 parts that range from itty bitty to large. A good cleaning mat will contain the fouled oil and make it easy to keep track of all of the parts of a disassembled AR.	AVULGSM	Real Avid Universal Smart Mat
Parts Tray	You should be saturating small parts with cleaner. Doing this on your cleaning mat will quickly turn it into an oily mess. We recommend soaking parts in a parts tray.		#N/A
Cleaning Rags/Wipes, Disposable	You will need to wipe the grime, solvent, and cleaner from your gun. You could use paper towels, but a tougher wipe is much more effective and will be less prone to depositing little hunks of paper in weird places.	34790	Wypall X60 1bx
Cleaning Rags/Wipes, Reusable	You will need to wipe the grime, solvent, and cleaner from your gun. You could use paper towels, but a tougher wipe is much more effective and will be less prone to depositing little hunks of paper in weird places.	RW-3501-3	Otis Microfiber Gun Cloth
Scrapers and Picks	Ideal for getting into tight places to scrape carbon buildup. Also great for pushing wipes into tight places to soak up cleaner or lube.	AVSB01	Real Avid Cleaning Tool Kit
Nylon Cleaning Brush	A nylon brush is a staple in the cleaning arsenal. You will need this to get into the tight spaces within the receivers.	FG-316-10 BLU	Otis All Purpose Blue Nylon Cleaning Brush
Cleaning Cable	Some like cleaning rods. We prefer cleaning cables (especially in the range bag). This tool will let you pull bore brushes and patch holders through your barrel for cleaning.	BT-SCBT-SET	Breakthrough 8" and 33" Nylon Coated Cleaning Cable Set
Cleaning Cable Handle	While you could, theoretically, wrap the cleaning cable around your hand to pull it through your bore, a purpose-built handle is much more comfortable.	BT-H-8-32	Breakthrough T-Handle
Bore Brush, 5.56mm	Your bore will need to be scrubbed. This is the only sustainable way to do it.	140337	Tipton .22 Caliber Bronze Bore Brush
Bore Brush, 7.62mm	Your bore will need to be scrubbed. This is the only sustainable way to do it.	868556	Tipton .30 Caliber Bronze Bore Brush
Pistol Cleaning Rod	Use this with the shotgun bore mop or bore brush wrapped in a wipe to clean out the receiver extension/buffer tube. Use with the chamber brush to clean the chamber if you don't have the chamber tool handle.	BC-41409	Birchwood Casey Cleaning Rod
Patch Holder	You will need to run dry and wet patches down the bore. A patch holder makes this easy. We prefer patch holders over cleaning jags, especially since we prefer cleaning cables over cleaning rods.	PHB	Pro-Shot .22-.45 Caliber Patch Holder
Cleaning Patches, Small	If you want to get cleaning solution down the bore, or if you want to wipe it clean and dry, you need cleaning patches. Lots of them. This size will cover .22LR, .223, 5.56mm, .243, and 6.5mm.	11/8-1000	Pro-Shot .22-.270 Square Patch
Cleaning Patches, Medium	If you want to get cleaning solution down the bore, or if you want to wipe it clean and dry, you need cleaning patches. Lots of them. This size will cover .300, .308, 7.62mm, 9mm.	2-1000	Pro-Shot .270-.38 Round Patch
Cleaning Patches, Large	If you want to get cleaning solution down the bore, or if you want to wipe it clean and dry, you need cleaning patches. Lots of them. This size will cover 9mm, .40	PHO21/4	Pro-Shot .38-.45 Square Patch
Cleaning Patches, Extra Large	If you want to get cleaning solution down the bore, or if you want to wipe it clean and dry, you need cleaning patches. Lots of them. This size will cover .458	PHO21/2	Pro-Shot .45-.58 Round Patch
Chamber Tool Handle, AR-15	This chamber cleaning tool and attachments focus on the locking apparatus of the barrel extension and helps to remove crud that could affect bolt locking.	AVAR15CB	Real Avid AR-15 Chamber Boss
Chamber Tool Handle, AR-10	This chamber cleaning tool and attachments focus on the locking apparatus of the barrel extension and helps to remove crud that could affect bolt locking.	FG-2717	Otis Star Chamber Tool, AR-10
Chamber Brush, 5.56 NATO²	A complement to the chamber tool handle, the chamber brush scrubs the actual chamber.	223NCH	Pro-Shot Nylon Chamber Brush, 5.56 NATO
Chamber Brush, 7.62 NATO²	A complement to the chamber tool handle, the chamber brush scrubs the actual chamber.	30NCH	Pro-Shot Nylon Chamber Brush, 7.62 NATO
Star Chamber Pads, AR-15	Use after scraping the locking mechanism to remove the bulk of debris.	BT-AR15SCP-50PK	BCT Star Chamber Pads, AR-15
Star Chamber Pads, AR-10	Use after scraping the locking mechanism to remove the bulk of debris.	BT-AR10SCP-50PK	BCT Star Chamber Pads, AR-10
Chamber Mop, 5.56 NATO	A complement to the chamber tool handle, the chamber mop collects the carbon loosened by the chamber brush.	BT-223CM-AR	BCT Chamber Mop, AR-15
Chamber Mop, 7.62 NATO	A complement to the chamber tool handle, the chamber mop collects the carbon loosened by the chamber brush.	BT-308CM-AR	BCT Chamber Mop, AR-10
Cotton Swabs	The AR has lots of nooks and crannies. A good cotton swab (one that isn't going to shed a ton of fibers into those nooks and crannies) makes fine cleanup much easier.	Cotton-Swab	GCR Precision Cotton Swabs
Borescope	This tool allows for close inspection of the chamber, bore, and muzzle device, in addition to any other tight area. Make sure your probe head can fit down the bore of your barrel.	NTG200H	Teslong NTG200H Borescope

1: CLP is a decent lubricant in many cases, though not for prolonged uses without frequent reapplication and not for long term storage. Why are we mentioning that here in a cleaning article? Because when you use CLP as a lubricant, cleaning very easy. Often, you simply wipe off the old lubricant with a cloth or patch, relubricate, and you’re done. No soaking. No scrubbing.

2: We do not recommend brass/bronze chamber brushes. Metal on metal is not a good thing here. Always stick with nylon chamber brushes.

Disassembly

Before you begin cleaning your AR, you need to field strip it. If you haven’t already done so, check out our instructions for disassembly of your AR:

Go To Disassembly

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