Posted on 05/11/2016 7:46:48 AM PDT by TheDandyMan
I just brought home my first AR-15, specifically a Ruger AR556. My understanding, based on the condition of AR-15's I've handled and general hearsay from friends who own AR's has always been that AR-15's, generally speaking, like to be well-lubricated.
However, the clerk I bought it from said that the AR556 prefers "not a whole lot of oil" and the videos Ruger puts out on the AR556 say not to go ham with the lube as well...This doesn't gel with what other people have told me, and furthermore, I've always erred on the side of keeping my guns quite well-oiled. Obviously I'll get a better feel for what works best for the 556 once I've put some use in the thing, but in general is there any reason that I should expect to treat an AR-15 any differently from my other guns in terms of lubrication?
I believe the Ruger is a piston action and it doesn’t need as much oil as the typical gas action AR style rifle. I’ve still always kept an AR weapon with a wet bolt.
I suggest as light a weight oil as possible.
I like to use Marvel Mystery Oil as a gun lubricant. It’s very light, very slick and easy to remove when needed soiled
Catch-22. The oil could attract grit.
In the army, we would clean the M16 and leave it bone dry when stored...and the next time they fired, they would again be bone dry. I don’t think that was the best thing to do...but it leads me to believe that a light coat of oil would likely be fine.
A light sheen, The AR is a piston, pistons need some oil the most common problems is to little oil and to much oil.
Just slather it with Diesel oil.
Should be fine.../S
I dry mine, then wipe with an oiled patch/rag before storage. Just enough for a sheen. A couple of drops on the bolt (and piston) prior to firing at the range. Never had a problem.
Now also consider I live in Colorado so I have a much drier climate than most.
The SR 556 is the piston gun, the AR556 is the standard direct impingment version.
Either way, follow the US Army/USMC guidance and use a quality oil like CLP, ) or any of the multi-purpose lube/cleaners out there.
For temperate operations use a light coat of oil on the internals, a drop on the trigger mechanism pins and sear and that is about it.
Those who suggest that ARs need to be slopping oil everywhere in order to run properly just wind up slopping oil all over the shooter and it really serves no purpose. Once the weapon is fired, the excess either is burned off the “hot” components ( bolt tail and carrier inner surfaces, leaving soot and carbon to add to the mess.
or it is slung off negating any lube quality- the end state will be a light coat of oil ( defined by the US Army manual as a drop or two of oil on a cleaning patch).
In dusty environments, less oil is better- oil tends to gather dust, dust and oil create an abrasive. A dry dusty gun blows the dust off most components upon firing. In wet environments too much oil mixes with water and does nothing more than a light coat. In a cold arctic environment, oil can coagulate/thicken and impede function, LSA is called for (artic lube).
End state: Lube the way the military recommends- they have lots of experience.
An AR in proper order will run dry w/o negative effects.
A properly lubed weapon runs well w/o issue too.
Best,
They will run dirty but not dry.
This Ruger might be piston but most others are gas blowback directly to the bolt.
However much oil the guy with the AR-15 says is too much.
Enough to protect it from full immersion in the fishing hole it will eventually end up in the bottom of.
Running wet allows you to run dirtier. But wet picks up grit and is not a good idea in dusty / sandy environments.
Clean often. Lightly lube with a heavy weight oil (suspends grit better). Or try some of the dry lubes.
“Enough to protect it from full immersion in the fishing hole it will eventually end up in the bottom of.”
This comment wins the thread.
But in my opinion, the CLP light on the bolt. I’m not a soldier, and expect to shoot it in nice conditions (Range, backyard, etc) and won’t be going into war-time operations with it... anytime soon.
In my safe (read... next to me just about all the time) it’s relatively dry. Dust is the biggest enemy in this household.
So after the range time, I clean it and lightly cover the bolt (2 drops in the trigger and sear) and leave the gas piston alone after inspection. 100 rounds of decent ammo and powder doesn’t leave too much going on to be worried about.
Other than that, mine is the Colt 2960 with M4 lower, hbar and all the mil-spec goodies outside of the trigger group (Obviously). I have a relatively shrouded foreend that keeps the barrel free of issues.
And as in my pistols, I look for scratches on the metal and lube there.
I like mixing the gun oil with a lot of kerosene.
I can then slather things up as much as I want and when the kerosene evaporates, the oil left is very thin.
Just slap some bacon on it and fire away. The melting bacon will lubricate the action and the barrel heat will cook the bacon. A very tasty win-win solution.
A direct impingement AR will run better when well lubricated. The disadvantage is that it will tend to attract grit and dust if you are operating in that type of environment.
If you keep the gun clean, shooting in low wind or low dust, a light oiling (whats left over from cleaning with clp) and an extra drop or two wiped on the bcg will do you right. If you get in a dirty environment the gun will keep firing no matter how dirty as long as you keep it wet. But... keeping it wet attracts more dirt so you will be in for a serious cleaning session. YMMV but this has been my experience shooting in desert environment.
Make sure you run the bore with some bacon grease. If you get a jihadi in your sights, well, it’s off to perdition for his muzzie @zz.
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