Pros & Con of AR-15 Bolt Cleaning Tools Infograph

wshootingjournal ^ | 3/4/2015 | J Hines

[w1n1]

See the Pros & Con of these AR-15 Bolt cleaning tools below:

• Cat M-4
• Otis BONE
• Brownells AR15 Radius Bolt Scraper
• Mark Brown Custom AR15 Bolt Carrier Carbon Scraper

See the full Pros & Con AR15 Bolt Cleaning Tools here.

[Perseverando]

On a related note and not to hijack your thread, I’ve been looking at piston driven AR-15’s for the past week. I keep hearing how much cleaner running they are than direct impingement AR’s.

[Scrambler Bob]

M4L AR-15

[w1n1]

That’s good to know, I’m gonna have to look into that and see it myself to see how clean it is.

[Perseverando]

Here’s a source for you to start researching: http://www.ar15.com/forums/f_3/126_AR_Piston_Systems.html

[molson209]

I just use a thin green scouring pad can’t remember the name ,a couple of twists and carbon is gone

[grobdriver]

You're supposed to clean this things?

[circlecity]

I think the are over priced. The Otis BONE tool is $30 bucks. If it were only $5 it might be worth having one to keep in gun case along with a bore snake and a small vial of CLP oil for guick cleaning in the field.

[The KG9 Kid]

If you think you need a piston-operated AR to make cleaning easier, you're better off finding a rifle easier to clean than an AR in the first place.

Piston ARs were a fad a few years ago. Enthusiasts often bought aftermarket drop-in kits to convert their direct impingement (DI) rifle to piston operation with varying results of reliability. They also learned that piston-operated ARs designed and built as a single unit by even reputable manufacturers didn't offer suitable reliability.

The entire point of the piston-operated AR was to improve reliability over a DI rifle by reducing gas-operated fouling, and too many users found that a freshly clean piston AR ran worse than even a standard DI-operated rifle that had heavy powder residue fouling inside the action.

I recommend keeping your AR standard DI spec. If you must have a piston-operated rifle, you should choose a rifle that was designed that way from the beginning.

[Perseverando]

I recommend keeping your AR standard DI spec. If you must have a piston-operated rifle, you should choose a rifle that was designed that way from the beginning.

Good advice for most people particularly if you're not a real do-it-your-selfer.

[MeatshieldActual]

Actually, I’ve heard that a whole lot of operators stopped using piston ARs a few years ago and switched back to DI rifles. A well built DI AR-15 will work long and hard before needing cleaning, I’ve read that a Bravo Company bolt and carrier group can go thousands rounds before cleaning.

[Last Dakotan]

What happened is that they came out with many new coatings for the bolts and carriers, like Boron Nickel, that drastically improved the cleanliness and reliably of the weapon.

[gundog]

Scotch-Brite?

[smokingfrog]

If you oil the heck out of the BCG, it will clean-up a lot easier.