Short-Term Storage / Maintenance of AR's and Other Rifles.

[wareagle700]

I shoot as often as possible but rarely have time to shoot all my rifles in the same day. Some sit for months before I get to them. After having an extremely humid summer, I took them all out and thoroughly cleaned all rifles and pistols and put them back in the safe. Most were very dirty and barrels had lots of crud in them.

After a shooting session, what is the best way to put away the rifle if it may be a few months before it gets shot again? I try and clean as little as possible but still want to make sure I am taking care of my barrels. Just stick it in the safe? Do you run a wet patch (CLP / Rem Oil) down the barrel or pull a bore snake through it?

What effect does carbon and copper fouling have when left in a barrel over a period of several months? Is it necessary to remove it before storing the rifle?

Thanks.

 

[msat10]

I like to clean after shooting. But there are times I just put them in the safe and clean them after a month or two. Then again I use FROGLUBE and never had any issues.

 

[gonefirefighting]

with ammo becoming harder and harder to get it is also becoming cheaper quality and more corrosive, typically your bore (at least) should be scrubbed and lubed and capped before setting it aside. The gas systems are usually hit the hardest and are alot easier to clean right after your last shot and it doesn't take much to knock off the carbon before you leave the range.

 

[wareagle700]

Thanks for the replies. I do keep everything wiped down and lubed.

What about barrel care? That is my primary concern. I want to avoid over cleaning but don't want stuff building up and degrading accuracy while they sit.

 

[wareagle700]

Any other input?

 

[stormtrooper]

Well sir moisture is of course the enemy but other than that it is in my humble opinion that if you are running any type of mil spec equip. (for example mil spec barrel with complete phosphate coating and complete chrome lined) excess powder, carbon brass shavings etc have only ever slightly oxidized over time on my muzzle breaks and around my bcgs. I have seen no deterioration in accuracy or any other negative effects. My background was trained in the two schools of thought - clean everytime and clean sometimes. Precision guns I clean every time for consistency anything else I will clean when I have some free time on a long weekend. I keep all my weapons near moisture absorption products and just make sure the internals have a generous portion of EWL. This is how I do it but there are many ways to skin a cat. If you have any other questions feel free to send me a PM. I hope this helps. Remember just keep the moisture out

 

[wareagle700]

I have since bought a 70pt. dehumidifier for my gun room. That took care of my moisture problems.

I treat all my rifles as precision rifles. I just don't want to put solvent in the barrels every time I shoot them, I also dont want stuff sitting in there for months degrading accuracy. I think I'll try pushing a oil patch then dry patch through them if I expect to let them sit for a while.

Thanks.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

The last time I thoroughly cleaned an AR is because I dipped the can in a creek to cool it the last little bit and somehow it got muzzle up so water ran down through the gun. My AR's get the working parts lubed every couple thousand rounds and maybe every 5K the BCG gets taken down and cleaned a bit. I've never had a problem and I've got a LMT upper that been used and abused, loaned out, shot to shit with 50K+ rounds and it's still flawless and only had a couple extractor springs over its life. I've got several AR's and it's not uncommon for some to sit unfired for a bit and it has never been an issue. Keep the moisture away and they'll be just fine.