[ACRguy556]

OK so the Bushmaster ACR manual states to lubricate all parts and wipe dry. Do any of your guys do this at all or do you lube them the same way with your ARs?

 

[cjt50]

I lube and leave wet any where I see a wear mark. Mostly on bolt carrier and cam pin. I also lube the main spring since it's always rubbing on the spring guide. Dont know if it's right or wrong, it just works for me.

8)

 

[ACRFan]

Metal on metal is moving every time you pull the trigger. Therefore you want to have some kind of lubrication, however slight, to reduce friction and wear. The idea with piston systems, is they will work without lube, but they will wear out much quicker without it. Since the rifle is not a DI but a piston system, the lube will last a lot longer as it is not burning off as fast as a DI gun like an M4/M16, etc.


Always lube metal on metal.

 

[ACRguy556]

So yesterday I followed all of your advice and really lubed up the BCG, the rails, and the piston, and noticed that racking the bolt felt so much smoother. Shot 80 rounds last night zeroing my EXPS2-0 and had no issues.

Now my other question is do you guys clean your ACRs right away after shooting it?

 

[ACRFan]

With piston systems, no need to break her down and clean her out. The only thing you will want to do is run a bore snake through the barrel. Other than that you could easily get away with cleaning every 1000 - 2000 rounds. With Piston guns, there is no fowling in the action. Of course, it could never hurt. You can never have a gun that is too clean in my opinion. But with that said, you do NOT have to clean it after every trip to the range with the exception of the bore.

 

[VB]

I'd lube it, even if BM says not to.

Heat and friction have a way of breaking things you didn't expect to break.

 

[cjt50]

[quote author=ACRguy556 link=topic=138.msg725#msg725 date=1283632305]
Now my other question is do you guys clean your ACRs right away after shooting it?
[/quote]

My cleaning regement for ACR:

After each range session, which is no less than 100 rounds, I break down the rifle, wipe down everything and relube rail guides on BCG. I break down the gas / piston on pay lots of attention to regulator and front of piston. I run a bore snake thru the barrel.

I just broke 1K rounds and did a detailed cleaning of the rifle, scraping piston and regulator of all carbon. Did a standard bore and chamber cleaning with brushes and patches until squeeky clean. Broke down BCG to detail clean and inspect all parts. (was clean before I started ) Detailed cleaned inside front of upper reciever where it covers the gas block. (lots of carbon found in that area.) Check everything for general condition and serviceability.

I think I'm going to keep detailed cleanings at every 1K interval and continue with the 1st paragraph after every range session. Seems to be working for me.

8)

 

[DSM]

I clean every time I shoot. Maybe that's a carry over from the service but it works for me and it gives me finger time on the parts to look for a problem before it becomes a problem, if you know what I mean.

I've seen a lot made of such and such rifle is capable of firing X rounds and never needs cleaned. Well, there was a similar thread over on the XCR forum along the same lines. Sure the rifle is capable of doing it, but, if you don't have to then why do it?

An old, and often misquoted part of Roger's Rangers standing orders was "Have your musket clean as a whistle..." The point being is that it is ready to go so it can go X rounds w/o cleaning or maintenance. If your rifle is starting out behind the curve so to speak then it'll fail you quicker.

 

[IXLR8]

I clean every time I shoot. But I am not sure why with the ACR. I shot about 200 rounds, and pulled the BCG. Although it was not spotless, it was as clean as 1 round through my DI rifle. I have 2 other piston rifles, and this stays cleaner than either of them.