Many people seem to believe that certain tools can't wear or change the dimensions of the bolt because the tools people used may be softer than the bolt material or the coating. Fouling is abrasive. As fouling is removed, it will lap the bolt material when used between the bolt and a tool. Fouling can wear the tail when a bronze brush or piece of brass is used to "clean". Fouling can wear the inside of the carrier when a tool is used. Ever look at a crowning lap? They are brass. An abrasive with the crowning lap will remove barrel material. A cleaning rod with fouling can remove barrel material as it moves. A bore snake used the wrong way can remove crown material. The difference between efficient and non efficient of most bolt tails is .0006. Thank about how little that is before changing the dimensions by "cleaning".
This was about to be my question. Happy to see you answer it before I even had to ask! Still seems like it would take a crap ton of cleaning to actually change dimensions but I guess I'm just not as OCD as other people haha.
Ohh Smedley, I’m sure we can buy more. Think of the industry they might go out of business if we don’t keep buying parts, then in the next war there will be no industry to support the next war.
One of the things I couldn't stand about the army was that in garrison weapons had to be turned in 100% clean. As a result guys gouged the hell out of their weapons trying to get that last grain of dust.
Yeah, making guys do that is a form of disciplining, but it's pretty counterproductive because it teaches a lot of people that their rifle needs to be babied, that it can't be trusted if it's not, or incentivizes them to abuse the weapon in ways like this to get it over with faster.
Reminded me of a day in basic training after the rifle range many decades ago with M16. Drill Sergeant told us that when the armorer accepted our rifles individually we could go to the PX. Well, we scrubbed those rifle clean enough to eat off of. Of course the armorer was in on the ruse, so no rifles were being accepted. A couple of buddies and myself found a good place to sleep after being rejected. Some of the others scrubbed, submitted, rejected, scrubbed, and resubmitted for 4 hours. When we heard the armorer was accepting rifles at the end of the day we dutifully turned in our once cleaned rifles. All those poor rifles had the finishes scrubbed off them over the non-sense.
In the Service,, overseas, we broke the rifle in two, dropped the top ( minus hand guards) in half a 55 gallon barrel of solvent while we cleaned the lower, then did a bore scrub and rag clean on bolt & carrier. Never had a problem or inordinate wear.
Our armorer in the Corps had a rifle on display in the arms room ... one of the Marines, it seems, had seen to it to spray Easy Off oven cleaner on his weapon and left it on most of the day... when he went to wipe it off, it took the coating completely off. It was literally shiny metal.
The Marines I hung around with in 70's had several tours in Vietnam, they used carb cleaner and would ship cases to friends in far east, pop rear pin pull bolt and spray tube, barrel and bolt, they said just needed to clear fouling.
I served for 5 years, and I could go on about how the arms room wanted the pew pews spotless...But instead, I will tell a story from the end of my basic training cycle. For roughly two weeks we spent countless hours cleaning our weapons. Even after they were clean if a drill sgt walked in and we weren't cleaning them we were wrong. So, these weapons were beyond spotless about two days in...We didnt stop going at them for at least another 10 days. Found out after weapon turn in all of those weapons had to be deadlined. A little carbon isn't a bad thing guys
I know ppl that only lube and never clean and are 5000+ rounds in with cheap dirty ammo without issue. They convinced me to quit cleaning with a cleaning agent, now just halfass wipe with lube oil and then oil simple as that
I'm laughing too.. I have one I haven't done pretty much dick too since 2017 and it still functions. I know a guy who cleans his bcg every time he shoots. Like why??
@@carsonhunt4642 I wouldn't recommend that unless you live in a really humid environment. Anywhere dry will have lots of silt getting into the chamber and rubbing everything down over that period of time. I'm pretty convinced that's what actually happened to the rifles he's discussing in this video, but I could be wrong.
I learned those exact practices at a young age (guess where?) and with your help here and by following a rigorous 12 step program I am overcoming my addiction to over cleaning or incorrectly cleaning my weapons. Thank you again sir!
I am the polar opposite because it's been at least a few hundred rounds since the last cleaning on all my guns. I'll give my carry gun a dry patch down the barrel every few weeks if I don't make it to the range to get the lint out, but that's about it. I wait until the action gets gritty to give em a good clean. Probably not the best practice.
As a young private in the Army, you were smoked if you had any carbon on the rifle. We probably ruined more rifles by scrubbing and chucking chamber brushes in drills than god knows what. You could eat off our rifles in the Army lol.
That's because cleaning the rifles is used as a form of discipline and punishment in the army. I've heard people coming away from military service thinking the AR15 rifle MUST be whiteglove clean to not risk malfunctions, just because their drill was a real hardass on them, so I think this might give some people the wrong idea. Might be some carryover from the M249s, where the old tired things will tend to want to be detail cleaned before going out in the field, or they don't wanna run much.
@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine spot on, all the malfunctions we had during BRM were typed as “clean your shit pri!” A decade later as I get into civilian ARs, I realize they were really all from clapped out magazines no one is brave enough to 86.
@@509Gman Mags are another thing, of course. Surefires are good aluminum ones, but they don't last forever. Really, a good armorer should take sketchy mags and just dent the hell out of them when nobody's looking, then claim that he has no idea when or how that happened, so people don't go out with bad ones.
@@chipsterb4946 It's a lot like a simple lawn mower engine, really. Imagine the bolt as the piston. The gas block & gas key are like your carburetor & intake plumbing as well as exhaust, may get a bit confusing there. But it's really a piston w/ rings, with a dislocated combustion chamber, and unified intake/exhaust cyclic return. The cutaway is awesome for letting folks see the piston-like operation. And for seeing it all work together.
@@SchooloftheAmericanRifle ..hmm. Hadn’t looked at it like that. HIGHER pressure ammo could mitigate some ‘less-than-the-best’ worn BCG’s or loose tolerances. Makes perfect sense..
I was in the Marines and we always cleaned them "white glove inspection ready" always after a range day. Then I went on to shoot competition and using my same rifle, didn't clean it but lubed the hell out of it. This was in 29 palms so its a desert environment, my rifle was gunky af but I never had any malfunctions for almost a whole month straight of shooting and if I did it was some magazines from old green followers on GI mags. I always hated cleaning my personal guns so thank you very much for this!
An old guy taught me that sometime in a pinch, you can use wood like an ice cream stick and other appropriately shaped little pieces of wood without harm after soaking parts. Also taught me I could use hot soapy water for cleaning as well which I've done countless times with zero rust issues. Just got to make sure you rinse clean with hot water and make sure the metal is hot when you shake it off so any residual moisture evaporates quickly and completely and then just oil her up.
My old firearms instructor was a combat vet, Vietnam he was a Marine Corps colonel , super strict, but I learned a lot from him. In my training we used pistols,rifles,shotguns. Our weapons would be filthy after an intensive round of training. (1980s) he had us spray everything with gum-out carb. & choke cleaner and swab cotton nibs, and a nylon brush just like you show. Then we were to oil it up with CLR ( I used Ballistol-still do) but we were to wipe of excess. I never had one malfunction, even with over 1,000 rounds ( each class, with pistol,rifle required 1,000 rnds.) I rarely use the gum-out these days. Thank you for this excellent information. The only thing I'd like to add is on the bolt pin ( t shaped not the cotter pin) I add just a little bit of gun grease to those pins it helps keep them from getting gaulded. Thanks for the great information.
I agree with these comments. We all learned the “right” way to clean our weapon at a young g and impressionable age, and carry that with us for years and years. I have found myself cleaning my personal rifle well enough for rack ready inspection even after just 40 rounds for quals. It’s an extremely difficult mentality to get past, but with proper counseling and videos like yours we can get past this. Thank you for the great info!
I always wondered if the scrapers were safe to use. I've watched other channels where they used the bone scraper and really screwed it in the bolt. Wasn't sure that that was the best way to clean a bolt carrier. And the guy doing it was from a big well known company. The way that i look at it is if i think that it may scratch the surface of what I'm cleaning , i won't use it. Some good cleaning chemicals will do the job. Thanks for the information. I don't want to go scraping on my $300 bolt carrier.
There are some Armorer's & Instructors that I respect deeply, who say maintenance should involve scraping tools. Their advice comes from the right place, but I don't think they know what the tools are capable of doing.
I think the ‘manual of arms’ FOR cleaning with say..the ‘cleaning kit’, yeah..the mil spec one with the STEEL cleaning rod (!) has more to do with FIELD cleaning..not in barracks or garrison. And certainly not on a HIGH-end BCG or bore. Soldiers generally were/are cleaning WHEN they had time and not under fire. Thinking Iraq and Afghanistan..
@@manictiger Same. My forgotten purchase was probably somewhat intentional as I've seen other videos from this gentleman cautioning on the treatment of these strong yet delicate areas. To me he comes across as the Jeff Cavaliere/Athlean-X of the gun community. There are sooo many experts and authorities in this genre and I appreciate them all, but none carry the authoritative weight of this one well spoken knowledgeable and experienced source. I really appreciate you sir! @InstructorChad
Spot on, once you remove metal, it cannot be put back on! Always use the least aggressive measures first. Excellent suggestions with CLR and Berrymans carb cleaner.
@@MRTEE-sy7sb 100% correct. You'd only pay that price once :D But I'd probably watch a TH-cam video of it being done by a professional machinist/gunsmith repairman.
Brass isn't mechanically capable of abrading steel. This is just a video of some old wives tales brought to you by a guy who doesn't understand material science.
Found your channel about a year ago and I've been impressed with every video I've ever seen you put up. There's nobody else out there sharing this much detail and help with the community. Incredible work, thank you!
Thanks Chad! I do have one of those multi-scraper-doohickies, but I've never used it. Usually some Clenzoil on a patch or two gets everything off. I do like to hit the lugs with a brass brush though, and my Dewey cleaning kit comes with a chamber brush and mop that works really well. Used gently of course. That cut in half BCG demo makes it perfectly clear why you don't want to go grinding on the bolt tail or inside diameter of the BCG.
Sooo many people just don’t understand this. Thank you for this information & “as always” look forward to your videos! Very thankful you’re back & look forward to learning more,Thank you sir!
I received the SOTAR patch and sticker I ordered today. The texture of the gears and skull is awesome. By far the best patch I own. Super cool. Thank you!
Excellent video, you hit home runs with all your videos. One of the best videos is a 1960 or 61 Army m-16 cleaning video, it just explains what parts need oiling and what parts do not. keep up your awesome educational channel. Thanks Les.
Very helpful, I got a new BCG recently and have wondered about this. It wasn’t u till I started watching your videos that I understood & appreciated just how important BCG’s role in the gas system is to proper function. Thank you for all the info!
Thank you! My son and I have learned so much from your videos! We've built two AR's and have diagnosed and repaired a new one that we bought that wasn't working properly. Much love from Arizona! ❤🇺🇲❤🇺🇲
I have had very good results by using MPRO 7 to lube after I clean. I notice you said a "wet lube" early in the video. Usually if it "looks" wet it is probably pretty good. The MPro makes cleaning easier for me. Slip 2000 is also good. The crud wipes off with a blue shop towel. My only issues with them are the containers they come in. I transfer the product to a bottle with a needle oiler. Partially for precision but mostly to save some money. Both products are expensive. I am sort of frugal (read cheap). Have a good day. Thanks for the great videos. So informative.
Love your videos. Thank you for the tireless energy involved in sharing information with the rest of us. Your information is invaluable and helps potentially millions of people. Be proud of that.
I pretty much exclusively use Q-tips, shop towels, and a toothbrush to clean my BCG and FCG. On the rare chance I have had to scrape something I use a wooden dowel. Really the most cleaning I do is usually just a boresnake and some CLP.
CLR is somewhat controversial. It does remove baked on carbon fouling, but it is very aggressive, and needs to be removed with alcohol, brake cleaner or lacquer thinner when you're finished with it. Probably best to not use it on any blued guns.
Great things to know! I recently got into the “hobby” and starred shooting my AR so of course after a couple trips to the range, did my cleaning so far. Great things to learn here as I was already starting with the abrasive cleaning I’ve seen in videos. Thank you!
I stopped using the otis bone tool years ago thanks to you! You actually answered my post and told me that you preferred chemically removed carbon over picks or tools and I have been following that ever since. Thanks again!
There are a number of products on the market designed to emulsify carbon in two-strokes and small engines. A couple are made by outboard engine manufacturers (I use Engine Tuner, which is from BRP) and work well to soften even heavy buildups of carbon.
For context, the tolerance for the width of the bolt tail according to an old military blueprint I found, is 0.0002 inches. That's about the width of a human red blood cell. It doesn't take much polishing or scraping to take that dimension out of spec, so absolutely be careful!
I have been an AR15 Shooter for over 10 years, and wish I would have found this School Of The American Rifle back then. I have been doing some of the things mentioned in this video as far as cleaning fouling off my bolt tail and generally it I has been with a bronze brush. I will no longer use that for cleaning, and stick with the nylon Brush and Lube. I do lube the bolt tail and gas rings well, but will stop cleaning the bolt tail with a bronze brush. Love this channel and keep posting your great educational content. Thanks a bunch!!!
I'll let you guys in on a bit of a not-so-well-known secret: soot/soft carbon is an effective dry film lubricant at high temperatures. When you "clean" the bolt tail, you are not only likely to wear a critical sealing surface, but you are increasing the overall wear rate of the gun while in service. Instead, just put a few drops if you favorite CLP down the gas key, hold the carrier boltface up and cycle the bolt within the carrier fore and aft. When you fire the gun, any excess lube will blow out the carrier ports. I recommend using only lubes that comply with MIL-PRF-63460F TY: A
CLP? You might as well be cleaning your gun with WD-40. Solvents are solvents, and lubricants are lubricants; and if you think the twain can meet, then have I got some snake oil to sell you. Just about every brand out there (Remington, Hoppes, Breakthrough Clean, Birchwood Casey, etc.) sells dedicated solvents and lubricants that are mutually exclusive. Use those instead.
@@SergeantExtreme Read the military standard I cited above. It's a single use CLP that has to pass tests on M249s. Solvent and lube are NOT mutually exclusive. They can be mixed in such a way that the solvent flashes off and leaves the lube behind. Which is precisely what most CLPs do.
My cleaning setup includes a bamboo skewer, as well as a nylon brush, q-tip, and a rag. The bamboo skewer usually does good work on built up carbon and won’t scratch the metal. Also, having a chrome DD bolt carrier group helps (wish they still made them, I’d buy more). Just wipe with a CLP soaked rag and you’re done. 😁 Sadly I only have one, so the others get the bamboo/nylon brush treatment.
Thank you for this video! I'm sometimes OCD about cleaning my guns and I hated trying to scrape this area on my bolt tail, I'd go at it with a brass brush like crazy trying to get it all off. Never knew that the fouling is important for the continued operation of the gun. Very very helpful video to me and I really appreciate it
I was taught this way and only recently learned how the scraping tool (like the one on your worktable) was lathing away the inside of the bcg. That having been said, would you do a video on gas rings (replacement, tolerances, etc) for those of us that damaged them with that pesky wire brush?
I pretty much stopped using abrasives. The only thing I use that's abrasive is the little bit of bristles built into a bore snake and that's very rare. I remember it mentioned in a video of yours from way back and made so much sense that it really stuck with me
Have been binge watching your videos. Thank you so much for the information you share. Really appreciate the knowledge and expertise and those awesome tools/gauges. Very clear, accurate info. I’ve learned a lot thanks.
Thanks for posting this. Haven't put enough rounds through mine yet to worry about fouling, but I did buy into the "gotta keep that BCG surgically clean" line. Nice to get an education *before* damaging something. Refreshing...
Also-- Bronze brushes generally can't hurt steel in the HRC 36-40 range when used by hand, they are softer than steel by quite a bit. That said, even water can wear down rock, so any abrasive (regardless how soft) with enough cycles will wear parts.
It doesn’t matter the hardness of two materials, if you rub them together (even without any compound) they will wear on one another. I can show you where my dog left footprints in a wooden windowsill 😂
@@SchooloftheAmericanRifle Only if you are scrubbing the bajesus out of it!! Meaning if you sit there for 15 min brushing the same damn spot. If brass/ bronze bushes were a real problem, we would never use them for cleaning the barrels
I learned all my AR cleaning and care from SOTAR. I WISH I LIVED NEAR BY TO GO TO HIS SCHOOL. BUT IVE WATCHED ALL HIS VIDEOS AND IMO HES BEST AT BOTH WORLDS FIXING TO SPECS AND FINDING A SOLUTION TO MAKE IT FUNCTION. Lol I made my own paper clip tool like him. Little skills like that make a huge difference.
I always put a patch between the tool and the bolt tail when using my various cleaning tools, q-tip dowels work well along with other wooden implemnts to get off some of that stuborn carbon.
As an old machinist but a new AR shooter, this was excellent! And terrific visual aids to show what's going on in there. Thanks for stopping a bad habit before it starts. BTW, what are the diameters ***and tolerances*** you think we should stay within for those critical surfaces? I've got the tools to measure them (although I don't have your cool Go/NO-GO gauges I might invest in some), so of course I'm curious what they should measure. Again thanks -- and looking forward to the next vid!
As far as I can tell, it looks like the "no-go" says .248, and the "go" is .2486. The pinned comment at the top of the comments also states there is only .0006 difference. If I remember, I'll try to check a bolt blueprint to confirm.
I can't speak to specific tolerances, but one of the first things to wear out is those three little gas rings on the bolt. A quick way to determine if they're still good is to take a freshly clean/lubed bolt carrier assembly with the bolt in the retracted position. A quick snap of the wrist should cause the bolt to extend out fully from the bolt carrier. And then if you stand up the bolt carrier assembly on the bolt, and it stays extended, the gas rings are still good. If the bolt carrier depresses down onto the bolt from its own weight, the gas rings are probably shot and need replacement.
Maybe I’m lazy, but after a trip to the range I just disassemble the BCG, wipe the BCG and internals with a clean cloth, add a layer of oil and reassemble. It’s not a hardcore cleaning, but enough to remove most of the fine abrasive dirt and to freshen the lube with synthetic motor oil. (I’m sure someone will lambaste me for using motor oil, but it’s what Dad used and I still have and use his 90-year old guns). Once in a while, I will run the disassembled BCG and parts through an ultrasonic cleaner with RCBS Weapons Cleaner and distilled water, hit parts with a toothbrush or, at worst case, a brass brush. Relube, reassemble. I keep a can of Ballistol in my range bag and if anything looks dry, I’ll give it a quick spray. Other than that, it’s clean enough.
If it works...it works. I'd question whether motor oil might be less effective though, at a molecular level. Gasoline burns around 2000ºF, while gun powder can be double that. Even if the direct impingement bleeds off some of that excess heat before it hits your gas key & bolt carrier, it might be enough to burn off the motor oil sooner than a tried-and-true gun lube would. I personally use CLP in one form or another for ARs, and Shooters Choice for guns which prefer grease. Neither has ever caused me issues.
Thank you. I've come to learn the same thing over the years. Yes, clean your gun, but it doesn't have to be squeaky clean. And then oil your gun, and I mean oil it liberally. For brushes, I use plastic brushes to clean my guns mostly. Good video.
A couple questions. 1. Would carbon build-up on the bolt tail not improve the seal between the tail and the carrier? 2. Is it bad to drop lube down into the gas key, instead of removing the bolt and lubing it directly? It would seem to me that the residual lubricant would absorb carbon, burn off, and make the interior of the gas key cake up at a faster rate than a dry one
So good to see Critical Chad (and I mean that as a compliment, "Critical") back on camera. Thank you Chad! I wonder if the obsessive carbon-chasers think they should take apart their car's engine, and make the combustion chamber, piston crown, valve heads, and intake & exhaust ports "hospital clean." How do they think their car engine runs without obsessive carbon removal?
I have a friend who used Break Cleaner on his bolt and it literally left a pool of carbon on the floor and the BCG looked brand new. Not sure if break cleaner is good for a BCG
On people thinking the AR15 needing to be shiny clean to run, I've outright seen an AR15 which ran perfectly fine, and where the inside of the bolt carrier looked kind of like the ancient city of Pompeii. Any decently put together example can tolerate quite a lot of carbon, and it's generally pretty good at keeping a lot of foreign dirt out of most parts. Those InRange mudtests were far from scientific or even realistic, but they repeatedly show that anything from an old 1960s Colt SP-1 to a number of modern builds will more than tolerate some pretty obscene levels of filth.
Thank you. I just had this discussion with a friend of mine who was suggesting these scraping tools. Just his assertion about scraping these components that have such close tolerances sounded wrong to me. I’m gonna show him your video. Thanks again!
I used to use the bone tool and thought my colts, bcm needed to squeaky clean. Until I started training and running well over a thousand rounds in couple days. Nowadays I just lube and after 2500 rounds I’ll break it down but definitely not scraping and getting it squeaky clean like I once did. Thanks bud I feel a lot of folks needed to hear this.
I was taught to just use some solvent and patches on the bolt and BCG. Really appreciate the content, as someone still fairly new to firearms and the AR platform
Thank you! It really is amazing how gun owners obsessively compulse about cleaning, like scrubbing the living crap out of the barrel, then sending a dozen patches through it until the last one goes through spotless. I dont fuss like that, no way.
Love the cutaway. Those tolerances are mind-boggling in accuracy. Nothing but nylon or cotton used in cleaning for me. Stroke Hold (Marine) is an amazing lubricant! Thanks for the warnings!
Great video with great info. I personally have not done a thorough cleaning of my bcg. I've only wipe clean and lube. Been shooting the same ar for years now no issue.
Instructor Chad, The Army says I need to clean the BCG until it is 'white-glove' clean. I agree with you that it is not necessary and chemical cleaning of carbon is a better choice. Thanks for recording and posting this video.
I built a CAR 15 to use at the SOF 3-Gun World Championship in 1990. The days when NO scopes allowed, just iron sights. I placed third. I still have that rifle, untold rounds through it and I have never scraped bolt or carrier. Just clean it twice a year and I use my own gun oil. REMEMBER: There are lots of fixes for problems that do not exist. Also, take the O ring out of your extractor. Mine has the black buffer and Wolff extractor spring. Never had a failure to extract and I DO NOT use steel case ammo. Dump the powder from a steel case round. Light it then rub the ash between your fingers. You will never use steel case ammo again. All that grit from countries that hate us.
Thank you, Sir. I have those scraping tools. Never used them. Didn't know they could damage. I just have always preferred chemical cleaning. Keep up the vids Sir, love them.
Many people seem to believe that certain tools can't wear or change the dimensions of the bolt because the tools people used may be softer than the bolt material or the coating.
Fouling is abrasive. As fouling is removed, it will lap the bolt material when used between the bolt and a tool. Fouling can wear the tail when a bronze brush or piece of brass is used to "clean". Fouling can wear the inside of the carrier when a tool is used.
Ever look at a crowning lap? They are brass. An abrasive with the crowning lap will remove barrel material.
A cleaning rod with fouling can remove barrel material as it moves. A bore snake used the wrong way can remove crown material.
The difference between efficient and non efficient of most bolt tails is .0006. Thank about how little that is before changing the dimensions by "cleaning".
This was about to be my question. Happy to see you answer it before I even had to ask! Still seems like it would take a crap ton of cleaning to actually change dimensions but I guess I'm just not as OCD as other people haha.
By any chance, are u can AK Smith (or builder) also?
Or a guru of American Made Rifles only?
What do you mean by a bore snake used the wrong way? Like people dropping it through and pulling from muzzle to chamber?
Whats the proper way to use a bore snake??
I’ve had people argue with me about this same thing you’re talking about.
I wish this video was mandatory for all Marine NCO’s and Officers.
Ohh Smedley, I’m sure we can buy more. Think of the industry they might go out of business if we don’t keep buying parts, then in the next war there will be no industry to support the next war.
@@robot4924 Smedley was well aware of the “Racket”
The idiocy has carried over from when they issued bolt action rifles.
@Robot everything isn't a grand conspiracy
@@czgunnertrue, but it dates back even further to muzzle loaders. Corrosive propellants demanded thorough cleaning.
One of the things I couldn't stand about the army was that in garrison weapons had to be turned in 100% clean. As a result guys gouged the hell out of their weapons trying to get that last grain of dust.
This is why I don't buy milsurp that is any more complicated than a backpack.
Yeah, making guys do that is a form of disciplining, but it's pretty counterproductive because it teaches a lot of people that their rifle needs to be babied, that it can't be trusted if it's not, or incentivizes them to abuse the weapon in ways like this to get it over with faster.
I never really scrapped mine clean but I guess that is why it always took me so long to clean it, but I was also a saw gunner most of my time in.
@@manictigerI picked up an M4 upper, not sure where it had been but it looked like tan moon dust. Yes the throat of the rifling was completely gone.
Drills made it a white glove competition
“Being abusive to you bolt carrier is not the conduct of a gentleman” is my new favorite quote for the month
Reminded me of a day in basic training after the rifle range many decades ago with M16. Drill Sergeant told us that when the armorer accepted our rifles individually we could go to the PX. Well, we scrubbed those rifle clean enough to eat off of. Of course the armorer was in on the ruse, so no rifles were being accepted. A couple of buddies and myself found a good place to sleep after being rejected. Some of the others scrubbed, submitted, rejected, scrubbed, and resubmitted for 4 hours. When we heard the armorer was accepting rifles at the end of the day we dutifully turned in our once cleaned rifles. All those poor rifles had the finishes scrubbed off them over the non-sense.
Got that same memory !
In the Service,, overseas, we broke the rifle in two, dropped the top ( minus hand guards) in half a 55 gallon barrel of solvent while we cleaned the lower, then did a bore scrub and rag clean on bolt & carrier.
Never had a problem or inordinate wear.
Our armorer in the Corps had a rifle on display in the arms room ... one of the Marines, it seems, had seen to it to spray Easy Off oven cleaner on his weapon and left it on most of the day... when he went to wipe it off, it took the coating completely off. It was literally shiny metal.
Sounds like the soldier got a statement of charges for Christmas.
The Marines I hung around with in 70's had several tours in Vietnam, they used carb cleaner and would ship cases to friends in far east, pop rear pin pull bolt and spray tube, barrel and bolt, they said just needed to clear fouling.
I served for 5 years, and I could go on about how the arms room wanted the pew pews spotless...But instead, I will tell a story from the end of my basic training cycle. For roughly two weeks we spent countless hours cleaning our weapons. Even after they were clean if a drill sgt walked in and we weren't cleaning them we were wrong. So, these weapons were beyond spotless about two days in...We didnt stop going at them for at least another 10 days. Found out after weapon turn in all of those weapons had to be deadlined. A little carbon isn't a bad thing guys
I know ppl that only lube and never clean and are 5000+ rounds in with cheap dirty ammo without issue. They convinced me to quit cleaning with a cleaning agent, now just halfass wipe with lube oil and then oil simple as that
I'm laughing too.. I have one I haven't done pretty much dick too since 2017 and it still functions. I know a guy who cleans his bcg every time he shoots. Like why??
Just waste of taxpayer money due to bad instructions, by the way thank you for your service.
@@carsonhunt4642 I wouldn't recommend that unless you live in a really humid environment. Anywhere dry will have lots of silt getting into the chamber and rubbing everything down over that period of time. I'm pretty convinced that's what actually happened to the rifles he's discussing in this video, but I could be wrong.
I learned those exact practices at a young age (guess where?) and with your help here and by following a rigorous 12 step program I am overcoming my addiction to over cleaning or incorrectly cleaning my weapons. Thank you again sir!
I am the polar opposite because it's been at least a few hundred rounds since the last cleaning on all my guns. I'll give my carry gun a dry patch down the barrel every few weeks if I don't make it to the range to get the lint out, but that's about it. I wait until the action gets gritty to give em a good clean. Probably not the best practice.
For only 25 cents a day you can prevent over cleaning a firearm 😂
*Drill instructors begin to froth and convulse with fury* 😂😂😂
As a young private in the Army, you were smoked if you had any carbon on the rifle. We probably ruined more rifles by scrubbing and chucking chamber brushes in drills than god knows what. You could eat off our rifles in the Army lol.
Must be unit specific, we had to have a clean rifle also but we had nylon brushes, pipe cleaners, Q-tips, and solvents.
That's because cleaning the rifles is used as a form of discipline and punishment in the army. I've heard people coming away from military service thinking the AR15 rifle MUST be whiteglove clean to not risk malfunctions, just because their drill was a real hardass on them, so I think this might give some people the wrong idea.
Might be some carryover from the M249s, where the old tired things will tend to want to be detail cleaned before going out in the field, or they don't wanna run much.
Military is a PsyOp. Stay out!
@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine spot on, all the malfunctions we had during BRM were typed as “clean your shit pri!”
A decade later as I get into civilian ARs, I realize they were really all from clapped out magazines no one is brave enough to 86.
@@509Gman Mags are another thing, of course. Surefires are good aluminum ones, but they don't last forever.
Really, a good armorer should take sketchy mags and just dent the hell out of them when nobody's looking, then claim that he has no idea when or how that happened, so people don't go out with bad ones.
Man I love that cutaway bcg
So do I! Finally understood the action of an AR-15 because of that little bewdy.
@@chipsterb4946 It's a lot like a simple lawn mower engine, really. Imagine the bolt as the piston. The gas block & gas key are like your carburetor & intake plumbing as well as exhaust, may get a bit confusing there. But it's really a piston w/ rings, with a dislocated combustion chamber, and unified intake/exhaust cyclic return. The cutaway is awesome for letting folks see the piston-like operation. And for seeing it all work together.
Man, the Army had us absolutely thrash our M16's.
Using 5.56 pressure ammo might push past the inefficiency that rough maintenance creates.
@@SchooloftheAmericanRifle ..hmm. Hadn’t looked at it like that. HIGHER pressure ammo could mitigate some ‘less-than-the-best’ worn BCG’s or loose tolerances. Makes perfect sense..
I was in the Marines and we always cleaned them "white glove inspection ready" always after a range day. Then I went on to shoot competition and using my same rifle, didn't clean it but lubed the hell out of it. This was in 29 palms so its a desert environment, my rifle was gunky af but I never had any malfunctions for almost a whole month straight of shooting and if I did it was some magazines from old green followers on GI mags. I always hated cleaning my personal guns so thank you very much for this!
An old guy taught me that sometime in a pinch, you can use wood like an ice cream stick and other appropriately shaped little pieces of wood without harm after soaking parts. Also taught me I could use hot soapy water for cleaning as well which I've done countless times with zero rust issues. Just got to make sure you rinse clean with hot water and make sure the metal is hot when you shake it off so any residual moisture evaporates quickly and completely and then just oil her up.
Wood Chopsticks are great for scraping, if scraping must be done.
@@SchooloftheAmericanRifle corn dog stick
A bamboo skewer works for me and can whittle the end into whatever shape you like.
Snap a wooden cotton swab in half, use the pointy aftermath for hard to reach shit
Rubbing alcohol is better. It's used to clean electronics, too.
My old firearms instructor was a combat vet, Vietnam he was a Marine Corps colonel , super strict, but I learned a lot from him. In my training we used pistols,rifles,shotguns. Our weapons would be filthy after an intensive round of training. (1980s) he had us spray everything with gum-out carb. & choke cleaner and swab cotton nibs, and a nylon brush just like you show. Then we were to oil it up with CLR ( I used Ballistol-still do) but we were to wipe of excess. I never had one malfunction, even with over 1,000 rounds ( each class, with pistol,rifle required 1,000 rnds.) I rarely use the gum-out these days. Thank you for this excellent information. The only thing I'd like to add is on the bolt pin ( t shaped not the cotter pin) I add just a little bit of gun grease to those pins it helps keep them from getting gaulded. Thanks for the great information.
I hope you meant CLP. CLR would have been a terrible oil.
yes I meant to say CLP LOL ! I'm just getting old @@danlindgren4290
I agree with these comments. We all learned the “right” way to clean our weapon at a young g and impressionable age, and carry that with us for years and years. I have found myself cleaning my personal rifle well enough for rack ready inspection even after just 40 rounds for quals. It’s an extremely difficult mentality to get past, but with proper counseling and videos like yours we can get past this. Thank you for the great info!
I always wondered if the scrapers were safe to use. I've watched other channels where they used the bone scraper and really screwed it in the bolt. Wasn't sure that that was the best way to clean a bolt carrier. And the guy doing it was from a big well known company. The way that i look at it is if i think that it may scratch the surface of what I'm cleaning , i won't use it. Some good cleaning chemicals will do the job. Thanks for the information. I don't want to go scraping on my $300 bolt carrier.
There are some Armorer's & Instructors that I respect deeply, who say maintenance should involve scraping tools.
Their advice comes from the right place, but I don't think they know what the tools are capable of doing.
I think the ‘manual of arms’ FOR cleaning with say..the ‘cleaning kit’, yeah..the mil spec one with the STEEL cleaning rod (!) has more to do with FIELD cleaning..not in barracks or garrison. And certainly not on a HIGH-end BCG or bore. Soldiers generally were/are cleaning WHEN they had time and not under fire. Thinking Iraq and Afghanistan..
Glad I forgot to buy one, lol.
@@manictiger Same. My forgotten purchase was probably somewhat intentional as I've seen other videos from this gentleman cautioning on the treatment of these strong yet delicate areas. To me he comes across as the Jeff Cavaliere/Athlean-X of the gun community. There are sooo many experts and authorities in this genre and I appreciate them all, but none carry the authoritative weight of this one well spoken knowledgeable and experienced source. I really appreciate you sir! @InstructorChad
Spot on, once you remove metal, it cannot be put back on! Always use the least aggressive measures first. Excellent suggestions with CLR and Berrymans carb cleaner.
@Peter labor to build up and then mill/lathe off to tolerance would cost more than a new BCG
@Peter Specifically, what is your point?
@Peter If you’re “glad” someone missed your point, it demonstrates you never had anything beneficial to add the conversation to begin with.
@@MRTEE-sy7sb 100% correct. You'd only pay that price once :D But I'd probably watch a TH-cam video of it being done by a professional machinist/gunsmith repairman.
Brass isn't mechanically capable of abrading steel. This is just a video of some old wives tales brought to you by a guy who doesn't understand material science.
Found your channel about a year ago and I've been impressed with every video I've ever seen you put up. There's nobody else out there sharing this much detail and help with the community. Incredible work, thank you!
"If the conduct of your officers is regarded as the conduct of a gentleman, I'll take that as a compliment"
Thanks Chad! I do have one of those multi-scraper-doohickies, but I've never used it. Usually some Clenzoil on a patch or two gets everything off. I do like to hit the lugs with a brass brush though, and my Dewey cleaning kit comes with a chamber brush and mop that works really well. Used gently of course. That cut in half BCG demo makes it perfectly clear why you don't want to go grinding on the bolt tail or inside diameter of the BCG.
Very helpful for a 'new' AR user. Thank you for sharing.
Sooo many people just don’t understand this. Thank you for this information & “as always” look forward to your videos! Very thankful you’re back & look forward to learning more,Thank you sir!
I received the SOTAR patch and sticker I ordered today. The texture of the gears and skull is awesome. By far the best patch I own. Super cool. Thank you!
Excellent video, you hit home runs with all your videos. One of the best videos is a 1960 or 61 Army m-16 cleaning video, it just explains what parts need oiling and what parts do not. keep up your awesome educational channel. Thanks Les.
Man I can't express this enough but the knowledge that you give to us is invaluable! Thanks again for another good one!!!!
Very helpful, I got a new BCG recently and have wondered about this.
It wasn’t u till I started watching your videos that I understood & appreciated just how important BCG’s role in the gas system is to proper function.
Thank you for all the info!
Thank you! My son and I have learned so much from your videos! We've built two AR's and have diagnosed and repaired a new one that we bought that wasn't working properly. Much love from Arizona! ❤🇺🇲❤🇺🇲
Your videos are always a wealth of information. Thank you for making them!
I have had very good results by using MPRO 7 to lube after I clean. I notice you said a "wet lube" early in the video. Usually if it "looks" wet it is probably pretty good. The MPro makes cleaning easier for me. Slip 2000 is also good. The crud wipes off with a blue shop towel. My only issues with them are the containers they come in. I transfer the product to a bottle with a needle oiler. Partially for precision but mostly to save some money. Both products are expensive. I am sort of frugal (read cheap). Have a good day. Thanks for the great videos. So informative.
Love your videos. Thank you for the tireless energy involved in sharing information with the rest of us. Your information is invaluable and helps potentially millions of people. Be proud of that.
When someone has a cutaway of what they're talking about, the wisest choice of action is to listen
Thank you Chad for the educational videos. Good stuff to know. Save a guy some pain down the road.
I pretty much exclusively use Q-tips, shop towels, and a toothbrush to clean my BCG and FCG. On the rare chance I have had to scrape something I use a wooden dowel. Really the most cleaning I do is usually just a boresnake and some CLP.
Came across a doc on Armalite's website over 12 years ago explaining this. Took it to heart.
Eight years in the infantry, including 2nd ITB. Issued many scraping tools without this information. Thanks!
Great content as always 👏
Glad to see you posting again, Thanks
CLR is somewhat controversial. It does remove baked on carbon fouling, but it is very aggressive, and needs to be removed with alcohol, brake cleaner or lacquer thinner when you're finished with it. Probably best to not use it on any blued guns.
Great things to know! I recently got into the “hobby” and starred shooting my AR so of course after a couple trips to the range, did my cleaning so far. Great things to learn here as I was already starting with the abrasive cleaning I’ve seen in videos. Thank you!
I stopped using the otis bone tool years ago thanks to you! You actually answered my post and told me that you preferred chemically removed carbon over picks or tools and I have been following that ever since. Thanks again!
There are a number of products on the market designed to emulsify carbon in two-strokes and small engines. A couple are made by outboard engine manufacturers (I use Engine Tuner, which is from BRP) and work well to soften even heavy buildups of carbon.
For context, the tolerance for the width of the bolt tail according to an old military blueprint I found, is 0.0002 inches. That's about the width of a human red blood cell. It doesn't take much polishing or scraping to take that dimension out of spec, so absolutely be careful!
That's a load of shit.
I don't believe that claim for even a second. What a load of horseshit. That's way bigger than a human blood cell.
I think that tolerance is wrong.
100% for sure you're wrong.
Thanks. Always great info from you. Thankful that you're out there!
I have been an AR15 Shooter for over 10 years, and wish I would have found this School Of The American Rifle back then. I have been doing some of the things mentioned in this video as far as cleaning fouling off my bolt tail and generally it I has been with a bronze brush. I will no longer use that for cleaning, and stick with the nylon Brush and Lube. I do lube the bolt tail and gas rings well, but will stop cleaning the bolt tail with a bronze brush. Love this channel and keep posting your great educational content. Thanks a bunch!!!
I'll let you guys in on a bit of a not-so-well-known secret: soot/soft carbon is an effective dry film lubricant at high temperatures. When you "clean" the bolt tail, you are not only likely to wear a critical sealing surface, but you are increasing the overall wear rate of the gun while in service. Instead, just put a few drops if you favorite CLP down the gas key, hold the carrier boltface up and cycle the bolt within the carrier fore and aft.
When you fire the gun, any excess lube will blow out the carrier ports. I recommend using only lubes that comply with MIL-PRF-63460F TY: A
CLP? You might as well be cleaning your gun with WD-40. Solvents are solvents, and lubricants are lubricants; and if you think the twain can meet, then have I got some snake oil to sell you. Just about every brand out there (Remington, Hoppes, Breakthrough Clean, Birchwood Casey, etc.) sells dedicated solvents and lubricants that are mutually exclusive. Use those instead.
@@SergeantExtreme Read the military standard I cited above. It's a single use CLP that has to pass tests on M249s. Solvent and lube are NOT mutually exclusive. They can be mixed in such a way that the solvent flashes off and leaves the lube behind. Which is precisely what most CLPs do.
@@G5Hohn , yeah!☝
Yeah, NO. I'll do me, you do you. Ed's Red does the same at 1/10th the mil contract price.
So how do you heat the gun up before shooting it?
My cleaning setup includes a bamboo skewer, as well as a nylon brush, q-tip, and a rag. The bamboo skewer usually does good work on built up carbon and won’t scratch the metal.
Also, having a chrome DD bolt carrier group helps (wish they still made them, I’d buy more). Just wipe with a CLP soaked rag and you’re done. 😁 Sadly I only have one, so the others get the bamboo/nylon brush treatment.
Thank you for this video! I'm sometimes OCD about cleaning my guns and I hated trying to scrape this area on my bolt tail, I'd go at it with a brass brush like crazy trying to get it all off. Never knew that the fouling is important for the continued operation of the gun. Very very helpful video to me and I really appreciate it
I learned the hard way. Purchasing gauges and being real with what I was seeing definitely turn me around great video
I was taught this way and only recently learned how the scraping tool (like the one on your worktable) was lathing away the inside of the bcg. That having been said, would you do a video on gas rings (replacement, tolerances, etc) for those of us that damaged them with that pesky wire brush?
I pretty much stopped using abrasives. The only thing I use that's abrasive is the little bit of bristles built into a bore snake and that's very rare. I remember it mentioned in a video of yours from way back and made so much sense that it really stuck with me
He said bore snakes are bad?
@@LKaramazov not that I'm aware of
@NeglectfulSausage yeah I agree, I never feel the need to scrub with abrasives like that. I'm glad those ways are dying off
@@neglectfulsausage7689 interesting.
This should be a mandatory for all young joes.
Have been binge watching your videos. Thank you so much for the information you share. Really appreciate the knowledge and expertise and those awesome tools/gauges. Very clear, accurate info. I’ve learned a lot thanks.
Thanks for posting this. Haven't put enough rounds through mine yet to worry about fouling, but I did buy into the "gotta keep that BCG surgically clean" line. Nice to get an education *before* damaging something. Refreshing...
I've waiting for you to do a video on this for a long time. Thank you.
Also-- Bronze brushes generally can't hurt steel in the HRC 36-40 range when used by hand, they are softer than steel by quite a bit. That said, even water can wear down rock, so any abrasive (regardless how soft) with enough cycles will wear parts.
The fouling itself is abrasive and paired with brass or bronze does wear down steel.
@@SchooloftheAmericanRifle this is why I follow this channel. Learn something from the videos and comments every time. Thank you!
It doesn’t matter the hardness of two materials, if you rub them together (even without any compound) they will wear on one another. I can show you where my dog left footprints in a wooden windowsill 😂
@@SchooloftheAmericanRifle Only if you are scrubbing the bajesus out of it!! Meaning if you sit there for 15 min brushing the same damn spot. If brass/ bronze bushes were a real problem, we would never use them for cleaning the barrels
I learned all my AR cleaning and care from SOTAR. I WISH I LIVED NEAR BY TO GO TO HIS SCHOOL. BUT IVE WATCHED ALL HIS VIDEOS AND IMO HES BEST AT BOTH WORLDS FIXING TO SPECS AND FINDING A SOLUTION TO MAKE IT FUNCTION.
Lol I made my own paper clip tool like him. Little skills like that make a huge difference.
Thank you, sir, for helping folks not to damage their weapon.
So much great knowledge, thank you for sharing yet again 👍
I always put a patch between the tool and the bolt tail when using my various cleaning tools, q-tip dowels work well along with other wooden implemnts to get off some of that stuborn carbon.
Your knowledge is always much appreciated.
To illustrate your point about abrasion, look at the wear and finish removal on the tool in the video.
As an old machinist but a new AR shooter, this was excellent! And terrific visual aids to show what's going on in there. Thanks for stopping a bad habit before it starts. BTW, what are the diameters ***and tolerances*** you think we should stay within for those critical surfaces? I've got the tools to measure them (although I don't have your cool Go/NO-GO gauges I might invest in some), so of course I'm curious what they should measure. Again thanks -- and looking forward to the next vid!
As far as I can tell, it looks like the "no-go" says .248, and the "go" is .2486. The pinned comment at the top of the comments also states there is only .0006 difference. If I remember, I'll try to check a bolt blueprint to confirm.
I can't speak to specific tolerances, but one of the first things to wear out is those three little gas rings on the bolt. A quick way to determine if they're still good is to take a freshly clean/lubed bolt carrier assembly with the bolt in the retracted position. A quick snap of the wrist should cause the bolt to extend out fully from the bolt carrier. And then if you stand up the bolt carrier assembly on the bolt, and it stays extended, the gas rings are still good. If the bolt carrier depresses down onto the bolt from its own weight, the gas rings are probably shot and need replacement.
Maybe I’m lazy, but after a trip to the range I just disassemble the BCG, wipe the BCG and internals with a clean cloth, add a layer of oil and reassemble. It’s not a hardcore cleaning, but enough to remove most of the fine abrasive dirt and to freshen the lube with synthetic motor oil. (I’m sure someone will lambaste me for using motor oil, but it’s what Dad used and I still have and use his 90-year old guns).
Once in a while, I will run the disassembled BCG and parts through an ultrasonic cleaner with RCBS Weapons Cleaner and distilled water, hit parts with a toothbrush or, at worst case, a brass brush. Relube, reassemble.
I keep a can of Ballistol in my range bag and if anything looks dry, I’ll give it a quick spray. Other than that, it’s clean enough.
If it works...it works. I'd question whether motor oil might be less effective though, at a molecular level. Gasoline burns around 2000ºF, while gun powder can be double that. Even if the direct impingement bleeds off some of that excess heat before it hits your gas key & bolt carrier, it might be enough to burn off the motor oil sooner than a tried-and-true gun lube would.
I personally use CLP in one form or another for ARs, and Shooters Choice for guns which prefer grease. Neither has ever caused me issues.
Thank you sir, great video with exactly the right amount of detail and specificity.
Thank you. I've come to learn the same thing over the years. Yes, clean your gun, but it doesn't have to be squeaky clean. And then oil your gun, and I mean oil it liberally. For brushes, I use plastic brushes to clean my guns mostly.
Good video.
A couple questions.
1. Would carbon build-up on the bolt tail not improve the seal between the tail and the carrier?
2. Is it bad to drop lube down into the gas key, instead of removing the bolt and lubing it directly? It would seem to me that the residual lubricant would absorb carbon, burn off, and make the interior of the gas key cake up at a faster rate than a dry one
So good to see Critical Chad (and I mean that as a compliment, "Critical") back on camera. Thank you Chad!
I wonder if the obsessive carbon-chasers think they should take apart their car's engine, and make the combustion chamber, piston crown, valve heads, and intake & exhaust ports "hospital clean." How do they think their car engine runs without obsessive carbon removal?
Very well explained. Thanks for doing this!
Great advice and pointing out the facts will help me counter my OCD.
I have a friend who used Break Cleaner on his bolt and it literally left a pool of carbon on the floor and the BCG looked brand new. Not sure if break cleaner is good for a BCG
What about non chlorinated brake parts cleaner?
Non chlorinated is gtg.
On people thinking the AR15 needing to be shiny clean to run, I've outright seen an AR15 which ran perfectly fine, and where the inside of the bolt carrier looked kind of like the ancient city of Pompeii.
Any decently put together example can tolerate quite a lot of carbon, and it's generally pretty good at keeping a lot of foreign dirt out of most parts.
Those InRange mudtests were far from scientific or even realistic, but they repeatedly show that anything from an old 1960s Colt SP-1 to a number of modern builds will more than tolerate some pretty obscene levels of filth.
The amount of info you have is amazing
First.
Great information. Nobody had ever mentioned this to me. Thank you for sharing this.
Love your videos!! Very helpful and informative! Keep them coming! 😁👍
I’ve only ever used a soft rag and soft brush outside of the barrel, I didn’t even know there were tools for hard scrapping.
Thank you. I just had this discussion with a friend of mine who was suggesting these scraping tools. Just his assertion about scraping these components that have such close tolerances sounded wrong to me. I’m gonna show him your video. Thanks again!
Ty good to know I recently purchased one of these tools I’ll be more cautious when doing my normal maintenance
I was worried clicking on this video… I was so glad to agree completely with it
I used to use the bone tool and thought my colts, bcm needed to squeaky clean. Until I started training and running well over a thousand rounds in couple days. Nowadays I just lube and after 2500 rounds I’ll break it down but definitely not scraping and getting it squeaky clean like I once did. Thanks bud I feel a lot of folks needed to hear this.
I'm learning so much from your videos! Thank you!
Always bringing that knowledge. Thanks as always!
I have an ar15 that has never been cleaned outside of clp and a rag wipedown. 30 years and going strong.
Excellent video. Love the visual aids. In gun cleaning B12 Chemtool and an air compressor with a moisture filter are your friends.
I was taught to just use some solvent and patches on the bolt and BCG. Really appreciate the content, as someone still fairly new to firearms and the AR platform
Excellent video. Thank You
Guilty as charged. Thank you for the situational awareness. God's blessings.
Thank you brother for sharing this information.
I just found your channel...mind blown. I'm about to binge watch all of your content, thanks
I would love to buy a cut away bolt from you for teaching! It is brilliant!
Thank you! It really is amazing how gun owners obsessively compulse about cleaning, like scrubbing the living crap out of the barrel, then sending a dozen patches through it until the last one goes through spotless. I dont fuss like that, no way.
Love the cutaway. Those tolerances are mind-boggling in accuracy. Nothing but nylon or cotton used in cleaning for me. Stroke Hold (Marine) is an amazing lubricant! Thanks for the warnings!
"Son, it's time we had a talk about the birds and the bcgs..."
Very insightful... Thank you so much for the heads up.
That cut away was super helpful 👌
Great video with great info. I personally have not done a thorough cleaning of my bcg. I've only wipe clean and lube. Been shooting the same ar for years now no issue.
Instructor Chad, The Army says I need to clean the BCG until it is 'white-glove' clean. I agree with you that it is not necessary and chemical cleaning of carbon is a better choice. Thanks for recording and posting this video.
I built a CAR 15 to use at the SOF 3-Gun World Championship in 1990.
The days when NO scopes allowed, just iron sights. I placed third.
I still have that rifle, untold rounds through it and I have never scraped bolt or carrier. Just clean it twice a year and I use my own gun oil.
REMEMBER: There are lots of fixes for problems that do not exist.
Also, take the O ring out of your extractor. Mine has the black buffer and Wolff extractor spring. Never had a failure to extract and I DO NOT use steel case ammo.
Dump the powder from a steel case round. Light it then rub the ash between your fingers. You will never use steel case ammo again. All that grit from countries that hate us.
Nice to see you Back !!
Thank you, Sir.
I have those scraping tools. Never used them. Didn't know they could damage. I just have always preferred chemical cleaning. Keep up the vids Sir, love them.