AR-15 Bolt Cleaning Tool

gngtools · September 5, 2009, 01:43 AM

I have a couple new AR-15 bolt cleaning tools and I was looking for some feedback and opinions on them. You can view the tools and get a detailed description of them from my website at, http://www.gngtools.com There is also a video link on my home page so you can see how it works. One tool scrapes off the big pieces of carbon, then polishes off every last bit left over. The other tool is for those who are less concerned about removing every last bit of carbon, but still scrapes the majority of carbon off the bolt. Please take a look and let me know what you think.

Xanatos · September 5, 2009, 04:47 AM

While it appears neat, I don't think it's really all that necessary. All you really need to clean a bolt properly is a few Q-Tips, pipecleaners (if you've got them), and a good gun oil. I have never seen any carbon bulidup that can't be removed with a proper gun oil.

After a 72 hour field training exercise with some two decade old National Guard M16s being fired on burst and at least 2500 blanks downrange, it took about 10 minutes with a good brush, some Q-Tips, and a very good CLP and there was no trace of any carbon buildup.

gotigers · September 5, 2009, 07:52 AM

there is a flat scraper made for cleaning that area behind the gas rings. here is a pic and a link about it. I cant find the site that sells them. If i find it i will post.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubb...Number=1212656

gngtools · September 5, 2009, 10:59 AM

"it took about 10 minutes with a good brush"....I agree, that a good brush and solvent will work in 10 minutes. I made this so it only takes 10 seconds and you save all that time and effort by using something more efficient.

Bartholomew Roberts · September 5, 2009, 02:05 PM

I don't even clean the tail of the bolt. I find that the carbon buildup is self-limiting, especially if you apply Slip 2000 or some other CLP liberally to the bolt.

gngtools · September 13, 2009, 04:58 PM

Wow, that doesnt sound like a good idea for any gun. I would never advocate just not cleaning it because I hope the carbon, gunk, or dirt will be self limiting. No matter how you clean it, you need to get the carbon off the bolt tail. You may opt to scrape it off with a brush, or a more specifically designed tool, but you definitely should clean the rifle after each use. You may only be putting holes in paper, but even then who wants to have a potentially unreliable or failing rifle?

olyinaz · September 13, 2009, 05:11 PM

Quote:

No matter how you clean it, you need to get the carbon off the bolt tail. You may opt to scrape it off with a brush, or a more specifically designed tool, but you definitely should clean the rifle after each use.

Why? We used to destroy our rifles in the Army with too much cleaning and I have zero desire to do the same to rifles that I've had to purchase with my own hard earned bread. I apply a corrosion protectant but I see zero need or reason to clean a part such as the bolt tail down to shiney-brand-new after each use, none whatsoever.

Quote:

You may only be putting holes in paper, but even then who wants to have a potentially unreliable or failing rifle?

Frankly I see that as fear mongering in order to sell a product.

I'm sorry, I mean no personal offense but that's my opinion/feedback on the subject.

Regards,
Oly

Sixer · September 13, 2009, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Why? We used to destroy our rifles in the Army with too much cleaning and I have zero desire to do the same to rifles that I've had to purchase with my own hard earned bread.

Oly, how exactly... or what exactly were you doing to destroy your rifles? Just curious because I'm a little OC when it comes to cleaning my guns. I just want to make sure I'm not cleaning to the brink of destruction...

gng, that's a neat looking tool. My main concern would be the possibility of removing too much metal after many repetitive uses. You can only scrape and polish it so many times with a Brilo pad before you've gone too far. Other than that, it looks like an item you could sell a bunch to over at AR15.com

GLK · September 13, 2009, 07:35 PM

Please don't get me wrong as I am about as big a gadget / tool guy as there is, but I really don't see a need. What won't come off in ten seconds with a wire brush isn't going to come off on its own and cause issues in my experience. As someone else already stated it really is pretty much self limiting. Also for those that just can't let it stay there a lead away cloth will remove it down to the bare steel only not as quickly as some tools might. Anyway that is just my take and what do I know?????

P.S. Great concept for those that are more anal than I am(lord help them)and nice looking website. They look good and as far as AR gadgets and tools go the price isn't bad at all. I do have to say that those polishing pads look awfully familiar though

.

Bartholomew Roberts · September 13, 2009, 07:37 PM

Quote:

No matter how you clean it, you need to get the carbon off the bolt tail.

Well, I've been shooting ARs/M16s since 1990 when I purchased my first. The most I've had on a single bolt was 10,000 rounds (with no cleaning of the bolt tail). Didn't have any problems with carbon on that one and haven't had any problems with the subsequent bolts (from 300+ to 4,000+ currently).

Of course, I don't shoot near as much as some people I know; but they haven't had any problems with it either. Until I see a problem crop up, I'm probably not going to worry too much about cleaning the bolt tail, the gas tube, etc.

olyinaz · September 13, 2009, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Oly, how exactly... or what exactly were you doing to destroy your rifles?

I'm going to assume that the services have gotten smarter about this sort of thing but when I was in the infantry back in the 1980's (2/505th) we used to clean our rifles with a feverish passion until they were spotless and could pass inspection by NCOs who's job it was to find any fault they could with Q-tips etc. We'd scrub with wire brushes and dig with metal tools and brush and brush and brush with rod after rod after rod until the bolts/barrels were spotless and the dang things were practically ready for a surgery theater. It's was insane. The result, of course, was that our rifles were worn out long before their time and when we deployed with them for combat they were serviceable but certainly shooting wider groups then they would have if they'd been sensibly maintained.

All I can say to the style of cleaning that I was taught in the Army is "no thanks" and I hope they're doing better today.

Best,
Oly

GM-GUY · September 14, 2009, 09:18 AM

gngtools:

I bought one, I'll give you a review once I fire some rounds.

I'll shoot 100 clean it without the tool, shoot another 100 and clean it with the tool.

gngtools · September 15, 2009, 11:13 AM

Thanks GM-Guy, the review will be great. Thanks to the rest of you for your thoughts, opinions, and comments. I knew there were at least two camps out there (those that clean them spotless, and those that dont clean them at all), then all the people that fall everywhere in between. You'll notice, I'm not pushing my tool or saying its the only way to clean the bolt tail. It is a time saving tool to make gun cleaning more efficient and easy. I made this tool for myself, then decided to make it available to those who are interested.

I do think your comments are interesting and they make us all aware of the many options and methods out there. I still work in an environment where we have to have the guns inspected. Olyinaz, I still dont know how you could have "destroyed" your rifles by cleaning them. We do still brush, scrape, wipe, and scrub every last bit of dirt and grime out of the barrel, chamber, BCG, and bolt and have not changed a thing about how they fire, cycle, or their accuracy. We do it because we dont want to leave anything up to chance. Call it fear mongering (a little extreme) but I call it reality.

Mr. Roberts, I'm curious, since you dont clean the bolt tail, do you clean the inside of the bolt carrier where the bolt tail meets it?

Bartholomew Roberts · September 15, 2009, 12:07 PM

Not really. I'll double up a pipe cleaner and run it through there maybe every 2,000 rounds or so.

You might also check Pat Rogers tests with the loaner guns he uses for his classes. They have several ARs with five figure round counts that have never been cleaned at all. They just periodically add lube.

If I recall correctly, the only major issue I've seen reported is that one of the BCM mids had a buffer spring break around 15,000 rounds. It continued to run; but not 100%.

September 5, 2009, 01:43 AM	#1
gngtools Member Join Date: September 3, 2009 Location: Morgan Hill, CA Posts: 38	AR-15 Bolt Cleaning Tool I have a couple new AR-15 bolt cleaning tools and I was looking for some feedback and opinions on them. You can view the tools and get a detailed description of them from my website at, http://www.gngtools.com There is also a video link on my home page so you can see how it works. One tool scrapes off the big pieces of carbon, then polishes off every last bit left over. The other tool is for those who are less concerned about removing every last bit of carbon, but still scrapes the majority of carbon off the bolt. Please take a look and let me know what you think. __________________ Greg http://www.gngtools.com- Efficient Gun Cleaning Products: Specializing in AR-15 Bolt Cleaning Tools

September 5, 2009, 10:59 AM	#4
gngtools Member Join Date: September 3, 2009 Location: Morgan Hill, CA Posts: 38	"it took about 10 minutes with a good brush"....I agree, that a good brush and solvent will work in 10 minutes. I made this so it only takes 10 seconds and you save all that time and effort by using something more efficient. __________________ Greg http://www.gngtools.com- Efficient Gun Cleaning Products: Specializing in AR-15 Bolt Cleaning Tools

September 13, 2009, 04:58 PM	#6
gngtools Member Join Date: September 3, 2009 Location: Morgan Hill, CA Posts: 38	Wow, that doesnt sound like a good idea for any gun. I would never advocate just not cleaning it because I hope the carbon, gunk, or dirt will be self limiting. No matter how you clean it, you need to get the carbon off the bolt tail. You may opt to scrape it off with a brush, or a more specifically designed tool, but you definitely should clean the rifle after each use. You may only be putting holes in paper, but even then who wants to have a potentially unreliable or failing rifle? __________________ Greg http://www.gngtools.com- Efficient Gun Cleaning Products: Specializing in AR-15 Bolt Cleaning Tools

September 13, 2009, 07:35 PM	#9
GLK Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2000 Location: Brandon FL USA Posts: 527	Please don't get me wrong as I am about as big a gadget / tool guy as there is, but I really don't see a need. What won't come off in ten seconds with a wire brush isn't going to come off on its own and cause issues in my experience. As someone else already stated it really is pretty much self limiting. Also for those that just can't let it stay there a lead away cloth will remove it down to the bare steel only not as quickly as some tools might. Anyway that is just my take and what do I know????? P.S. Great concept for those that are more anal than I am(lord help them)and nice looking website. They look good and as far as AR gadgets and tools go the price isn't bad at all. I do have to say that those polishing pads look awfully familiar though . __________________ Just face shoot the criminal was the advice I was given. Old tech new tech, face shooting will nearly always take the wrong doing out of a bad guy. Last edited by GLK; September 13, 2009 at 07:49 PM. Reason: added more babbling

September 14, 2009, 09:18 AM	#12
GM-GUY Senior Member Join Date: April 27, 2005 Location: The People's Republic of MA Posts: 149	gngtools: I bought one, I'll give you a review once I fire some rounds. I'll shoot 100 clean it without the tool, shoot another 100 and clean it with the tool. __________________ EX-USAF, NRA, GOAL, CCW-ALP PS3 Network ID: GM-GUY

September 5, 2009, 04:47 AM	#2
Xanatos Senior Member Join Date: August 20, 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 132	While it appears neat, I don't think it's really all that necessary. All you really need to clean a bolt properly is a few Q-Tips, pipecleaners (if you've got them), and a good gun oil. I have never seen any carbon bulidup that can't be removed with a proper gun oil. After a 72 hour field training exercise with some two decade old National Guard M16s being fired on burst and at least 2500 blanks downrange, it took about 10 minutes with a good brush, some Q-Tips, and a very good CLP and there was no trace of any carbon buildup.

September 5, 2009, 07:52 AM	#3
gotigers Senior Member Join Date: April 30, 2009 Location: Memphis Posts: 353	there is a flat scraper made for cleaning that area behind the gas rings. here is a pic and a link about it. I cant find the site that sells them. If i find it i will post. http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubb...Number=1212656

September 5, 2009, 02:05 PM	#5
Bartholomew Roberts member Join Date: June 12, 2000 Location: Texas and Oklahoma area Posts: 8,462	I don't even clean the tail of the bolt. I find that the carbon buildup is self-limiting, especially if you apply Slip 2000 or some other CLP liberally to the bolt.

September 15, 2009, 11:13 AM	#13
gngtools Member Join Date: September 3, 2009 Location: Morgan Hill, CA Posts: 38	Thanks GM-Guy, the review will be great. Thanks to the rest of you for your thoughts, opinions, and comments. I knew there were at least two camps out there (those that clean them spotless, and those that dont clean them at all), then all the people that fall everywhere in between. You'll notice, I'm not pushing my tool or saying its the only way to clean the bolt tail. It is a time saving tool to make gun cleaning more efficient and easy. I made this tool for myself, then decided to make it available to those who are interested. I do think your comments are interesting and they make us all aware of the many options and methods out there. I still work in an environment where we have to have the guns inspected. Olyinaz, I still dont know how you could have "destroyed" your rifles by cleaning them. We do still brush, scrape, wipe, and scrub every last bit of dirt and grime out of the barrel, chamber, BCG, and bolt and have not changed a thing about how they fire, cycle, or their accuracy. We do it because we dont want to leave anything up to chance. Call it fear mongering (a little extreme) but I call it reality. Mr. Roberts, I'm curious, since you dont clean the bolt tail, do you clean the inside of the bolt carrier where the bolt tail meets it? __________________ Greg http://www.gngtools.com- Efficient Gun Cleaning Products: Specializing in AR-15 Bolt Cleaning Tools

September 15, 2009, 12:07 PM	#14
Bartholomew Roberts member Join Date: June 12, 2000 Location: Texas and Oklahoma area Posts: 8,462	Not really. I'll double up a pipe cleaner and run it through there maybe every 2,000 rounds or so. You might also check Pat Rogers tests with the loaner guns he uses for his classes. They have several ARs with five figure round counts that have never been cleaned at all. They just periodically add lube. If I recall correctly, the only major issue I've seen reported is that one of the BCM mids had a buffer spring break around 15,000 rounds. It continued to run; but not 100%.