Comments on AR-15 Maintenance, Cleaning, Lubrication, & Reliability

[Ninja3657]

0 people are... oh never mind lol

[kape187]

LOVE YOUR VIDS! TRY NOT TO BE SO MONO TONE:D

[Jnoche]

Wankel Freaks lol

[PrinceMustDie666]

210 rounds for a combat load sounds like something you'd only do in training...if i were in 'Stan and might get in a fire-fight i'd carry twice that and carry less food or something.

[DoubleTapper556]

Great channel. Most times jamming problems  can be traced to the mags.

[Strelnikov10]

Very well made video though! 5 stars!

[Strelnikov10]

As long as my life depends on it, it doesn't hurt to keep it clean.

[ArmednSafe]

Have you done more than 1 fire until failure test?

[georgewashington92]

Interesting comments, think the ar15 is extremely reliable never had a malfunction with my m4 ,carbon does not cause malfunctions, a guy on my shooting range didn' t disassembled his bolt carrier group for about 7000 rounds, it still worked( he didn t knew that he could strip it). The main problem with the ar15s in military service seems to be quality issues, cheap recoil springs and extractor spring to weak and many more

[G56AG]

Nice video! Its good to hear someone say that you don't need to clean the carbon out. The action was designed to not build up excessive carbon, so many people tell others they need to get a special tool to remove carbon from the bolt or carrier, and its just not needed!

[esh325]

Not it saying it can't survive harsh conditions, but are there weapons that can do better though? The M4 did place last in the army dust tests. The rifle was finnicky with ball powder in Vietnam, when rifles had been using ball powder for hundreds of years without issues. The French had been in Indochina 8 years, and did not see the need to chrome line their rifles.

[VuurwapenBlog]

@esh325 "The M1's were going to ruin for lack of cleaning in the holes up front-the poor guys did not have anything to take care of them with... As a result of the fouling of gas cylinders and pistons, a large percentage of our semi-automatics were becoming singleshots." - Roy Dunlap, Ordnance Went Up Front (World War II)

The lesson here is that real world conditions are hard on weapons.

[esh325]

@VuurwapenBlog The Garand was a reliable rifle, but not the most reliable there could have been. This was known before it even fired its first shot in combat. It faired very poorly in sand and mud conditions in army trials, where the Springfield 1903 and Johnson rifle outperformed it. The French employed many rifles besides the Garand, like the MAS-36 and MAS-49.

[runhorun]

@VuurwapenBlog I know weapons need cleaning repeatedly. However, many manufacturers need to grasp the concept that when in times of "conflict" or "war" lubrication and maintenance is not always possible. If the weapons system fails, what is a person to do? This is why I will take the AK for the purpose of reliability. Not because it is an AK, but for the sole purpose that it lasts even with out proper maintenance. If I can find other weapons systems like it I would gladly choose it.

[m4rk37]

@runhorun if you got enough time to eat or sleep you can do weapons maintenance. if you gotta ak you need to do weapons maintenance. aks reliability is blown outta proportion. aks fail in combat again and again with everything else.  who would want a rusty dirty rifle and be like its ok its an ak haha

[esh325]

@m4rk37 Of course they can fail. The thing is, they fail less often.

[danieldefenseM4]

@runhorun

The only in-field maintaenence an AR reallly needs is for the bolt carrier and bolt to be wiped down. A simple clotch patch and a bit of lube will do that in minutes.

[globalforce]

@esh325 If you are referring to THAT test where the M4 experienced, like 800 stoppages, keep this in mind. The M4s used in the tests were pulled out of army inventory. As opposed to other rifles, which were supplied by manufacturers. M16s and M4s fared MUCH better, somewhere in 300 range, in an identical test performed about a year earlier.

[esh325]

@globalforce I've heard a lot of excuses for that tests. People can't accept that it did the worst.

[globalforce]

@esh325 @esh325 Then how do you explain M4s doing just fine in earlier, almost identical test?

"Out of the 60,000 rounds fired in the tests earlier in the summer, the 10 M4s tested had 307 stoppages, test results show, far fewer than the 882 in the most recent test."

"Army officials are concerned about the gap between the two tests because the 'test conditions for test two and three were ostensibly the same,' Brown said."

- ArmyTimes "Newer carbines outperform M4 in dust test" Dec 17, 2007

[esh325]

@globalforce It must not have been identical then if it failed so much more. The military is famous at lying. Of course, they will come up with excuses. They want to save face.

[globalforce]

@esh325 Wow. That is very convenient. I'll just let that comment sit on its own merit.

We're done here.

[sinlessorrow]

@esh325 the dust test was flawed.

you should note the M4s in the test were borrowed from the Army and they were well used at the time of testing.

also note 6 out of 10 of the rifles contributed 70% of stoppages because they were not sprung correctly, being well used the springs did not have maximum spring tension which put the cylic rate of the M4's well below the 700RPM that is optimum in the rifle.

that was why they had so many FTF. Stork did the same test with new M4's and had 111 stoppages

[Nater245689]

@esh325 The MAS-36 had a chrome lined chamber and bore, so did the M1s supplied by the United States. Chrome lining, or some more advanced corrosion inhibiting treatment, is absolutely necessary on any military fire arm. It was probably even more vital back in those days as most of the primers used potassium clorate as an oxidizer, which leaves beyond potassium chloride after firing. Potassium chloride is hygroscopic.

[esh325]

@Nater245689 I've never heard of a chrome lined M1 Garand.

[Bobbysharrock]

First vid i've seen of yours and it hit a very important point. I'm impressed.

[BILLASHLEY3081]

For some strange reason when I listen to you talk I believe you!... Great video, thanks for your contribution!

[OneCerebralSamurai]

Great vid. Keep up the good work!

[Ninspec]

Excellent video as always. Nice go at the Wankel comment! I STILL want a 3rd gen RX-7(even thought there the ones with a few problems), been wanting one since I first saw one when they came out in 92.

[carmas54]

well said

[1966pontiacpower]

i have to say out of all the firearm blogs on you tube, your videos are the most clear, concise, and well constructed out of them all. great channel man. keep up the great work.

[VuurwapenBlog]

@1966pontiacpower Thank you very much!

[ForTehNguyen]

Main spare parts I would keep on hand would be a complete bolt in addition to spare extractors, firing pin, and maybe a cam pin. Palmetto state armory has some good field parts kits

[Sanjuro82]

As a civilian rifle they are pretty much flawless and excellent design. Very few civilian are firing their rifles during sandstorms, rain and mud. But in real combat they do in fact have to be babied. A dirty AR will get you killed. 

[VuurwapenBlog]

@Sanjuro82 Funny, I didn't "baby" my M4 in Iraq, and I am pretty sure that I am still alive. If I wasn't, I'd probably look a little transparent on video.

[Mr556M4]

VuurwapenBlog says at the end of the video, "thank you for your time." Mr556m4 says "no Sir, thank you, for your time."

[EmpathyWorks]

I've subbed to 100's of gun/prepper channels and yours is by FAR one of the best. Thumbs up and keep em coming.

[Chriznak]

would you please do a video on AR15 spare parts and tools you suggest keeping on hand?

[DagaYute]

Awesome job as always! 

[kjb86]

Wankel engines are awesome good sir, the Mazda 787B is bad ass

[VuurwapenBlog]

@kjb86 I see your R26B and raise you a...Renesis. Blech.

[mz9393mz]

I'm a Wankel freak! LOL

Just drove the RX-8 on a race track last week.

[VuurwapenBlog]

@mz9393mz I'm sorry to hear that. What did the back end of the 1987 Volkswagen Golf Diesels and 2002 Honda Insights look like from the back of the pack?

[mz9393mz]

@VuurwapenBlog Hah hah. ZING! :)

I will say that the BMW M3 and BOSS Mustang were by far the best I drove that day on the track, but the little RX-8 is sweet too. If only it had more power...

It's a moot point, though: The car has been discontinued as of this year.

[VuurwapenBlog]

@mz9393mz I drove a few RX-8s, could never fathom why Mazda thought that its fans would swallow a heavier, less powerful replacement for the RX-7.

[frankgon4]

My M16 jammed on me constantly in the Desert, but then again, it might not be a fair test as I lived in the desert. I did Recon and slept on the ground most of the time. Mine was not the only one that malfunctioned. There are many stories in the Desert concerning this. Example; Medal of Honor Winner Salvatore Guinta came to the rescue when gunner Eckrode's weapon had jammed and he could not prevent the Taliban from dragging off Sgt Brennan. Many stories such as this.

[VuurwapenBlog]

@frankgon4 Spc. Eckrode had an M249 SAW, and he had been shot four times. I fail to see the relevance of this to the video.

[frankgon4]

@VuurwapenBlog M249 is Similar Platform, but to be more on target for relevance, CBS reported " In the chaos of an early morning assault on a remote U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M4 carbine quit firing as militant forces surrounded the base". Google "Fort Leavenworth study says weapons failed in ’08 battle" You can also google M4 Fails Dust Test. My first hand experience is that it failed on me and on my team mates. We were not allowed to bad mouth rifle.

[VuurwapenBlog]

@frankgon4 Let me get this straight. You were a Reconnaissance Marine who "lived in the desert" - but you think the M249 is a "similar platform" to the M16/M4?

I don't buy it.

As for Wanat, try reading the entire study. Two M4s did have malfunctions that day. One was fired until it was so hot that its owner couldn't reload it. The other, no information was given as to what happened. The other weapons that failed that day include M249s, M240s and M14 EBRs.

[frankgon4]

@VuurwapenBlog I was not a Marine. Never said I was a Marine. I was Army. !3Foxtrot - Performed Recon duties. Google it. Mid 80's in the Desert. M16A1 was the issue of the day.. If you want to bet your rifle against it, I will take a week off work and drive up with my DD Form 214 to get the rifle.

You have your opinion based on the data you have collected. I have my opinion on the data I have collected.  We can agree to disagree.

[VuurwapenBlog]

@frankgon4 I don't care what you are or were - if you think the M249 is a "similar platform" to the AR-15/M16, and that failures with one are a reflection upon the reliability of the other (which you have already stated), your opinion on military firearms is absolutely worthless.

[1999CSVT]

WANKEL FREAKS!!!

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA­HA!!!!!  Ford for life! Kudos Andrew!

[Alphalug]

and dont lip wrist, never forget that...

[maxwell0700]

keep posting videos, its good stuff.