Never. I'm not going to bother taking the bolt apart unless something breaks. And nothing has ever broken on the AR pistol or AR rifle that I shoot most. The way I see it, about the worst thing that can happen after shooting thousands and thousands of rounds is the rights might fail, and if that happens then I'll know it and replace them.
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how often do you strip down the AR bolt
- Thread starter btmj
- Start date
A pause for the COZ
New member
I take mine apart before every shoot. But thats be cause I shoot cast bullets at lower pressures so I get lots of carbon in there. Price I pay for cheap shooting.
Tangentabacus
New member
Forgot to put this in my post. I got a NMB bolt for my gun recently and a quick spray of lube causes a sludge to literally drip out of the carrier nearly instantly. Not put a ton of rounds through it, but seems all I need to do anymore is keep the gun lubed.
Brotherbadger
New member
I never take the bolt apart. I'll clean it when clp, but that's it.
I've never bothered to take any of mine apart. Blow them out with a little brake cleaner if you feel like it.
Back when I was toting an M16 (1975-1979), taking the bolt or trigger group apart was an armorer's job, and would get an ordinary grunt an Article 15 (NJP, non-judicial punishment) as others have stated.
Back when I was toting an M16 (1975-1979), taking the bolt or trigger group apart was an armorer's job, and would get an ordinary grunt an Article 15 (NJP, non-judicial punishment) as others have stated.
stagpanther
New member
I have my own philosophy about taking the bolts apart--which may seem ridiculous--but hear me out. If the question is really "do you REGULARLY strip and clean your bolt?" My answer is definitely not--because knocking that retaining pin in and out is accelerated wear and it's always possible to lose or bend something. The ejector pin is CRITICAL in proper cycling and I don't like tempting fate. BUT--I DO keep an eye on my cases and extension lugs and even dry-cycle live rounds occasionally looking for tale-tale signs of possible mis-alignment: case scratches...dings failure to eject etc.
Captains1911
New member
I have my own philosophy about taking the bolts apart--which may seem ridiculous--but hear me out. If the question is really "do you REGULARLY strip and clean your bolt?" My answer is definitely not--because knocking that retaining pin in and out is accelerated wear and it's always possible to lose or bend something. The ejector pin is CRITICAL in proper cycling and I don't like tempting fate. BUT--I DO keep an eye on my cases and extension lugs and even dry-cycle live rounds occasionally looking for tale-tale signs of possible mis-alignment: case scratches...dings failure to eject etc.
For the extractor pin, applying moderator pressure to the rear of the extractor will relieve the tension to the point where the pin will almost fall right out. No way this is going to cause accelerated wear. The risk of losing the pin is legitimate, especially if disassembling in the filed.
SaveAmerica
New member
Just maintain the bolt with a good periodic cleaning and keep it lubed with a quality gun oil like FireClean, Slip 2000 EWL, Militec, etc. It is a good idea to keep the bolt pretty wet.
You do not need to remove the extractor unless there is a problem which is rare for a good quality rifle. The ejector almost never fails in a good quality well maintained rifle.
You do not need to remove the extractor unless there is a problem which is rare for a good quality rifle. The ejector almost never fails in a good quality well maintained rifle.
It's so simple to remove the extractor, I will do that after every firing session with the regular cleaning of the rifle. The ejector is just slightly more difficult to take out, but I may do that after every thousand rounds or so.
In the Army, we didn't disassemble the bolt at all, and no one seemed to have problems at the range.
In the Army, we didn't disassemble the bolt at all, and no one seemed to have problems at the range.
cryogenic419
New member
I took mine apart once and discovered my cleaning process was sufficient to keep the extractor assembly area clean enough that I shouldn't have issues with buildup.
Most of your CLP's and other cleaners are sufficient to break down the crud enough to get it out of there. Ultrasonic cleaners are awesome for cleaning AR BCG's too
Maybe at 10k rounds I'll yank it apart again just to see if there is any wear on the extractor and spring.
Most of your CLP's and other cleaners are sufficient to break down the crud enough to get it out of there. Ultrasonic cleaners are awesome for cleaning AR BCG's too
Maybe at 10k rounds I'll yank it apart again just to see if there is any wear on the extractor and spring.