Excellent article that I think every AR fan (and hater) needs to read

[M. Sage]

The Big M4 Myth: “Fouling caused by the direct impingement gas system makes the M4/M4A1 Carbine unreliable.”

Just freaking awesome. In my opinion this supports my use of grease as an AR lubricant.

 

[jsimmons]

I use grease on the bolt rails, and that's all the lube I use.

 

[MR Redneck]

Grease,oil, or no oil. I've been debating the issue with several guns for about the last year. I've bought lubes from several places and tried it on lots of different guns.
Something I found that works the best for me is synthetic gear oil, 80/90.. The stuff stays where I put it. Makes the action and rails smooth and stays in the guns longer.
Im not against grease, but I have also found that grease tends to create issues with a build up of BS inside my guns. On my 1911's and other rail type handguns, I tried the slip stream grease. The stuff would just push out the front and back of the guns and makes a mess everywhere.
Good gear oils, will stay on the rails and creat a smooth operating action, at least thats what I found.
To each his own, but a clean and well maintained gun will always be the best operating no matter what anyone prefers.

 

[Texas1911]

I've probably seen 250,000 rounds of ammo fired out of ARs of every make and quality and I can attest probably a handful of malfunctions to a lack of maintenance. I'd say that figure would be rather insignificant compared to the number of steel case ammo related failures, manufacturing failures, magazine failures, etc.

 

[cuate]

I use grease in wear points of my M4,Galil and AK47......If I was in a sandy locale I would not unless very little and clean very regularly......Do what your Military Branch recommends, or the manufacturer or book says....

 

[TxSt45]

Good read, It is very impressive what these guns can do when built stout.

 

[Spiff]

I use grease on the bolt rails, and that's all the lube I use.

Inside the BCG is by far the most important part of an AR to lube. The inside of the upper hardly needs any lube at all, by comparison.

 

[MR Redneck]

Does anybody lube the piston area?

 

[M. Sage]

I've got nearly 200 rounds of steel case through my DPMS A2 upper (no cleaning and probably won't until a thousand rounds). If it doesn't eat steel cased, I'm selling the upper. There should be zero problems with that ammo...

Does anybody lube the piston area?

I do. I lightly grease all the points of contact.

 

[Renegade]

Yes, a sample size of one is always scientifically meaningful... Junk journalism like that should not even be published, regardless of whether or not the conclusion is correct.

 

[Spiff]

Yes, a sample size of one is always scientifically meaningful... Junk journalism like that should not even be published, regardless of whether or not the conclusion is correct.

Does your experience contradict his? 'Cause I'm pretty sure Mike Pannone has put an awful lot more rounds through an awful lot more carbines than anyone who has posted in this thread.

 

[Renegade]

Does your experience contradict his? 'Cause I'm pretty sure Mike Pannone has put an awful lot more rounds through an awful lot more carbines than anyone who has posted in this thread.

Even if it did, a sample size of TWO is not scientifically meaningful, which is my point.

I doubt anyone has shot more rounds than me, unless they own a minigun. Regardless, How many rounds one has shot is also scientifically meaningless.

IMO fouling is heavily dependent upon the ammo used. He chose M193 and had no problems, no surprise there. We have known that for 35+ years.

 

[TexasFats]

Properly maintained, an AR is just as reliable as anything else. Unmaintained, no gun is likely to be reliable. That said, I still have problems with the fact that they are just, plain ugly. I prefer blued steel and good wood, but my End of the World gun is a piston AR.

 

[Adionik]

Good read. I'd still prefer to get a piston AR if I had the money.

 

[M. Sage]

Even if it did, a sample size of TWO is not scientifically meaningful, which is my point.

I doubt anyone has shot more rounds than me, unless they own a minigun. Regardless, How many rounds one has shot is also scientifically meaningless.

IMO fouling is heavily dependent upon the ammo used. He chose M193 and had no problems, no surprise there. We have known that for 35+ years.

He's former SF, and they're in the habit of shooting somewhere in the neighborhood of a case of ammo a week.

 

[MR Redneck]

What is a SF?

 

[Renegade]

He's former SF, and they're in the habit of shooting somewhere in the neighborhood of a case of ammo a week.

So what? I know people who shoot a case of ammo in 20 seconds, doesn't mean jack.

And for the record, up until a year or so ago, I was shooting 60-80K a year, which is more than a case a week. Doesn't mean anything, I just shoot a lot. It is easy when you can shoot machine guns off your front or back porch day or night.

 

[Renegade]

What is a SF?

Special Forces - Green Berets, Delta, etc.

 

[MR Redneck]

Special Forces - Green Berets, Delta, etc.

Oh yea? I use to know a seal long time ago, well im 38 and I trained with him when I was 19. So damn, that was 19 years ago. I can probably kick his ass now since he about 60. HaHa.

 

[Spiff]

Even if it did, a sample size of TWO is not scientifically meaningful, which is my point.

I doubt anyone has shot more rounds than me, unless they own a minigun. Regardless, How many rounds one has shot is also scientifically meaningless.

IMO fouling is heavily dependent upon the ammo used. He chose M193 and had no problems, no surprise there. We have known that for 35+ years.

How many rounds shot are not at all meaningful; you are correct. The observations that go along with them are, however.

Besides, whose M193 was it? Was it US? Was it Malaysian? Was it South African? Who cares? The point of the article was to demonstrate that ARs don't have to be squeaky clean to run well. While I've never run mine without lube, I have a CMMG upper that went over 1k rounds without cleaning with zero problems, and I'm sure you have similar experiences.

Please, since you seem to do quite a bit of shooting (certainly more than I), why don't you run a scientifically meaningful experiment on your own dime and report back to us, instead of running down the work of others.

The article was not meant to be published in the ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics. There weren't nearly enough big words.