A little help

bronko22000 · 10-02-2008, 06:57 PM

Guys - I'm new to the black rifle world. I had a Mini 14 for years but finally broke down and got a Stag Arms AR style rifle.
I am picky about keeping my firearms clean and have a question about the AR. How do you clean the gas tube?
I strip it down and give the barrel, bolt assy and receiver after every session. I took the forearm off but can't remove the tube for cleaning. I am assuming the tube is pressed in place. I used a 12" pipe cleaner from the rear with some clp on it but this only cleans 1/2 of the tube.

RenaissanceBiker · 10-03-2008, 06:30 AM

In the Army they neverhad us grunts clean the gas tubes of our M-16s. Maybe the Armorer did that as part of his job, but we didn't. Did you get a manual?

wuttwutt · 10-03-2008, 08:18 AM

That was the Armorer's job. All we were allowed to do was take the grips off and scrub it with a toothbrush.

bronko22000 · 10-03-2008, 10:11 AM

I got a manual and read it cover to cover.Reads justlike any othermilitary spec. Looking at the schematic I thought that the gas tube just sat on top of the barrel (under the forearm/heat shield) but apparently it is pressed into the front sight. I saw that TAPCO had gas tube mops on their site. But they looked like nothing more than long pipe cleaners which I have.
The manual does not address cleaning the inside of the gas tube. Only to clean the outer portion. But even though it is stainless steel, I'm sure over time, the residue from powder is going to build up and sooner or later its going to get blocked. But I guess this will take several thousands of rounds.

atlas366 · 10-03-2008, 11:54 AM

My advice is to leave the gas tube alone, if you shoot it enough to damage the gas tube in a semi, you'll have something else fail before hand. I have a full auto M-16 and have owned AR-15 rifles for 15 years and I've cleaned them many times, never messed with the gas tube. In full auto fire if you do mag dump after mag dump, the gas tube can get hot enough to sag and melt, then you're out of action. Nothing to do with cleaning though. Think about it; hot high pressure gases pass through it at extreme velocity with each shot, there are no moving parts in it and it doesn't have to be smooth or even cleaninside to operate effectively. Never ever heard ofone being blocked. The rest of the Stoner system is another matter, everything from the chamber back, best kept very clean.

Certainly not one of my favorite guns to clean though, there are worse (hate HKs), but there are better ones too (UZI and AKs).