No brace?

@Sage Ive worked as a maintenance tech and machinist too long to believe that man.

@Ironman I work in a related field, and have been using grease over oil on my guns for almost 10 years now. Try it - it's way better.

And I work as a part time gunsmith. Grease = carbon. Might as well use cosmoline.

Nope. Everybody who I've told to try this thought I was crazy, then I lubed their rifle. All believers.

@Sage never used one, I still need to figure out what sights to use, it's different on the pistols

Grease = really thick oil.

Ill stick with my light machine oil. The name of the game in tight tolerance is viscosity

ehh, not always

Oil is often petrolium based, whereas grease is usually lithium hydroxide based

Yup

The clearances on your bolt group aren't that tight.

And oil is a hydrocarbon. Oh no carbon. BTW, ignore carbon. Carbon hurts nothing.

It also depends on the type of stuff you use

Carbon buildup is what causes the majority of malfunctions in AR rifles.

@longdickerson Nah, same sights work.

Some grease is nice and thin, and sticks well to components

> Carbon buildup is what causes the majority of malfunctions in AR rifles.
@Ironman I strongly disagree.

Red dot?

Red dot, yes.

Interesting

Disagree all you want, I know better

Operator error, bad ammo, bad magazines, out of tolerance parts... there is a LONG list of things that cause failures way way before you get to carbon build up.

If its operator err, mags, ammo, etc, then someone should probably seek training. SPORTS is a thing.

Grease loves sand. Sand loves jams

LOL, are you gonna tell ME to seek training? Dude, slow your roll.

If the boot fits

Grease can be used far more sparingly, and doesn't creep like oil. Grease, SPEAKING FROM LONG EXPERIENCE, attracts less fouling and sand.

Capillary attraction. Probably want to google that.

Creep is a good thing.

Not if you want to keep dirt off. The surfaces inside the AR aren't going to corrode, so you don't NEED creep.

Apologies for the messy bench, but this is what 1500ish rounds look like on grease. All weather, rain or shine (Texas, so mostly shine) blowing dirt, pushing through cedar stands... It's got some gunk on it, but no sand, no foreign materials. And it runs the same as if I'd just cleaned it yesterday.

Small bonus: I can pop my buffer out and it'll be clean. :p

Everything corrodes. Even gold. And that is an extremely dirty bolt carrier group. No wonder you mentioned malfunctions hinting at feed problems. The most crucial part of that group is behind the rings on the bolt. Thats how that system works. The bolt is also the gas piston. Tolerances are crucial. At least its milspec so you can use the forward assist to drive it home. Forget hoppes 9 or anything of the like. Id get some brake cleaner or a solvent tank man.

You may want to look into why the foward assist was even made and why. If you were on an FTX or something you would be having some issues. Range shooting is not comparable to 3 to 5 second rushes in the mud.

I've had one malfunction on this rifle ever, and it was a couple weeks ago when I didn't seat the magazine fully. Oops.

The forward assist has one legitimate use. Quietly loading the rifle. Other than that, you just make problems worse.

This is "extremely dirty"? Pff, it's got another 2K on it before I worry about cleaning it. Hell, the barrel gets too fouled to hold decent groups way before I "need" to clean the bolt group.

And I can do a LOT better than brake cleaner or a solvent tank..

As far as the rings go, I've only managed to wear one set out in my lifetime, in my last AR. No biggy - wearable item. And they are one of the few parts that do a good job of self-cleaning.

The forward assist was made to shove the bolt into battery in the event the rifle fails to chamber during normal operation. Alot of men died so that little device was invented. Ckeaning kits were also issued for the first time to keep the weapons free of fouling. In a real combat situation, cleanliness means reliability.

Barrel fouling really only affects accuracy. Its important to shoot several rounds through a clean barrel before putting it in the safe. You will most likely not take a shot on a warm barrel when it counts. Fouling helps keep the cold "fliers" from getting away too much.

I use a solvent tank at the race shop. Big enough to drop heads in. Its not heated though, unlike your slow cooker. Lol.