Video animation of an AR-15 firing cycle with description of parts and op modes

[HuntTXhogs]

[video=youtube;wMIBUIN30yU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMIBUIN30yU[/video]

[TexHill]

The animation was good, but some of the "facts" spouted off by the narrator are flat out false. "Gunshot residue can become a big problem if the rifle isn't cleaned regularly.". Totally false. The AR-15 can go thousands of rounds without being cleaned. It just needs to be well lubricated. In the 3 years that I've had my Daniel Defense M4v7LW I have fired thousands of rounds through it, and have yet to clean it. I don't clean my rifles until I see a change in accuracy.

[NugginFutz]

Here's one that, despite how you may feel about Larry Vickers, has been touted as one of the most revealing videos of the M4's operation. The action starts after a short intro, at about the 1 minute mark.

[video=youtube;phwDMrau_7Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phwDMrau_7Y[/video]

[MarkS]

The animation was good, but some of the "facts" spouted off by the narrator are flat out false. "Gunshot residue can become a big problem if the rifle isn't cleaned regularly.". Totally false. The AR-15 can go thousands of rounds without being cleaned. It just needs to be well lubricated. In the 3 years that I've had my Daniel Defense M4v7LW I have fired thousands of rounds through it, and have yet to clean it. I don't clean my rifles until I see a change in accuracy.

The animation is not false. Depending on the powder being used, a direct impingement gas system can get very dirty, very quickly. My 300 blackout needs to be cleaned after each use because residue builds up on the bolt/firing pin which results in light strikes and failure to fire. Once I forgot to clean it after using it, and when I went to use it again a few months later, the bolt failed to go into battery due to fouling on the bolt and in the chamber. Also, some lubricants exacerbate the build-up of the powder/carbon residue which can speed-up the fouling process.

Just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't meant it doesn't happen.

[NugginFutz]

The animation is not false. Depending on the powder being used, a direct impingement gas system can get very dirty, very quickly. My 300 blackout needs to be cleaned after each use because residue builds up on the bolt/firing pin which results in light strikes and failure to fire. Once I forgot to clean it after using it, and when I went to use it again a few months later, the bolt failed to go into battery due to fouling on the bolt and in the chamber. Also, some lubricants exacerbate the build-up of the powder/carbon residue which can speed-up the fouling process.

Just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't meant it doesn't happen.

Just out of curiosity, Mark, are you running that BO suppressed? If so, does the degree of fouling change when you run un-suppressed?

[montana]

Curious how people have different experiences with the internal piston "AKA DI" action. I have shot my AR rifles and never had a malfunction due to fouling. I keep my AR rifle's bolt carriers, cam pins, bolts well lubed between cleanings without any problem. One fact many people don't realize is the Ruger mini-14 is as much or more of a DI rifle than the Stoner AR.

[MarkS]

Yes. There is a definite difference between suppressed and unsuppressed.

[LRRPF52]

The AR15 is not a Direct Impingement operating system. That's a misnomer that gained traction before the internet age, that directly contradicts what the patent description is as described by Stoner.

Because the AR15 has a gas tube similar to a Ljungman Ag m/42, which is Direct Impingement, people mistakenly associated the AR15's operation system with that rifle.

Stoner Patent

It is another object of this invention to utilize the energy of the expanding gas developed by the firing of the weapon, for actuating the automatic rifle mechanism directly by use of a metered amount of the gas coming from the barrel. This invention is a true expanding gas system instead of the conventional impinging gas system.

As to carbon residue and reliability:

An AR15 lubed with a good, thick, long-lasting lubricant will run and run and run.


Filthy 14

As of this writing, EAG students have 31,165 rounds downrange through Filthy 14. During this evaluation period, it was cleaned once (as in one time), at 26,245 rounds. The end result is that Rack #14 was—and remains—filthy. It is filthy because it has been shot at class. Only at class. Every round that has gone down that barrel has been fired at class, with an average of approximately 1,300 rounds every three days. It has been lubed generously with Slip 2000 Extreme Weapons Lube (EWL).

The combination of carbon and lube create (wait for it)…filth. It is so dirty that, while sitting in the rifle rack, it is almost a biohazard. The filth oozes out and contaminates other carbines adjacent to it.

But it is still shooting—and shooting well.

[MarkS]

The AR15 is not a Direct Impingement operating system. That's a misnomer that gained traction before the internet age, that directly contradicts what the patent description is as described by Stoner.

Because the AR15 has a gas tube similar to a Ljungman Ag m/42, which is Direct Impingement, people mistakenly associated the AR15's operation system with that rifle.

Stoner Patent


As to carbon residue and reliability:

An AR15 lubed with a good, thick, long-lasting lubricant will run and run and run.


Filthy 14

good info. thanks!