I am a man with a problem. I lose sleep if my guns aren’t clean, but I hate cleaning my AR. There are so many little nooks and crannies and I don’t have the brushes to get in there. Short of running my upper through the dishwasher (which I have considered), I was at a loss. That was, until I found these Iosso brushes that are custom made for cleaning out the upper receiver and barrel of the AR 15.
Included in the kit are an upper receiver brush, bolt carrier brush, chamber brush, and bore brush. After a five minute once over with all four brushes and some Hoppes #9, my receiver is the cleanest it has been since the day I got it new. I’m not sure what the lifespan of these brush are as they are made out of something called Nyflex instead of your typical brass fare. Either way, at $14.99, you can probably afford to replace them every now and then.
You absolutely owe it to yourself to go pick up a set of these brushes. Your AR will thank you and if you obsess like I do, you’ll sleep better at night.
I actually use old tooth brushes and other dental cleaning products.
I did the same, but I could never find a toothbrush that would fit it all the little nooks. And yes, the set of dental picks are money for a variety of reasons.
I sometimes use toothpicks.
So, you’re saying that it’s not a good idea to put the upper in the dishwasher, oops!
Or…. you can spend some more money on a gun that doesn’t need cleaning (POF, for example), convert your AR to a piston so it needs cleaning less often, or get a gun that’s easier to clean… 🙂
Personally, I will only buy guns that I can use and abuse without babying. Maybe at another stage in my life I will indulge in something I will WANT to keep clean, but not right now.
To clarify, I’ve never had reliability issues with a dirty AR. However, if I’m going to clean, I want to get things really clean. These brushes work great for doing just that.
“To clarify, I’ve never had reliability issues with a dirty AR.”
You will, eventually.
Ruger Mini 14s run very clean. Earlier models were not the most accurate. Still think the military should have developed the Mini 14 more than what they did. I had one and you could abuse that thing and it would still go bang. Ruger magazines were required for sound operation.
AR’s don’t need to be babied, but they do get filthy. You can get away with minimal or no cleaning for awhile, but in the end the carbon buildup will cause additional wear.
That said, one of my gun buddies has an AR that he rarely cleans well, and I’ve *never* seen it have an issue.
Again though, what you’re really talking about with a direct-impingement AR is cleaning the BCG; the cavity where the bolt rides, and the bolt itself both should be kept as clean as possible so that they operate as smoothly as possible; The dirtier they are, the more it takes to unlock the bolt, and the more likely you are to damage the locking lugs… Back to cases, I’ve yet to see an AR upper that failed, DI or otherwise.
I love cleaning my guns and find it very relaxing. Or maybe I’m jusy getting stoned on the smell of Hoppes. Anyway, like Tom, I find that toothbrushes work very well. Plus, they leave your AR minty fresh. A word of warning, though. You can use your old toothbrushes to clean your guns, but you can’t use your old gunbrushes to clean your gums. Take it from me, they’ll taste just awful.
Sometimes I think that Eugene Stoner was a sociopath who invented the AR just to try our souls. All those nooks, crannies and grooves can’t be accidental. The bastard did it to us on purpose.
And if they are made of brass they tear up your gums!
Actually, Tara found two uppers in the dish washer and that was it for her. Ralph’s oral use of the tooth brushes had nothing to do with her exit.
The whole idea of dismissing dishwashers for their gun cleaning capabilities is quite depressing, just make sure you beat the wife to opening it up after it cycles.
I love cleaning my own weapons, but for work/training purposes I will gladly carry a SAW instead of M-16 just because it’s so much easier to clean at the end of the shoot.
After years of shooting & cleaning AR’s I can say without a doubt that keeping your AR clean is massively overrated. Keep it lubed every 250-300 rnds and your good to go. If you want to waste your time believing that if it ain’t clean it’ll malfunction, go right ahead. I’ll lube mine up and enjoy many hours of error free shooting instead of OCD cleaning sessions. But when it comes time to clean the AR Iosso brushes work great.
+1 on all this
For precision or target ARs clean the Bores at the appropriate intervals, but cleaning out all the “nooks and crannies” of the AR is a complete waste of time and should only be undertaken by anal compulsives. The AR is a fantastic reliable design that runs dirty. The only thing the AR ever wants is a little lube.
The Legendary Filthy 14 currently has over 43000 rounds through it with only one cleaning.
http://www.slip2000.com/art-swat2.html
I enjoy cleaning my guns. FrogLube (clean, lube and protect) has reduced
the time I spend by half and it smells like mint.
I actually like Hoppes #9. Really gets the gunk out.
Dad ( who was a BAR and Browning Machine Gunner ) never liked putting too much lubrication on the guns. ( which my Uncles did ). Sometimes a little dab will do ya.
Every few hundred rounds, I do a simple cleaning. Just a bore scrub, few patches down the barrel and I hold the lower upside down and spray with gun scrubber. Lube, put back together. Takes all of 3 minutes. Never had AR problems and everything just lasts.
Dunno why people whine so much on AR cleaning, sheesh.
I read another review of these brushes and it said the bristles came loose and fell out after a couple uses. Has anyone else read anything along those lines?
I’ve used a baby-bottle nipple brush to get into the nooks and cranny’s of my AR.
In reply to your comment about the brushes coming apart. . . I can truly say that we have one brush returned in 5 years. On the one that was returned I can’t really see how the bristles came out in general use (the way it looked). They are durable and last for several cleanings (at least 10). Give them a shot and see for yourself. They are made to fit the areas they clean very precisely. Pretty foolproof.