AR-15 Cleaning Kit

An AR-15 cleaning kit built around what a direct-impingement rifle actually fouls with: hard carbon on the bolt tail and inside the carrier, carbon and brass residue in the chamber and locking lugs, and copper and carbon in the barrel. Everything in this collection is chemistry, not hardware, so bring your own rod, bore brush and chamber brush. It works the same on a mil-spec carbine, a free-floated build, an AR pistol or a .300 Blackout upper, because the products do not care about the configuration, only about fouling.

Start with a kit if you are building from nothing. The Range Bag With Gun Cleaning Set is the complete AR setup: all five products a direct-impingement rifle needs, Gun Cleaner, Bore Cleaning Foam, Degreaser, Gun Oil and the Synthetic Grease for the cam pin and locking lugs, in a bag that keeps every can upright on the way to the range. The Professional Go-To Kit packs the same four cleaning and oiling products without the grease or the bag, in Small, Medium and Large. Buying one can at a time: Degreaser goes on first to strip old oil and grit from the bolt carrier group, and again as a rinse before you lubricate. Bore Cleaning Foam fills the barrel from the chamber end, dwells on the fouling and comes out on a patch. Gun Cleaner strips carbon, copper and lead from the bolt, carrier, chamber and upper receiver. Synthetic Grease holds on the cam pin and locking lugs, where oil migrates away. Gun Oil runs wet on the carrier rails, gas rings and charging handle. Gun Cleaner Wipes handle a quick bolt-face wipe between strings.

New to the platform, or fixing a routine that is not working? Start with the guides: how to clean an AR-15 step by step, what belongs in the best AR-15 cleaning kit, the best gun cleaner for AR-15 carbon, the best gun oil for an AR-15 and grease vs oil on an AR. Shopping for AR cleaners by the can instead of a kit? See the AR-15 Gun Cleaner collection. The full order of operations for any firearm is on How to Clean Your Firearm.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you need in an AR-15 cleaning kit?

Four jobs, four products: a degreaser to strip old oil and grit from the bolt carrier group before and after cleaning (Degreaser), a bore cleaner for carbon and copper in the barrel (Bore Cleaning Foam), a cleaner for the bolt, carrier, chamber and upper (Gun Cleaner), and a lubricant for the carrier and gas rings (Gun Oil, with Synthetic Grease on the cam pin and locking lugs). The Range Bag With Gun Cleaning Set covers all five in one bag; the Professional Go-To Kit covers the first four. Add your own rod, bore brush and chamber brush.

How do you clean an AR-15 bolt carrier group?

Field strip the bolt carrier group and spray Degreaser on the carrier, bolt, cam pin and firing pin to lift old oil and loose carbon. Use Gun Cleaner on the bolt tail, the inside of the carrier and the bolt face, let it work, then scrub and wipe. Rinse with Degreaser so the metal is bare, then lubricate: Synthetic Grease on the cam pin and locking lugs, Gun Oil on the carrier rails and gas rings.

Oil or grease on an AR-15?

Both, in different places. Gun Oil goes on the fast-moving surfaces, the carrier rails, the gas rings and the charging handle, where a thin, flowing film works best and an AR runs best a little wet. Synthetic Grease goes on the high-load contact points, the cam pin and the locking lugs, because it stays put where oil migrates away.

How often should you clean an AR-15?

Clean the bolt carrier group and chamber after every range session, because a direct-impingement AR blows carbon straight into the action. A full barrel clean every few range trips is enough for most shooters. A rifle that sits in storage still needs a light coat of Gun Oil about once a month to keep moisture off the metal.