ever notice this with an ar15

[Lloyd Smale]

went out yesterday with the wife and grandaugter to do some shooting. We took some handguns and two ars. My 9mm and a bushmaster 556 (cheap one with no chromed chamber or barrel) We probably put between 3-500 rounds through each rifle. Took them home and cleaned them and was amazed how little copper fouling came out of the 556. Keep in mind too that some of this was done rapid fire, 30 rounds as fast as you can pull the trigger and ive got a burn on my hand from the barrel to prove it. About as much as I would have figured one of my bolt guns to have after 10 rounds. If I shot some of my bolt guns even a 100 times without cleaning there would be ALOT of copper in them. Or at least id sure think there would be. I know after maybe 50 rounds there is (that's about as many as ive shot without cleaning one) Are the barrels that much better or do you think fouling gets to a point and stops? Even the 9mm after shooting about the same amount of cast both conventionally lube sized and powder coated cleaned up with very little work and had absolutely no leading. bottom line is either one of them could have had the actions cleaned up and oiled and went through the same thing again with no trouble. When this popped into my mind I tried thinking back and don't ever remember any of my ar15s being any kind of a chore to clean after shooting.

[Cowboy_Dan]

Copper fouling does reach an equalibrium at some point in every barrel. Every time you shoot, a little of the copper in the barrel is pushed out and a little is laid down. The added portion is relatively the same each time, but the more there is there, the more you push out. You can ride the equalibrium for a while until a point that the laid down fouling gets ironed on too much, which is when you begin accumulating more until it is a problem.

In an AR I clean out the copper everytime, but in a precision rifle, I'd look to stay in that equalibrium area as long as I could for consistent bore condition.

[Mk42gunner]

I have never had any problems cleaning the bore of an M16/AR15. Most of the ones I have been around were chrome lined though.

If you ever want to have a difficult time cleaning the action, just put a BFA on and fire a few hundred blanks.

Robert

[country gent]

Alot depends on How smooth the barrel is and the direction of the roughness. A cut rifled barrel with the machine marks running parrallel to the bores direction seems to foul less than reamer marks running radially around bore and rubed down by a button. Lapping puts these lines parrell to the bore also and may be much finer. Another is the radial machine marks in throat and lead from the reamer. HAving a Hawkeye bore scope and examining barrels that did and didnt foul, some pretty heavily has been interesting. My Ars and M1As wear krieger barrels my bolt match rifles hart or pac nor. Some barrels seem to fouls less or more. The intensity of a given cartridge affects fouling levels. throat erosion affects this also. A burnt throat thats rough cracked farther into bore will pull more copper. A 220 Swift is more likely to copper foul than 22 hornet due to velocity pressure levels and heat.

[garym1a2]

My ARs do not take much to clean the barrel.Even my 300blk at over 1000 rounds of cast 155gr lee is easy to clean though the bolt gets very dirty.

[C. Latch]

Barrels are individuals, regardless of what sort of rifle they're attached to. Some foul easily, some do not.

All of my ARs are either chrome-lined or have high-end precision barrels with smooth finishes (one has a high-end precision barrel that's chrome lined too) and cleaning just isn't needed very often.

[crowbuster]

I can second that c.latch. Went out west for several yrs shootin p.d's and shot hundreds of rounds from a.r.'s. never a problem.....well....other than picking up brass. Bolt guns are goooood.