...this is what i would recommend when your new 556 arrives...
...the first thing that i would do is to carefully read the owners manual...geting to know all the major components...some study of the parts diagram would be helpful...i'm sure...
...field strip the entire rifle and throughly clean the entire weapon using Breakfree CLP...removing all grease and perserative oils...then liberally coat the entire weapon with Breakfree CLP and let sit overnight or longer...the Breakfree will migrate overnight...and will form a protective film on the metal surfaces...providing a good degree of corrosion protection...even after the solvent evaportes and the metal appears dry...it will still be protecting the metal and finish of your weapon...
...clean the barrel, chamber and gas tube using a nylon bristle brush of the approprate size...and dry by running clean patches through them...clean the barrel from the rear using a 1 piece coated cleaning rod and do not reverse direction midway...go all the way through and back out again...so that it doesn't bind...normally i only use a patch with CLP to clean...or a nylon brush if needed...i rarely use a bronze brush...only when the accuracy degrades due to fouling...
...lightly lubricate the weapon with CLP...one drop on the hammer and trigger pins...on each side of the hammer and trigger...a drop on the selector shaft...and a drop on all the contact surfaces of the fire control group...lubricate the bolt head, bolt shaft and the bolt/carrier camming area with several drops of CLP or LP...no grease...two drops on the extractor rim...and a drop on the firing pin spring...and several drops on the rails on which the carrier glides...and a drop on anything that pivots or moves...including the takedown pins...the charging handle catch spring and so on...
...do not lubricate the gas valve or piston head...you can place one drop of CLP on the stop pin compression spring to prevent corrosion...and a light film on the recoil spring only...no lubrication fowards of the recoil spring...any lubricant in this area is blown out after the first few rounds...and what remains is carbonized / hardened by the heat, high pressure gases and particulate matter of the combustion process that drives the weapon...and remains as fouling...reducing the efficiency of the system...
...after assembling your rifle...i would hand cycle the rifle about 300 times or so...just pull the charging handle back and forth to cycle the weapon...allowing the carrier to run it's full travel along the rails and also allowing the bolt to cam open / close and lock into battery with each cycle...you don't need to allow the bolt to slam fowards as when charging your rifle...this will burnish the rails in the reciever and flatten out any high spots that may be present from the manufacturing process and debur the bolt /carrier somewhat by removing any small pieces of metal left over from the machining process...this hand cycling helps to reduce any friction inducing surface roughness that may be present in a new weapon...and will also help break in the new recoil spring...reducing the innitial stiffness somewhat and burnishing the gas piston surfaces where it contacts it...
...lastly...i would take a wooden dowel or something similar and work the follower up and down on any new magazine...about 30 times or so...and give the spring "only" a very light coating of CLP as a corrosion inhibitor...
...clean and maintain your weapon properly...use good ammo and mags...and you will have many years of shooting enjoyment from your new 556...
...good luck all...ullie
...the first thing that i would do is to carefully read the owners manual...geting to know all the major components...some study of the parts diagram would be helpful...i'm sure...
...field strip the entire rifle and throughly clean the entire weapon using Breakfree CLP...removing all grease and perserative oils...then liberally coat the entire weapon with Breakfree CLP and let sit overnight or longer...the Breakfree will migrate overnight...and will form a protective film on the metal surfaces...providing a good degree of corrosion protection...even after the solvent evaportes and the metal appears dry...it will still be protecting the metal and finish of your weapon...
...clean the barrel, chamber and gas tube using a nylon bristle brush of the approprate size...and dry by running clean patches through them...clean the barrel from the rear using a 1 piece coated cleaning rod and do not reverse direction midway...go all the way through and back out again...so that it doesn't bind...normally i only use a patch with CLP to clean...or a nylon brush if needed...i rarely use a bronze brush...only when the accuracy degrades due to fouling...
...lightly lubricate the weapon with CLP...one drop on the hammer and trigger pins...on each side of the hammer and trigger...a drop on the selector shaft...and a drop on all the contact surfaces of the fire control group...lubricate the bolt head, bolt shaft and the bolt/carrier camming area with several drops of CLP or LP...no grease...two drops on the extractor rim...and a drop on the firing pin spring...and several drops on the rails on which the carrier glides...and a drop on anything that pivots or moves...including the takedown pins...the charging handle catch spring and so on...
...do not lubricate the gas valve or piston head...you can place one drop of CLP on the stop pin compression spring to prevent corrosion...and a light film on the recoil spring only...no lubrication fowards of the recoil spring...any lubricant in this area is blown out after the first few rounds...and what remains is carbonized / hardened by the heat, high pressure gases and particulate matter of the combustion process that drives the weapon...and remains as fouling...reducing the efficiency of the system...
...after assembling your rifle...i would hand cycle the rifle about 300 times or so...just pull the charging handle back and forth to cycle the weapon...allowing the carrier to run it's full travel along the rails and also allowing the bolt to cam open / close and lock into battery with each cycle...you don't need to allow the bolt to slam fowards as when charging your rifle...this will burnish the rails in the reciever and flatten out any high spots that may be present from the manufacturing process and debur the bolt /carrier somewhat by removing any small pieces of metal left over from the machining process...this hand cycling helps to reduce any friction inducing surface roughness that may be present in a new weapon...and will also help break in the new recoil spring...reducing the innitial stiffness somewhat and burnishing the gas piston surfaces where it contacts it...
...lastly...i would take a wooden dowel or something similar and work the follower up and down on any new magazine...about 30 times or so...and give the spring "only" a very light coating of CLP as a corrosion inhibitor...
...clean and maintain your weapon properly...use good ammo and mags...and you will have many years of shooting enjoyment from your new 556...
...good luck all...ullie
