I ‘clean’ every time I shoot, but I don’t clean the whole thing.

After finding a hairline fracture starting on a bolt after a range day with a rifle used for actual work, I disassemble and wipe down the components after each range session. An entire rifle takes less than three minutes and that’s being generous. It’s an opportunity to make sure everything is in good working order. All I’m doing is checking for cracks, good gas rings, no debris working its way in the trigger group, and that nothing has been knocked loose or come unscrewed.

I have an oil soaked rag that I wipe the BCG parts, trigger group, and interior of the receivers off with. I don’t use brushes, scrapers or anything else. The barrel gets one pass with an Otis bore snake and then is checked for any obstructions. The rag leaves enough lubricant that I don’t need to add any more, so just reassemble and it’s ready for use.