A basic "AR15's for Dummies" kinda site!
This is a brand new site (as of June 2007)
that we hope expands and offers a lot of fun
for AR15 (The Black Rifle) lovers!
First, a little history and who we are!
My name is Bob Martin,
and I am an expert gunsmith on the Ruger 10/22 Rifle.
(So what does that have to do with an AR15?)
I started an internet website several years back ( Ruger22.com ) to help fellow rimfire shooters out with something they did not have on the internet.
That being detailed photo help (instead of old reprints of factory manuals) showing how to tear down and modify the Ruger 10/22 and install aftermarket parts.
This "Hobby" eventually expanded into a full blown Ruger and Remington parts store at CheapGunParts.com and a firearms forum at GunsAndFun.com (I had to pay the bills for these websites somehow).
Over the years I also built a nice collection of long-range shooting rifles (remington 700s, etc.) and military rifles such as Ak47's and SKS's, plus handguns (I like rebuilding CZ52's)
In June of 2007 I decided to give the AR's a try, and after much research I purchased a STAG M1L (left handed) AR15.
I was amazed at how accurate this rifle was and how well designed it is, but also ran into a gas problem I had NO IDEA how to fix (Stag also has one of the best customer service departments and took care of my problem super fast). So here I am, with a cool new rifle, that needed to be cleaned and I had no idea how to break it down (the "military manual" Stag includes was not a lot of help) and to work on it.
So after much help from the guys at my range( PascagoulaDCM.com ) and the good folks at AR15.com (The best community of AR fans and information source) I finally figured out the basics.
Let me make this clear from the start:
I, in no way, claim to be an expert gunsmith in the AR15,
but I do have a background as a machinist and gunsmith on rimfire rifles/handguns, and have been shooting for over 45 years.
I also have a bit of a reputation as a pretty good teacher.
So I tossed this website up in hope it will be of help to other people new to the AR15 type weapon, and can help them with the basics through photos and simple instructions.
This site will start out with one long page (showing how to clean and do a simple breakdown) but I hope I can expand it over time as I myself learn more about the AR15, along with you.
If you have any tips or would like to contribute some info, please drop me a line at
ruger22@comcast.net
or stop by and say hi at
GunsAndFun.com
where I can be found most days.
Alright!
Then lets have some AR15 FUN!
BASIC BREAKDOWN OF THE AR15
(Note: all photos here are of a LEFT HANDED Stag AR15.
Most AR15 brands are of the same design,
so just apply photo images to the opposite side of your right handed AR15)
First an explaination of the "knobs and controls"
#2 - Bolt hold open. Press on bottom of switch with bolt handle pulled back and it will lock your bolt open.
#3 - Bolt release switch. Press this when bolt is locked open and is will cause bolt to slam shut (warning...and load round if magazine is in place).
#4 - Safety
#5 - Bolt handle. Pull this back and then let go to "cock the rifle" and load a round! (warning...it WILL eb ready to fire after doing this!
#6 - Rear sight adjustment (there may be others)
Here bolt handle is pulled back, loading a round and cocking the hammer.
The opposite side of the AR15 (remember. this is a left handed model) with only 2 controls.
A two-position safety switch
and a buttom that releases your magazine.
BREAKING DOWN TO CLEAN YOUR AR15
Press out the rear pin from one side to the other,
to release the rear of the upper unit.
Now only the front pin holds the two sections together.
Press the front pin out just as you did with the rear
and now the two sections will seperate.
You may have to fully "OPEN" the two halves
for this front pin to move.
With the pin out, and the two halves
(The "upper" and Lower") seperated,
set the part lower aside
and we can now disassemble the upper half.
Here the "upper" is shown upside down.
In this position gently pull BOTH
the bolt handle
AND the bolt back
at the same time
and remove them from the "upper".
There should be NO need to force anything.
CLEAN EXPOSED PARTS AND THEN SPRAY WITH BREAKFREE CLP
We will add more photos later
showing how to tear down the
bolt parts for cleaning
and how to reassemble the bolt.
REASSEMBLING YOUR AR15!
First, notice that the bolt handle has a deep slot in one side.
This slot should be facing UP
while the "Upper" is held upside down.
As shown here
A portion of the blot will fit in this slot.
With the "slot" of the bolt handle facing up, gently slide the handle AT AN ANGLE AS SHOWN HERE into the slot in the "upper". After you slide it in a small amount, you will feel it DROP deeper into the "lowers" slot.
When the bolt handle has dropped deeper into the slot, reduce the angle until the bolt handle is LEVEL with the upper and gently slide it into the "upper" slot a 1/4" more.
Next, you will slide the bolt
into that slot in the bolt handle
and slide it into the "upper"
Here you can see how the bolt slides into the bolt handles slot.
When both parts are in the "upper",
continue sliding the bolt forward
until the rear of the bolt
and the rear of the bolt handle
are together
When the rear of the bolt handle
and the rear of the bolt
are next to each other,
push both at the same time
in the rest of the way
until you hear them click.
You are now ready to put the Upper and Lower back together.
Position the front of the upper and front of the lower back together, and press the pin back through in place
next, bring the upper down onto the lower
and push the rear pin through and back into place
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have field stripped your new rifle.
We hope you enjoyed this page,
and make sure you check back later
as we add more AR 15 Fun to
AR15Fun.com
Bob Martin
President
