I was cleaning my M&P 15 Sport 2 to remove shipping lubricate after disassembly by the directions. I pushed a cleaning wand down the muzzle end and as it got to the chamber there was something flew out of the chamber across the table and I can't find it. Is there a plug in the chamber end for shipping? I've watched several videos and I don't seem to be missing any parts. Thanks

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U.S. Navy submarine vet.

Shouldn't be a plug, or anything else to obstruct the bore. Perhaps something from your cleaning rod/tool holder?

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Here, a grain of salt.

You should clean from chamber to muzzle not muzzle to chamber.

And THAT, kids, is why you give a new gun a thorough going-over before shooting it.
Had that really been a bore obstruction, that first shot would have been expensive, if not tragic. :/

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Registration? NEVER!

I'd keep looking for piece of mind. Nothing should have been in the chamber or barrel.

But yeah, for the future always clean away from the action. Chamber to muzzle, not the other way around.

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Still carrying my S&W 642

Thanks for replies. I bought a cleaning kit with brushes and a cloth type cleaning material brush. I was using the cloth cleaning attachment at the time.

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U.S. Navy submarine vet.

When they opened up the box on my M&P-15, there was a red plastic indicator that looked like a miniature hockey stick shoved in the breach, but I can't imagine you would have failed to notice that still being in your rifle when you started to clean it.

Thanks. I did remove the red plastic. What flew out was either white or silver. It moved so fast I couldn't see it clearly. I checked the cleaning rod swab attachment and it is intact. I had tried a half of cleaning patch with an existing cleaning wand and it wouldn't fit. I don't think the patch stayed in bore because I pulled the wand out and the patch was stll attached.

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U.S. Navy submarine vet.

What is a cleaning wand? Remove the bolt and clean from chamber to muzzle. Clean the chamber, also. Remove excess solvent.

Bore Snakes are great! Just remember to pull through from chamber to muzzle. For guns that shoot bottleneck cartridges (such as the AR), you will still need to brush the chamber itself using a rod or wand, though to get the wider

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Registration? NEVER!

Second on Boresnakes. And Pro Shot products.

Cleaning Kits

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Here, a grain of salt.

For best results, invest in good cleaning equipment: one piece quality rods, tips, brass brushes, etc. These aren't expensive items.

Bore snakes provide marginal service at best, though might be okay for emergency use in the field.

I like bore snakes for quick cleaning after short range sessions. IMHO people are too obsessed with cleaning their rifles. I am not sure where it comes from but I see more people who bugger their rifle from over cleaning than people harming them by running them a little dirty or letting them sit dirty after shooting.

I like these type of kits for deeper cleaning.
These kits have the cleaning brush, patch etc all run on a cord you drop through the action and pull out the front of the barrel. It also gives you a tool to clean carbon off the bolt.



Another good tool for cleaning your bolt is Cat tool.


AR-15/M15 CAT TOOL | Brownells

Whatever it was has to be inside that room , you can't replace it if you don't know what it is. Look very carefully in all the places it couldn't possibly have gotten into.
At my house I have a "black hole" , sometimes parts disappear into it, but after I buy another part....the lost part will be expelled and found.
The black hole likes socks , not pairs of socks , just one. It must feed off them because they never reappear.
Unidentified lost flying parts (ULFP's) will cause you a lot of lost sleep and to utter curse words....I hate them....keep looking!

Gary

FWIW, a 9mm bore brush works great in a 5.56/.223 chamber, AND a .45 brush does for a 7.62 chamber. For the mil-spec brushes are so tight they are unusable for me.
Mileage may, of course, vary.

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Registration? NEVER!

There is going to be thousands of different opinions on what works best.

I like dry bore snakes for immediate chamber and barrel cleaning while the firearm is still warm at the range for a quick clean.

Once I'm home, a regular cleaning rod and brush is used and a chamber cleaning brush on a fixed handle rod to scrub the chamber and locking lugs.

I do have some Otis cable cleaning kits for hunting camp use and locations where I won't be home fairly soon.

Oh, and the Otis B.O.N.E. tool works nicely for cleaning AR bolts.

There's my $.02. Take it as you will.

It's also darn near impossible to harm a bore or barrel crown with a bore snake, drop in from chamber and pull through...easy to use.
Get two, I keep one for cleaning and a second snake for lubing, store each seperately in a small plastic container , wash when they get dirty.
Gary