I do not enjoy cleaning my black rifles or pistols. I don’t mind cleaning a family heirloom or an antique with a wood stock, but the Glocks, 1911s, and AR-15s rarely see any cleaning whatsoever. Most of the time, my cleaning is limited to a bit of oil and a single paper towel. I should note that I shoot a lot, and do not experience issues with my weapons.
When I was offered a chance to T&E a CAT-M4 cleaning tool, I did not exactly jump at it. Even if it made cleaning easier, I hardly cleaned anyway – so it wasn’t likely to save me any time. If you’re reading this and are a fan of this tool, please know that I gave it a fair shot, despite my lack of enthusiasm.
At first, I was intrigued. It seemed to scrape carbon off the tail of the bolt fairly well. In this photo, it’s not fully seated on the bolt, due to all the carbon there – this is a different bolt than the one seen in other pictures in this review, and was pulled from a rifle just to take this photo.
The tool is intended to be used by hand, with the other hand holding the bolt.
The bolt I used to test the tool with came from my Spike’s Tactical 5.45×39 upper receiver. It had been shot hard and never properly cleaned. It had never seen more than a paper towel and some oil until this point. It functioned perfectly and I saw no need to do anything different.
There was still some carbon on the tail of the bolt after following both the “Tactical Tolerance” and “Inspection Ready” instructions included with the tool. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photograph at that time. I ended up using another tool to scrape the rest of the carbon away, as the other edges of the CAT M4 did not lend themselves easily to this task.
The other end of the tool is intended to be used to clean the inside of the bolt carrier. I inserted it and started to turn it, but there was so much carbon inside that it got stuck.
Pliers were needed for this task, but not any set would do. I found my Multitasker Series 2 multi-tool and used the pliers to turn the CAT M4.
As one might expect, some carbon came out after this double-teaming of the bolt carrier.
Still, it was pretty ugly inside. I decided to chock the CAT M4 up in my vise and put some weight on the bolt carrier while I turned it.
I did this a few times, until a nice bit of carbon had piled up on the vise.
Confident that the last of the carbon had been vanquished, I took a look inside. My confidence was ill-inspired.
I sprayed the inside of the bolt carrier with solvent and let it sit for a while, but the results were much the same after I attacked it with the vise-clamped CAT M4 and a patch – nowhere near “inspection ready.” Aggravated, I put it aside and went about performing other tasks.
Later, I decided to use another tool, with a more aggressive shape, to clean out some more carbon from the bolt carrier. Plenty of carbon came out.
As I see it, the problem with the CAT M4 is not just that it does not clean all of the carbon away from the areas that it is supposed to clean, but it will not help you clean other areas of the bolt or carrier. Another tool would be required to make the bolt alone “inspection ready.” For the average Soldier or Marine preparing to endure the endless lines at the armory, this other tool is going to be a knife blade – and if he already has a knife that cleans the tail of the bolt just fine, why bother with another tool that doesn’t do it as well, won’t clean the other parts of the bolt, and won’t help him open an MRE, either? The two ends of the CAT M4 are mediocre at their stated purposes and ineffective at any other cleaning purpose.
Beyond that, the two areas that the CAT M4 is primarily designed to clean are not critical to the function of the weapon. They are where carbon builds up most visibly, but that is because this part of the weapon is not one where metal surfaces are constantly contacting one another. It is far more important to lubricate the parts of the rifle that get shiny after moderate use than it is to scrape carbon away from an area that, in over eight thousand rounds without cleaning, has never caused me a single issue with this upper receiver group.
Great review. Thanks!
I have had this tool for some time and find its usefulness limited as well. I use it as an initial once over on my bolt and carrier and then hit them with a dental pick. I did find that if you put a bore patch on the tool with a drop of solvent while scraping out the inside of the carrier that it does a much better job.
Andrew, maybe you could review the KZ Carbon Removal Super Tool?
http://www.botachtactical.com/m4ct.html
Well that’s a bummer. I fell for the gimmick attraction of this tool and bought one a couple months ago. The video makes it seem like a “wonder tool” of course.
I haven’t had a chance to use it yet. Like yourself I do a lot more oiling than detailed cleaning. Not sure why I bought it to be honest. A knife and pick always worked great. Nice review.