Gun oil or grease?

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It has always amazed me how high performance auto, motorcycle engines can run thousands of miles, at high RPMS at extreme textures, on synthetic engine oil of different weights, yet guns need some type of magical secret snake oil??:uhoh:

Here this article sums it up!

WARNING IF YOU ARE A SNOWFLAKE AND OFFENDED BY CERTAIN WORDS DO NOT READ THIS,:rofl:

https://www.breachbangclear.com/fake-science-BS-and-your-favorite-gun-lube/
 
If you hunt or shoot in cold weather grease is a no no. Even thick oil can be too much in colder climates.
I missed a good 20 shot on a deer when my muzzle loader failed to function when I had cleaned it the night before the first day of ML season.
Now I only use very thin oil or a dry lube powder on my hunting rifles.
 
AJC1 said:
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He makes some interesting points in that video. Pretty good video.

Just a quick story to start. As it happens, we had big honking locks and chains on our 5-stand traps which had been sitting out for years in NM sand storms. Come time to more a trap, I soaked 'em in WD-40 and heat, got 'em open, and still ended up taking the locks into a smith. They ripped me for using WD-40. I was a bit shocked, but a big no-no from them on locks. Kerosene, Marvel Mystery Oil, anything other than WD. Just an FYI on WD-40.

Ok, so the coefficient of friction between steel and steel is .8 dry and .16 lubed. So, for instance, 10 lbs of force dry steel-on-steel is actually 8lbs (10 x .8). Put some lube on that, oil or grease even water, and you now have dropped down to 1.6 lbs (10 x .16).

Now, steel definitely holds lube in the surface pores unless you do something to remove it - i.e., strip clean it. And, obviously, if we strip it, then we're going to reapply lube to restore the coating. I really don't worry about corrosion, just wear. I don't know about you, but my guns are wiped down after use.

My experience says to apply a light film and then wipe it off leaving a film behind. It just helps the coefficient of friction.

The thread about spray it down w/ Rem Oil and shake it off holds some merit. I actually use Rem Oil for a cleaner and then wipe the surfaces down and add just a teeny dab of Mobile 1. Rem Oil is thin, penetrates in aerosol form, carries dirt out with it, and leaves a film (maybe not the best but a film nonetheless) behind.

I have jeweled surfaces on the faces of my O/U barrel blocks. I and most of the people I shoot with (Kreighoff, Perazzi, Guerini) will take a fingertip of light grease and rub it over those surfaces to protect those surfaces during an afternoon's shooting. Will oil work? Yes, I've used it too in a pinch. But, grease gives better protection in rubbing areas most especially if we take care of them and don't let dust and other crud build up. But, grease does attract more dirt, unburn gunpowder, etc, no doubt.

In the long run, I'll do it my way, and you do it your way, and we'll all be happy, happy! :)
 
I've run my X-Five P320 for ~1500 rounds without issue after a good cleaning and a moderate application of Frog Lube. It got dirty and at the end the ejection velocity started to drop noticeably, but it ran.
I did the same for ~1100 handload rounds on my 1911 in 45 and ~900 in 400 CorBon each time also just cleaning and applying Frog Lube.
I'd say gun oil has won me over.
To be very clear, I don't run my guns this way normally. I wanted to see when my arms would fail and in what way as part of a larger load-dev project.
 
Mark_Mark said:
rule of thumb: grease for moving parts, oil for rubbing parts
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Anchorite said:
Grease if it slides, oil if it turns.
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I am a bearing guy...we used to use “if it slides, grease it....if it rolls, oil it”. Determine what you ‘gun’ likes. I was running a 1911 pretty routinely at 2-300 rounds per week. I like shooting a lot more than cleaning...so I let it go. I determined between 1000 and 1500 rounds, the gun would become a ‘jam-o-matic’ (for me, monthly). Clean it, lubricate it, go shooting again. The difference in noise when a clean gun was chambered and compared to a dirty was telling...clean, when ‘snick’, dirty sounded like a 1960’s pickup truck going down a dirt road loaded with empty beer cans. You could feel it, too. Some guns run better when “wet”, some “dryer”. Also depends on your environment. Ask someone who has “shot, real life” in the sand box vs me (advanced paper punching)...you will get very different answers.
 
rabid wombat said:
I am a bearing guy...we used to use “if it slides, grease it....if it rolls, oil it”. Determine what you ‘gun’ likes. I was running a 1911 pretty routinely at 2-300 rounds per week. I like shooting a lot more than cleaning...so I let it go. I determined between 1000 and 1500 rounds, the gun would become a ‘jam-o-matic’ (for me, monthly). Clean it, lubricate it, go shooting again. The difference in noise when a clean gun was chambered and compared to a dirty was telling...clean, when ‘snick’, dirty sounded like a 1960’s pickup truck going down a dirt road loaded with empty beer cans. You could feel it, too. Some guns run better when “wet”, some “dryer”. Also depends on your environment. Ask someone who has “shot, real life” in the sand box vs me (advanced paper punching)...you will get very different answers.
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There's always a can of some sort of aerosol lube available to spay semi guns that start sticking on the range. I've seen black just pour out of some.
 
Call me old fashioned, but I prefer hoppes for cleaning the crud out of the barrel. Let it soak for a min, then run a brass brush followed by patches until the barrel comes clean. After that, reassemble and wipe the gun down with 3in1oil inside and out. Grease has never been in my cleaning kit or a part of my regular maintenance.
 
for lubing searsa and trigger groups and such, I like to hose it down with Ballistol in an aeresol can and let it drip out ... then spray out/off excess with canned air.
 
I use Mobil 1 5w-30. I used to just snag a little from the 10w-30 bottle when I was doing an oil change on one of my trucks, but I screwed up and bought a 1qt bottle of 5w-30 by mistake. It has been my go-to gun oil for the last 3 years in my glocks, 1911s, ar-15s, 10/22, and desert eagle. Never had any issue with it and also have no plans of switching away from it.
 
I only use oil, and a light coating after rubbing down the metal. It only takes a few minutes to oil a gums keeping it oiled is easy. As for grease, it is gooey. It traps grit. It is harder to clean off. I look at it this way. My Caddy XT5 calls for oil in the engine. You gotta know that the engine getting more workout than a gun. I have never been instructed to put grease in my engine. I have never had a gun that the maker called for greasing it.
 
Grease + dust or grit = lapping compound. Grease will certainly stay on the gun for a long time. As will the embedded dust/and or grit in the grease. Oil will flush itself. On a newer gun I will take an oil pen to keep it wet. A good oil has to keep the gun wet for the entire shooting session. FP-10 does that well.
 
I use grease on things that turn like choke tubes and the knuckles of a shotgun where I need the lubricant to stay and not migrate and oil on things that slide like ejectors or the rails on a 1911
 
Rule3 said:
Neither Sig nor Kahr or anyone else I know of call for Grease.
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My SIG P22x manuals specifically allow grease or oil. I use Tetra on the rails (generous) and with a little oil on the bbl/shroud (sparingly). If visual wear is any indication...I am pleased with what I don't see.
 
In a sanitary environment grease or oil can work equally well. In a dusty or gritty environment I use oil instead of grease. A good example of a dusty or gritty environment is the ram on my Dillon 550c.
 
Walkalong said:
Clean with WD-40? Sure.

Protect from moisture with WD-40? Sure (Although they make another product for that which really excels if you aren't going to use the item for a long time).

Oil anything with WD-40? Nope, there are better, longer lasting, choices, especially the longer lasting part.
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I was squadded with a Dupont tribologist one year at Camp Perry, his opinion of WD40 as a lubricant was rather low. He claimed WD 40 was simply a light oil, that evaporated and left a silicone layer. Which is consistent with my experience. The light oil penetrates, but it does not last long.

For years I used, and still use, SAE 10W-30 synthetic motor oil on everything. As stated earlier, motor oils are great lubricants, and a best buy at the price. For the last couple of years I have been using Military LSA

WUGvNy0.jpg

on my 1911's. Also on semi auto's and bolt guns. Actually been using LSA on my M1a and Garands for decades, but only the last couple of years on my 1911's. There are a bunch of semi fluid greases on the market. Military LSA is thinner than most, but all semi fluid greases are tenacious in holding the surface, and do an excellent job of lubrication. The thicker semi fluid greases are too thick, in my opinion, for cold weather. Even though my 1911 functioned with a thick one, I could tell the slide velocity was down.

LSA is an option that is worth considering.

6FBDTkU.jpg
 
AJC1 said:
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Is this the video where GunBlue490 suggests using straight-up mineral oil USP from Walgreens? Anything that can be ingested can't be bad.

I'm working through my current supply of Hoppe's and Outer's, but I may buy a quart bottle of mineral oil for $3. Lifetime supply. May be able to use it in my old age for, uh, other purposes. I'm a dual-use kinda guy.
 
Spare Parts said:
Is this the video where GunBlue490 suggests using straight-up mineral oil USP from Walgreens? Anything that can be ingested can't be bad.

I'm working through my current supply of Hoppe's and Outer's, but I may buy a quart bottle of mineral oil for $3. Lifetime supply. May be able to use it in my old age for, uh, other purposes. I'm a dual-use kinda guy.
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I use Valvoline 5-30 full synthetic; a quart should last my kids' and grandkids' lifetimes
 
George P said:
ACTUALLY, WD-40 is a great solvent for cleaning; followed by proper lubricants
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but why not use the stuff that was made to clean guns? I dunno, call me silly but I don’t like to experiment with my guns when it comes to caring for them.
 
Slamfire said:
I was squadded with a Dupont tribologist one year at Camp Perry, his opinion of WD40 as a lubricant was rather low. He claimed WD 40 was simply a light oil, that evaporated and left a silicone layer. Which is consistent with my experience. The light oil penetrates, but it does not last long.

For years I used, and still use, SAE 10W-30 synthetic motor oil on everything. As stated earlier, motor oils are great lubricants, and a best buy at the price. For the last couple of years I have been using Military LSA

View attachment 998929

on my 1911's. Also on semi auto's and bolt guns. Actually been using LSA on my M1a and Garands for decades, but only the last couple of years on my 1911's. There are a bunch of semi fluid greases on the market. Military LSA is thinner than most, but all semi fluid greases are tenacious in holding the surface, and do an excellent job of lubrication. The thicker semi fluid greases are too thick, in my opinion, for cold weather. Even though my 1911 functioned with a thick one, I could tell the slide velocity was down.

LSA is an option that is worth considering.

View attachment 998930
Click to expand...

Guys I know who worked in far away sunny and classified locations used off the shelf motor oil for their belt fed machine guns and ARs, usually 0W-20 or similar.

It’s all you really need.
 
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