How To Clean Your Guns
BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 3 months ago
Lubricating is where many shooters make mistakes. The old adage, “more is better,” does not apply. Yep, Grandpa used a half-can of 3-in-1 Oil on his rusted fence pliers or his shotgun, and your father probably believed in the liberal application of WD-40 on any moving metal part. With firearms, however, too much is not good. In fact, according to Moore, you should “lightly lubricate.” The technical terminology he frequently uses is, “one drop.” He also warns to not lubricate the firing-pin channel, chamber, bore or magazines, because lubricants often allow debris to stick, and you don’t want stuck debris in these areas.
Some of his advice on cleaning frequency disagrees with what we studied earlier from Shooting Illustrated.
I’m neither concurring nor disagreeing with the bulk of the article – just sharing. I did find it interesting that this bears on a comment thread we recently had here on whether it’s possible to over-lube a gun.
I have to disagree with one aspect of this advice. I always oil my chambers, and always will. If it gets dirty because of that, I’ll clean it again.
On September 15, 2018 at 3:09 am, Dan said:
The amount of lubrication will often be determined by what type of firearm is being lubricated. It really is difficult to overlube an AR.
On September 15, 2018 at 8:37 am, dad29 said:
As to his admonition not to lube the bore……I think that depends on frequency of use of the weapon. A thin coat of oil prevents rust, too!
On September 15, 2018 at 9:27 am, jack said:
One thing I’ve never seen mentioned in any “pro” cleaning advice is to take into account your living conditions.
Humidity is fairly low in my former domicile in the People’s Democratic Republic of California. I have friends in Reno, NV, where summer humidity is non-existant. Rust was never a concern, and I really didn’t worry about lube – except at the interface of moving parts.
Now that I’m in North Carolina, where summer humidity is 85% in the day and 100% at night, moisture leading to rust is a huge issue. I have a goldenrod heater in my gun safe which keeps the environment at 80F and 40% humidity.
Firearms outside of the safe are immediately exposed to much more humidity, along with salt from sweaty hands and bodies.
I lube all exposed metal – chambers, barrels, everything. I also apply an oil wipe to exterior metal surface. All to minimize risk of rust.
On September 15, 2018 at 10:37 am, billrla said:
Also, do not oil the firing pin safety channel in a Glock pistol. Free-travel is important and you do not want grit collecting in the channel.
The less-is-better admonition also applies to bicycle chains. Just thought I would mention that, since you ride mountain bikes. Oil picks-up road-and-trail grit. Just oil the inside surface and then, run the external surfaces through a rag.
On September 15, 2018 at 8:19 pm, Gryphon said:
Jack is Correct in taking into Account the Climate your Guns live in. Where I am in the Virginia Piedmont, that 95 F. and 105% Humidity is common in the Summertime, and any Gun not in a Sealed, Desiccant-Loaded Container (a Safe is NOT a Moisture-Sealed Container, use of a Heater is Essential.) The few Guns I keep ‘Ready’ are heavily Oiled once a Month in the Summertime, to the point that the Rifles need a Patch run through the bore before Firing. The 1911A1 has a Stainless Barrel, it’s the one I would Grab First in the event of Trouble.
Guns with more Robust (Mil-Spec) Finishes may fare better in the Humidity, but what is Oil and a little Time to Apply/Remove it compared to a $1,000+ Gun?
On September 15, 2018 at 9:03 pm, SteveP said:
I live in a high humidity environment (central Mississippi) and this is the cleaning regimen I’ve followed for years:
After a day of shooting I clean the bore and chamber with Ed’s Red, followed by application of Eezox. All metal surfaces get wiped down with Eezox. It’s the best rust preventive I’ve ever found and a good bore cleaner in its own right. I stand the gun on it’s muzzle for a couple of hours before it goes into the safe. Before I shoot it again I run a dry patch through the bore and chamber. If I have any copper buildup I use Bore Tech Eliminator.
Every few hundred rounds I strip the gun and clean everything with Ed’s Red, followed by Eezox.
Anything that rotates around a pin gets a drop of 40 wt oil. Anything that slides gets a very light application of wheel bearing grease. It’s made for extreme high temp/high pressure applications so it will stand up to anything a gun can do. It won’t wash out in the rain and it’s cheap, unlike those very expensive “high tech” specialty gun lubes. I’ve been using the same quart of 40 wt (non detergent) oil and 1 lb can of wheel bearing grease for about 10 years and I’ll be using them for several more.
I don’t lube firing pins or magazines, though they do get the Eezox treatment and then wiped dry. Eezox is also a good dry lube that won’t attract dirt.
http://frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm
https://www.eezox.com/