Here is more on the subject posted by Iowegan:
"Lubricating pistols and semi-auto rifles is about the most misinformed subject in the gun industry. First ... guns are not car engines or axil bearings. They operate at very low temperatures compared to most machinery. When a gun reaches about 140 deg F, it gets too hot to hold. How many times does that happen? Not many and when it does, the temperature is still very modest. Second ..... oil or grease has a good application where there is a continuous source of lubrication (think oil pump) on parts that are "load bearing". That means high pressure is exerted on the mating surfaces such as a wheel bearing. Without adequate grease, a wheel bearing will soon get very hot and self destruct. There are no parts in any pistol, rifle, revolver, or any other gun that have high pressure load bearing surfaces. The closest you will come is a trigger cam in a DA revolver or the face of a hammer in a semi-auto. Oil or grease will only stay on the part for a few rounds then is flung off somewhere else inside the gun. The way manufacturers overcome wear on these parts is to use very hard steel in critical areas. Try drilling a hole in a Ruger hammer sometime and you'll see what I mean.
There are two mechanical situations were no amount of oil or grease will prevent wear ... one is peening and the other is galling. For guns that are prone to galling, the worst thing you can do is run them "wet". Slide rails will pick up very abrasive carbon particles and start wearing both mating surfaces. Before long, it is like rubbing two files together. The absolute worse condition for galling happens when both mating surfaces are made of the same alloy. I happen to have an AMT Hardballer and know exactly why they are prone to galling ... it's because they were the first gun I know of that had a cast stainless frame and a cast stainless slide ... both with the same identical alloy. My AMT has fired several thousand rounds and is still tight as a mouse's ear. Why? Because I only apply a very sparring amount of oil to the rails then wipe off any excess. If galling doesn't get a chance to start (from excessive lube) it will never become an issue. Once the parts have formed a smooth mating surface, they last for a very long time.
Peening is when one part smacks another part. A good example is a hammer and firing pin or the cylinder latch on a revolver. If you operate any DA revolver by pulling the trigger too fast or cocking the hammer too fast on any DA or SA revolver, eventually the cylinder lock notches will peen wider and cause a floppy chicken lockup. No amount of oil will prevent the hammering effect of peening.
I see AR-15s were mentioned ... a totally different animal but still subject to the same techniques. If you know anything about a Stoner Action, you may realize this is probably the worst design possible for a military rifle. There is a tiny hole in the barrel that syphons off some of the barrel pressure. A tube routs the pressure to a piston cup inside the receiver on the top of the bolt. Each time the weapon is fired, some powder residue is blown into the action under very high pressure. At some point, residue will accumulate and cause the weapon to jam. There's no good fix for this very poor design ... except to modify the gun with an external piston, much like the Ruger SR-556. When you start with an oily action AR, powder residue builds up pretty fast and starts causing malfunctions. There are two options ... field strip the gun and clean up the action or use the military "fix" and glop more oil in the action. This becomes a vicious cycle. More oil or CLP will free up the action temporarily but pretty soon the rifle is back to jamming. In a combat scenario, field stripping is not a good option so break out the CLP. For us civilian shooters, a few minutes and some Hoppie's #9 will get you back in action and hep prevent excessive wear. If you start with a clean and dry action, the rifle will shoot many more rounds before it starts jamming up ... fact is, it will indeed jam when enough powder residue has built up in the action ... oil or no oil. A piston driven action can shoot hundreds of rounds without cleaning or lubrication and won't jam up from powder residue.
I realize most people are conditioned to believe "if it moves, oil it" but I can assure you, this is not valid for guns. Yes, a slight film of oil on the surface of parts helps prevent rust or corrosion and it will also provide the best wear protection because it won't attract abrasive carbon powder residue. For long term storage, there nothing wrong with hosing the gun down with oil ... as long as you clean it up before you shoot it. As I said in the old post, I don't care how much oil or grease you use ... it's your gun, do as you please. Any mechanical device will eventually wear out; however, if you want to get the most life out of your guns, forget grease totally and only use a very sparring amount of oil ... and I do mean a sparring amount.
_________"
Take Care
Bob
"Lubricating pistols and semi-auto rifles is about the most misinformed subject in the gun industry. First ... guns are not car engines or axil bearings. They operate at very low temperatures compared to most machinery. When a gun reaches about 140 deg F, it gets too hot to hold. How many times does that happen? Not many and when it does, the temperature is still very modest. Second ..... oil or grease has a good application where there is a continuous source of lubrication (think oil pump) on parts that are "load bearing". That means high pressure is exerted on the mating surfaces such as a wheel bearing. Without adequate grease, a wheel bearing will soon get very hot and self destruct. There are no parts in any pistol, rifle, revolver, or any other gun that have high pressure load bearing surfaces. The closest you will come is a trigger cam in a DA revolver or the face of a hammer in a semi-auto. Oil or grease will only stay on the part for a few rounds then is flung off somewhere else inside the gun. The way manufacturers overcome wear on these parts is to use very hard steel in critical areas. Try drilling a hole in a Ruger hammer sometime and you'll see what I mean.
There are two mechanical situations were no amount of oil or grease will prevent wear ... one is peening and the other is galling. For guns that are prone to galling, the worst thing you can do is run them "wet". Slide rails will pick up very abrasive carbon particles and start wearing both mating surfaces. Before long, it is like rubbing two files together. The absolute worse condition for galling happens when both mating surfaces are made of the same alloy. I happen to have an AMT Hardballer and know exactly why they are prone to galling ... it's because they were the first gun I know of that had a cast stainless frame and a cast stainless slide ... both with the same identical alloy. My AMT has fired several thousand rounds and is still tight as a mouse's ear. Why? Because I only apply a very sparring amount of oil to the rails then wipe off any excess. If galling doesn't get a chance to start (from excessive lube) it will never become an issue. Once the parts have formed a smooth mating surface, they last for a very long time.
Peening is when one part smacks another part. A good example is a hammer and firing pin or the cylinder latch on a revolver. If you operate any DA revolver by pulling the trigger too fast or cocking the hammer too fast on any DA or SA revolver, eventually the cylinder lock notches will peen wider and cause a floppy chicken lockup. No amount of oil will prevent the hammering effect of peening.
I see AR-15s were mentioned ... a totally different animal but still subject to the same techniques. If you know anything about a Stoner Action, you may realize this is probably the worst design possible for a military rifle. There is a tiny hole in the barrel that syphons off some of the barrel pressure. A tube routs the pressure to a piston cup inside the receiver on the top of the bolt. Each time the weapon is fired, some powder residue is blown into the action under very high pressure. At some point, residue will accumulate and cause the weapon to jam. There's no good fix for this very poor design ... except to modify the gun with an external piston, much like the Ruger SR-556. When you start with an oily action AR, powder residue builds up pretty fast and starts causing malfunctions. There are two options ... field strip the gun and clean up the action or use the military "fix" and glop more oil in the action. This becomes a vicious cycle. More oil or CLP will free up the action temporarily but pretty soon the rifle is back to jamming. In a combat scenario, field stripping is not a good option so break out the CLP. For us civilian shooters, a few minutes and some Hoppie's #9 will get you back in action and hep prevent excessive wear. If you start with a clean and dry action, the rifle will shoot many more rounds before it starts jamming up ... fact is, it will indeed jam when enough powder residue has built up in the action ... oil or no oil. A piston driven action can shoot hundreds of rounds without cleaning or lubrication and won't jam up from powder residue.
I realize most people are conditioned to believe "if it moves, oil it" but I can assure you, this is not valid for guns. Yes, a slight film of oil on the surface of parts helps prevent rust or corrosion and it will also provide the best wear protection because it won't attract abrasive carbon powder residue. For long term storage, there nothing wrong with hosing the gun down with oil ... as long as you clean it up before you shoot it. As I said in the old post, I don't care how much oil or grease you use ... it's your gun, do as you please. Any mechanical device will eventually wear out; however, if you want to get the most life out of your guns, forget grease totally and only use a very sparring amount of oil ... and I do mean a sparring amount.
_________"
Take Care
Bob
