Lube Failure

legi0n said:
Really?
I was taught long ago in the military to use NO lube in the arctic.
None. No oil, no grease, don't even breathe on moving parts.
In sub-zero temps the relative humidity is 0% and as such the danger of rust is zilch.
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Not to be too pedantic(while being extremely pedantic), but, in sub zero temperatures it is very easy to have high relative humidity, as relative humidity refers to the amount of moisture that the air can hold at a specific temperature and pressure. What you mean to say is that the air in very low temperatures has a very low absolute humidity, meaning it holds little water vapour and therefore has less water vapour to interact with the metal in the firearm.

To keep this on topic, I have been using Hoppes T3 Elite oil/cleaner out here on Van Isle with no adverse effects, is it something I should drop if I move back to the wastelands of MB?
 
when i moved up north a couple years ago i had my AR freeze up completely one day at the range.
that was a shocker to me!

i did some reading and started to use G96 and have never had a problem since.
i cleaned all my guns with the gun treatment and a little extra oil on high friction spots and love it!

now what i am curious about, i picked up a M14 in the fall (norinco) and i initially cleaned it all up then treated with G96 then was reading that it needed grease on the bolt and was told G96 would not be good enough for it.

so my question to you guys in the know is.... what should i use?
i picked up some white lithium dry stray stuff and it worked good, but that was in the fall.
i havnt gone out in the -40 yet to test it but now im kinda worried.

should i maybe reclean, re-G96 then get some of that 0W40 diesel oil and use that instead?
that Dry Lithium stuff kinda freaks me out because its so..... dry
 
Fireclean has definitely peaked my interest. Talking with a rep, they have ran it up in Alaska in temps around -30 without any failures. I have yet to hear a bad thing about the stuff, so Im tossing a bottle into my next Brownells order. Works like fruglube in the sense that it eases the work of cleaning, but doesn't congeal and become useless like fruglube once it gets cold.
 
Fireclean eh? Might have to look into this as well. I don't see it on Brownells online store.

Who carries Fireclean in Canada?

Edit: Found out CTC carries it. Wow, $18. for a 2oz bottle? That's like liquid gold.
 
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Interesting note on FIREClean is that at 18F you can leave a gun out overnight to cold soak and touch the bolt and carrier of an AR and it will not stick to your hand...
Whatever is in it acts as a moisture barrier between your skin and the metal (still feels cold though).

G96 is the DHS approved lube - however they are looking with interest in the DoD Green BIO lube studies going on now.
 
KevinB said:
Interesting note on FIREClean is that at 18F you can leave a gun out overnight to cold soak and touch the bolt and carrier of an AR and it will not stick to your hand...
Whatever is in it acts as a moisture barrier between your skin and the metal (still feels cold though).

G96 is the DHS approved lube - however they are looking with interest in the DoD Green BIO lube studies going on now.
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come on lets just say it..... G96 just SMELLS good!
hell, if they made a G96 cologne id wear it!
 
nzfireguy said:
Now I read in this thread that dry lubes are bad, and I totally agree with the comments about dry lubricants like graphite however there are new technology lubricants that apply wet and can be wiped dry leaving a hard, slick and protective film, Archoil is one of these albeit I don't run my firearms completely dry but I do wipe 95% or more of the product off.
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These new lubes still fall under film lubricants to a degree and usually offer the protection and lubricity of a film while eliminating most of the liquid from the surface. They are the best of both worlds in a lot of situations in that they stay cleaner longer and keep their lubricity where its needed. So not really a dry lube in the literal sense, more of a modified film lubricant.
 
TheArmyMan204 said:
I was just kidding friend, just a joke. I'm sure the RCMP knows lots about lube, not as much as the navy but I digress. Again just jokes

I currently don't own an ar15 but I'd say I have a fairly extensive experience with them in the cf . Ive shot the c7 from plus 30 in Manitoba to -50 yes a real no windchill factor -50 in Nunavut. We only used clp but obviously ran dry (or close to it) in -50. Now I dunno if c7's just run better than civi ar's or what but I've never seen a lube related problem other than while firing blanks, and me and 14 other guys on a cqb course fired 5000 rounds each on the dot in one day with one minor cleaning at lunch and few squirts of clp thought the day. No mal functions

That being said I've just been using outters gun oils at home and have yet to be let down. I might give the g96 a try out since it seems to be highly rated here by you guys.


Edit - I'm using the ar just as an example as it seems to be the most prone to lube issues. As well it's the only rifle I've used in such extremes
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Well...that wouldn't be much of a low temp test as the gun would never cool down firing a round every 6 seconds for eight hours straight....what?....you had time to stop for lunch?
 
wayupnorth said:
come on lets just say it..... G96 just SMELLS good!
hell, if they made a G96 cologne id wear it!
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Heh, I tried G96 for the first time and yeah you're correct it does smell good.

On another note, how much G96 do you leave on the bolt carrier lube points? I sprayed my rifle, upper and lower, bolt carrier and it's parts, let it sit for a bit and then wiped down with a rag. Everything came nice and clean, ran my snake thru the bore and a few patches till they emerged clean. Is that it? Or do you spray the bolt carrier again before reassembly.
 
There have been plenty of oddball lubes used over the years. Some Canadians were issued sewing machine oil during WWII simply because that's all that could be scrounged up. A lot of trappers still degrease their rifles with kerosene or diesel and leave them dry and outside all winter. I'm sure if you dig you'll find all kinds of stuff that has been done to keep guns running in the cold.

Evil_Edie said:
didnt they mix there oil with gasoline or diesel?
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legi0n said:
Really?
I was taught long ago in the military to use NO lube in the arctic.
None. No oil, no grease, don't even breathe on moving parts.
In sub-zero temps the relative humidity is 0% and as such the danger of rust is zilch.
Click to expand...

you would be right, and never bring your weapon into your artic tent.
 
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