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The MYTH of over lubrication.

Wrench75

Wrench75

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This aught to be fun. I'm sure it's a topic we can all agree on. [smile]



Let the panty bunching begin! Don't forget to include how your years of experience as a gas station attendant, short order cook, insurance salesman, etc... makes you more knowledgeable about firearms than Larry Vickers. [laugh]

Go!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
MichaelJames1971 said:
Can anyone attest to lube "cook-off" in AR shooting?
Click to expand...

Are you talking about lube getting so hot it causes rounds to "cook off" as it's called, or the gun getting hot enough to cook off all the lube?

I have never seen the former, but I have ended many sessions with a significantly dryer rifle than I started with. I still haven't ever managed to completely dry it out though. Not for lack of trying. [laugh]

JayMcB said:
corrosion resistance is unparalleled!
Click to expand...

Oh and the shine on the stocks... to die for... [rofl2]
 
I call BS.

According to the manual printed on the side of my Ruger, lubricating it anywhere other than the prescribed points would void the warranty, cause instant death for the shooter and anyone else on the line and cause the gun to transform into fire breathing dragon that feeds on innocent children. I think the lawyers would know better than Larry V.
 
Wrench75 said:
Are you talking about lube getting so hot it causes rounds to "cook off" as it's called, or the gun getting hot enough to cook off all the lube?

I have never seen the former, but I have ended many sessions with a significantly dryer rifle than I started with. I still haven't ever managed to completely dry it out though. Not for lack of trying. [laugh]



Oh and the shine on the stocks... to die for... [rofl2]
Click to expand...

I usually clean/lube with Breakfree CLP in the spray-can, with a few drops of Hoppes around the Bolt Carrier of my RRA LAR-15. Last weekend, after 20 rounds of .223, my bolt wouldn't chamber a fresh mag - it would only partially strip-off the first round, improperly feed it, and jam. Tried other mags, same thing. So, I removed the mag and the mis-chambered round, closed the bolt.....and couldn't open the bolt again. It 'froze' to the battery TIGHT and after about 20 minutes of cool-down and fiddling, it just 'came loose' and slid rearward. I was able to chamber/fire 3 mags' worth no-problem after re-assembly, but I'm thinking I under-lubed or cooked-off the CLP somewhere and it 'stuck' for lack of lubrication.....not sure if giving my rifle a dunk-bath in motor oil is the solution, but trying to free-up a jammed and HOT AR on the range sucks, so....
 
Doesn't the extra lube in the barrel for the first shot create a pressure situation? Same thing for the chamber in the beretta. Isn't friction needed to keep the case in place?
 
Wrench75 said:
This aught to be fun. I'm sure it's a topic we can all agree on. [smile]



Let the panty bunching begin! Don't forget to include how your years of experience as a gas station attendant, short order cook, insurance salesman, etc... makes you more knowledgeable about firearms than Larry Vickers. [laugh]

Go!
Click to expand...



Of course there's such a thing as over lubrication. One day of experience on a range getting splashed in the face is all one needs to see that. I've also seen an overlubed handgun stain a guy's clothes before...
 
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You can definitely overlube, just not with CLP.

We have all seen ARs so loaded with grease they wont function.Then the grease holds all the filth in and collect dirt/debris.
other lubes dont do well in the extreme cold untill the gun warms up.
 
In view of my almost 68 years experience ingesting various animal, vegetable, and liquid products in one end and expelling the remains from the other end, I can state that of all the gun videos I have seen, that is one of them.

YMMV.
 
DrBurnsides said:
Doesn't the extra lube in the barrel for the first shot create a pressure situation? Same thing for the chamber in the beretta. Isn't friction needed to keep the case in place?
Click to expand...

No. Locking lugs keep the case in place.

Can lube increase the bolt face pressure? Yes.

Can lube increase the bolt pressure enough on standard ammunition to make it a problem? No. This is what factors of safety are for
 
DrBurnsides said:
Doesn't the extra lube in the barrel for the first shot create a pressure situation? Same thing for the chamber in the beretta. Isn't friction needed to keep the case in place?
Click to expand...

No pressure problem. Path of least resistance. Oil will be pushed out of the barrel when fired just like the water when you fire under water. Yes you can fire under water. If there were going to be pressure problems a barrel full of water would be way worse than a little extra lube. As for question 2, the rotating bolt in an AR locks the round in place until the gas impulse comes down the gas tube and pushes the carrier back. In the beretta, and other blowback actions, the case expands slightly when fired. That's all the friction it needs. Too much friction and the case won't eject or the head will rip off.
 
DrBurnsides said:
Doesn't the extra lube in the barrel for the first shot create a pressure situation? Same thing for the chamber in the beretta. Isn't friction needed to keep the case in place?
Click to expand...

xtry51 said:
No. Locking lugs keep the case in place.

Can lube increase the bolt face pressure? Yes.

Can lube increase the bolt pressure enough on standard ammunition to make it a problem? No. This is what factors of safety are for
Click to expand...

xtry51's got it - but if you want more Varmint Al did an article on that here.
 
Great video.

I guess I can come out of the closet now. I use moly grease and heavy weight gear oil.

The tendency to under lube comes from the military where a "clean" weapon is a positive imho.
 
xtry51 said:
Can lube increase the bolt pressure enough on standard ammunition to make it a problem? No. This is what factors of safety are for
Click to expand...

I had no opinion on all this, I just always ran a dry patch down the barrel at the end because that's what all the instructions said to do. Always seemed dumb and unlikely to cause a problem. Now I don't have to do it anymore! Huzzah!

I use grease on slides and never stressed over lubing other than running the dry patch down the barrel.

It seems like if you were in Iraq or Afghanistan like having a lot of excess lube could trap sand and make you have to clean it more often, but I don't claim to know a god damn thing about it. I am actually radiating dumbness on the subject.
 
This didn't address the point of the myth.
Take one of those guns out if that oil bath and toss it in the sand or dust, wiggle it for a couple hours and try the test again.
No one says the gun won't work with overlube, it won't work with oversand. That's why soldiers don't lube too much overseas, and bring the habit home.
 
tuna said:
This didn't address the point of the myth.
Take one of those guns out if that oil bath and toss it in the sand or dust, wiggle it for a couple hours and try the test again.
No one says the gun won't work with overlube, it won't work with oversand. That's why soldiers don't lube too much overseas, and bring the habit home.
Click to expand...

Most gun shop commandos don't cite it this way though, most GSC's seem to invoke gnomish mysticism about too much lubrication.

IMHO the only "bad" thing that comes out of it is you're wasting lube... and itll go places you dont want it to go, including places you don't really need to lubricate, which in turn, will make those areas collect more poop/dirt. You can have the gun spitting the shit in your face, or have it flowing onto your hands, etc. What a mess. [laugh]

-Mike
 

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