Let me throw a hand grenade into the oil -VS- grease debate. A good definition for (lubricating) grease is " lubricating oil with a thickener, and often additives".
With really cold weather, it allows some real world trial. I use Caterpillar P/N 508-2184 Arctic grease in the AR. N.L.G.I. #0, 5% moly, good from -58deg f. to 266 deg F.
This morning was six below zero by the local TV station. Thermometer showed -7 on the back deck, -15 on the side deck. Rifle and ammunition were outside all night. Infrared thermometer indicated ten below for the receiver and bolt carrier.
Four rounds fired at rifleman's cadence ran just like summer time.
I'm calling the grease and the trial a success for my rifle this morning...
YMMV
Thank you for your attention.
Congrats on finding something that works for you. O0
Oil does three tasks: helps clean and loosen carbon and debris, lubricates to prevent wear, and prevents rust.
A handful of products are spectacular at one task. Some are excellent at two. Most are "good enough" at all three. Anything marketed as a "gun oil" is exceptional at moving money from your wallet to theirs.
I've used motor oil from my truck's dipstick to lubricate at the range. I've grabbed a glob of lucas axle grease to service my Garand. I've also paid for specialty gun oils that performed as well as Mobil 1.
It all boils down to:
- does your rifle or pistol function correctly?
- do you see abnormal wear on your firearm?
- is your firearm showing signs of rust?
When in an extreme environments like severe cold or jungle conditions, of course needs change.
For average North American conditions, most oils/lubricants are going to do just fine. Don't overthink it.
Glad to see I am not the only one that has used the dipstick method to lubricate.
I have done a lot of shooting in Alaska during sub-zero weather, coldest was -12F. That at the Birchwood rangebirchwood.jpg. My go to oil for keeping the rifles and pistols running is Rem Oil.
That said, I never did any shooting in the REALLY cold temperatures, like -30, -40, etc. Don't think I really want to. I did a bit of research and there's a product available called 'Winter Balm' that is supposed to be effective down to -65F!
Wow. but, shooting in temperatures like that means certain materials on the rifles and pistols begin to change state and things become really brittle, easily broken. A good case can be made that severe cold is tougher on equipment than it is people.
For what it's worth, CCI Mini-Mags work well at -12F! I had no misfires in about 100 shots fired this day when I took the picture. I was doing a Liberty Training Rifle project and I wanted to shoot the rifle before I made any modifications to it. I sure do prefer Tech Sights to the Ruger's factory sights.
My two cents.
Gus
This is just what I do and I'm no professional. I use engine oil it works and is cheap. This is after a deep clean so every 2k-3k rounds. I normally slather the entire carrier and bolt in oil and put a couple mags through it to get rid of any excess and it's normally good for about 500-1000 rounds. I'll do that until it's time to clean again. Just my process. Some of you OCD cleaners may not like this :)
I had heard that in Korea when / where it was really cold ( think Chosin reservoir) it was cold enough that troops were using Vitalis hair oil for lubrication in Garands... Anything thicker was causing cycling issues.
Because of my job connections, I have easier access to some less than common products than most folks do... Makes for some interesting "let's try this!!" Combinations.
I had never heard you can just use motor oil. Good to know!
I can see why some specialty products might make sense in extreme cold, but I don't have severe weather conditions where I live, especially not extreme cold, so it's good to know if I'm out of fancy gun oil, I could use basic motor oil.
The Army gave us LSA for cold weather. I don't know if it had a brand, it came in green bottles with yellow lettering and a black cap. ;)
I'm a big fan of the Lucas Oil gun products, but 10W30 full synthetic Mobile One works fine too.
Basically anything slippery slidey. Hell, who knows, maybe Kentucky jelly would work. :cool2:
Quote from: Fulcrum on January 27, 2026, 07:35:55 PMI had never heard you can just use motor oil. Good to know!
I can see why some specialty products might make sense in extreme cold, but I don't have severe weather conditions where I live, especially not extreme cold, so it's good to know if I'm out of fancy gun oil, I could use basic motor oil.
There is no gun oil plant. The products that gun oil manufacturers sell they first buy as base ingredients from the oil refineries and then blend them and then repackage them with varying degrees of claims on what they will do.
If you think about it, motor oil is designed to reduce/eliminate friction at high temperatures and 1000s of RPMs. When you start looking at the science of motor oil and the additives that go into it, it probably is much more than typical gun oils.
The one are that some gun oils excel in is in their addition of tackifiers to increase the adhesion to the gun metal as compared to standard motor oils; however, heavy weight gear oils have good adhesion. All in all they are a lot cheaper than typical bottles of gun oils.
Quote from: Burnett on January 27, 2026, 08:25:13 PMThe Army gave us LSA for cold weather. I don't know if it had a brand, it came in green bottles with yellow lettering and a black cap. ;)
I'm a big fan of the Lucas Oil gun products, but 10W30 full synthetic Mobile One works fine too.
Basically anything slippery slidey. Hell, who knows, maybe Kentucky jelly would work. :cool2:
I have tested Kentucky jelly on an M16 (We were bored on mobilization and as medical officers not heavily supervised). It doesn't have a lot of adhesion and as it is water based it cooks off easily.
I have tried a lot of common household stuff to see how well it would lube an AR. Lotion, Pam, chapstick, etc and so on. Crisco works well until it gets hot and so does chapstick.
Quote from: DEH on January 27, 2026, 08:34:42 PMI have tested Kentucky jelly on an M16 (We were bored on mobilization and as medical officers not heavily supervised). It doesn't have a lot of adhesion and as it is water based it cooks off easily.
O0 ;D :bow: ^:)^ :1luvu
I used Mobil 1 to lubricate a heavy-use AR15 for about 6 months without cleaning, but liberal lubrication. 2000 rounds, maybe? Some might consider that light duty, but I pay for my own ammo. LOL
Temperate climate. No failures to feed or fire. Carbon buildup on the BCG was significant. I observed serious wear on the gas rings, but no stoppages.
My conclusion was to keep the rifle generally clean and lube often. YMMV.
Quote from: DEH on January 27, 2026, 08:28:07 PMThere is no gun oil plant. The products that gun oil manufacturers sell they first buy as base ingredients from the oil refineries and then blend them and then repackage them with varying degrees of claims on what they will do.
If you think about it, motor oil is designed to reduce/eliminate friction at high temperatures and 1000s of RPMs. When you start looking at the science of motor oil and the additives that go into it, it probably is much more than typical gun oils.
The one :)) are that some gun oils excel in is in their addition of tackifiers to increase the adhesion to the gun metal as compared to standard motor oils; however, heavy weight gear oils have good adhesion. All in all they are a lot cheaper than typical bottles of gun oils.
Wait, wait, wait! Hold up a second... Are you telling me gun oil isn't pressed from guns? Olive oil is pressed from olives, corn oil pressed from corn, sesame oil pressed from sesame seeds — how is gun oil not pressed from guns? And here I've been paying a premium for the extra-virgin, cold-pressed gun oil! ;)
I actually assumed the difference would be in the additives that would make it better for different applications. For example, maybe they add something that helps the oil deal with the carbon and other chemical residues unique to burnt powder versus a motor oil that might deal better with unique petroleum fuel residues. But like a lot of things that are sold for specific uses, the marketing and advertisements probably put a lot more importance on the difference than actually exists.
Quote from: DEH on January 27, 2026, 08:34:42 PMI have tested Kentucky jelly on an M16 (We were bored on mobilization and as medical officers not heavily supervised). It doesn't have a lot of adhesion and as it is water based it cooks off easily.
It gets lonely out there...
Anyone tried BaconUp? How did it smell? Delicious?
Count me in the motor oil camp. I mix 10W-30 motor oil and Dextron II in 50/50 ratio. A few drops in the FCG, slobber liberally in and on the BCG. I find it runs good through high round counts and makes cleaning a breeze due to (I think) the detergent agents in the ATF.
Thanks to all for sharing- this is great information. I feel just a little dumb now for not thinking of motor oil. I take pride in not buying into a lot of marketing hype, but this one didn't occur to me.
Another question for the shade tree gun mechanics- is there a generic, household item equivalent to Hoppe's No. 9 solvent? I use a bit of it for soaking things. That stuff isn't cheap, and the price on other brands I've found is even higher.
@Shootermagoo. To answer directly: I do not know. That is because #9 has some ammonia in. I do use it, but not necessarily alot. This is the strongest ammonia based solvent I use because ammonia can etch chrome lined bores. I rarely use it on them, but I use it occasionally on non chrome bores.
My go-to bore solvent is 50/50 Marvel Mystery Oil/fuel injector cleaner with polyether amine such as Techron. (my own version of Ed's Red)
All that being said: My most common gun cleaner is non chlorinated brake cleaner. I hose everything down and let it drip dry.
MaxOrd had told me about some lube called Ezoxx for preventing rust. I live in a very humid climate and lots of my firearms stay in easy to access locations - not a safe. So I'd always had a problem with rust. I could lube the outside of a pistol and not even a week later catch rust forming. It was a battle. Then tried Ezoxx.
It's expensive but after about two or three applications I can go a month or more without having to lube again. It seems to work its way into the pores or something and builds a film after a few applications.
It's costly but it's the only thing I've used that keeps rust away well.
Quote from: DEH on January 29, 2026, 01:25:25 PMMy go-to bore solvent is 50/50 Marvel Mystery Oil/fuel injector cleaner with polyether amine such as Techron. (my own version of Ed's Red)
I think I'll try this recipe once my current bottle of Hoppes runs its course. It's mainly for soaking a suppressor, which has some o-rings that I assume are nitrile. Hopefully it will play nice with those.
Quote from: DEH on January 27, 2026, 08:34:42 PMIt doesn't have a lot of adhesion and as it is water based it cooks off easily.
Yeah, I've found the same. Haven't tested it on a gun yet.
Quote from: scuzzy on January 29, 2026, 02:33:22 PMMaxOrd had told me about some lube called Ezoxx for preventing rust. I live in a very humid climate and lots of my firearms stay in easy to access locations - not a safe. So I'd always had a problem with rust. I could lube the outside of a pistol and not even a week later catch rust forming. It was a battle. Then tried Ezoxx.
It's expensive but after about two or three applications I can go a month or more without having to lube again. It seems to work its way into the pores or something and builds a film after a few applications.
It's costly but it's the only thing I've used that keeps rust away well.
I just now read the product page for eezox. It talks about (unique, proprietary formulation of solvents, synthetic lubricants and rust inhibitors that are processed through EEZOX®'s exclusive reactor resulting in its strong, thin, resilient molecular structure.)
Anytime I see the words reactor and molecular in a sentence talking about rust inhibitors for metal I immediately begin thinking that it has some Cortec VpCi-329 in it. https://www.theruststore.com/products/cortec-vpci-329?srsltid=AfmBOoo-9wHmCRFAEKqb8TqN8K9BgWO4z0q4Stcu1Gq0MZxd9gkOmJTv
https://www.cortecvci.com/Publications/PDS/VpCI-329_SC.pdf
The eezox probably has some VpCi in it with other stuff.
For my rifles that I store long term without shooting I use Windlass Rustblocker https://museumreplicas.com/windlass-rustblocker-non-aerosol-spray/?srsltid=AfmBOorxNxxZVkbkzwq5b88C72FW1-EmlF2T7D4ezYn3qjMugqUqwsOO
Which has Cortec VpCi in it. Presumably #329. This formulation is a little light on the oils, so I add a little motor oil to it. I use this for storage only. It is not a lubricant.
I will add that if you are shooting an AK, the recommendation for the internal rails and other hi-friction areas is lithium grease. This comes from the Godfather himself, Jim Fuller from Rifle Dynamics/Fuller Phoenix.
Tim
I keep 2 things in my range bag:
Ballistol for general purpose
Ed's Red for a penetrant/cleaner/lube
Ed's Red is equal volumes of:
ATF, acetone, mineral spirits, kerosene ( sub unscented lamp oil).
I grew up using Hoppes #9. To this day the smell brings back many fond memories of my Dad and Grandad and early mornings in the woods and afternoons cleaning rifles and shotguns at the kitchen table.
But sometime in the early 1990's Hoppes was sold to Michael's of Oregon. The only thing the same is the smell. It doesn't work well anymore, hasn't in a very long time. Shooter's Choice and Sweet's 7.62 are my preferred solvents now, depending on whether or not I need a copper solvent.
I use solvents much less now that I began using my motor oil and transmission fluid mix.
You can get air fresheners that smell like Hoppes #9.
Cool thing is, when it starts to not smell so much, soak it. Good as new.