Dangerous Game Rifle Lubrication ideas-Grease or not?

Nhoro

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Hi all,

I have some thoughts on lubrication of dangerous game rifles and would like to know what everyone does with their rifle- maybe mention if you are a PH or if you are a client. I do kids camps in the bush so plenty of walking/ dust and sweat but little action. My basic thinking is to have a light oil coating any parts that move against each other but to avoid grease and too much oil they can build up a dirt and oil grinding paste. I avoid grease although it is a better lube. I used to grease the trigger surfaces but found dirt sticks. I would rather be conscious that the rifle needs to be regularly wiped down to oil the surfaces rather than put grease there and hope dirt doesn't get in. Also try to remember to put a little tape over the barrel just to make sure I don't get a stick/dirt/wasp nest in the end. Basically, my theory is to minimize dirt rather than maximize lubrication. Also lighter oils give a slicker action even if it doesnt stay put like grease. So lighter oil more often rather than grease and forget about it.

1/ I clean the rifle with an oil/solvent mix and a brush before going to the bush especially inside the magazine plate. then I wipe all surfaces with an oily cloth but a very thin coating of oil-almost dry.
2/ Once a year or whenever I take off the stock, I thoroughly clean the trigger/ejector/safety. I get in with oil/solvent mix and scrub out any dirt. Occasionally I have used electrical switch cleaner to blast out any oily residue/dust/sand etc
3/ when I get to the bush, I pull a dryish patch through the barrel. If we have a sandy/gritty day I will wipe down and pull through the barrel and rain/wet do the same. Cover the end of the barrel with a bit of tape.

Do you guys worry about the build up of dirt ? Do you think that excess lube or grease in particular can be a dirt magnet ?
 
I never put grease of any form on a bolt action rifle. I personally use Ballistol - and very little of that. You are correct that too much lubricant of any type attracts dust, dirt, and sand. In the Middle East we ran our weapons as clean as possible and pretty dry. The only time I personally tape a muzzle is if hunting in snow. I do use petroleum jelly on the hinge pin of double rifles and shotguns regardless of the environment. Unless a rifle has been in the rain, I rarely remove barreled action from a stock.
 
Just to add a bit to RedLeg’s post, while hunting in Alaska, it rained constantly as well as splashing saltwater on my guns. I taped my muzzle just to help keep water out of my muzzle.
Here in Colorado, rain, snow or sun, I tape my rifle muzzles. I tend to be crossing streams, bushwhacking through timber, and you never know what the weather will blow in. I’ve seen 4” of snow at 10,000 feet on the 4th of July. As a matter of fact I can see fresh snow on the mountains today!

Oh, and I tend to wax my non-coated rifles (blued or stainless) to help protect the outside. Barrel channels in my wood stocks I usually put a good coating of polyurethane to keep them sealed.
Minimal lubricant since I can be hunting in below freezing temperatures just as RedLeg suggested.
 
When I know I wont be taking certain firearms out to the range, especially and particularly certain muzzle loaders, seldom shot rifles, pistols and shotguns, I clean and inspect each firearm and apply Bore Butter, lightly, inside and out to prevent rust and corrosion. Prior to any range time in prep for hunting with these firearms they get wiped down, cleaned and checked.

To protect their firearms overnight and a heavy coat of Bore Butter, oil or grease is used daily by shooters when traveling to, from and after shooting in high humidity Indiana. The only place I've been where you can actually watch the surface rust form after a day of shooting.

During hunting season when the weather can vary from one minute to the next, I prefer a light coating of dry lube (like graphite) around the action and trigger.

The barrel and other exterior surfaces are coated with a drying Water Displacement Oil that prevents dust, dirt, fouling, and moisture from sticking/collecting onto moving parts and surfaces.

These dry lubes not only lubricant they also help protect your firearm from collecting moisture, dirt and dust and are a lot less likely to freeze up on a hunt in freezing weather.

For DG hunting and maintaining your rifle afield these same methods should work. However, tape covering/protecting the muzzle may not stick very well.
 
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I never put grease of any form on a bolt action rifle. I personally use Ballistol - and very little of that. You are correct that too much lubricant of any type attracts dust, dirt, and sand. In the Middle East we ran our weapons as clean as possible and pretty dry. The only time I personally tape a muzzle is if hunting in snow. I do use petroleum jelly on the hinge pin of double rifles and shotguns regardless of the environment. Unless a rifle has been in the rain, I rarely remove barreled action from a stock.
Ballistol is a fantastic product!
 
Lighter fluid for trigger cleaning and no oil or grease in it.
 
I don't use graphite because it is corrosive. I use an old rag that is rather oily to wipe down exterior surfaces and a silicone wipe for bolts and moving parts. I keep my barrels dry so I don't forget to dry them before shooting. No humidity problem in NV.
 
A LITTLE bit of Rem Oil wherever there is some action wearing. I agree with Newboomer as far as dry barrels go. But, I too live in a dry semi-arid climate here in Colorado.
 
When I hunt in cold, wet, rain, snow, and around saltwater with rifle and shotguns, I clean them regularly (daily) inside and out with an oily rag or rem wipe (I like rem wipes) and then wipe them down with a clean dry rag. The only places that I do use a small drop of oil is on sling swivels, choke tube threads, action push pins, action/stock screw threads, and the area where shotgun barrel meets the receiver. I will spray out a trigger group or firing pin assy to remove any water but always make sure its as dry as possible with compressed air or wiping down each before reassembly. I never leave oil on any of the internal moving parts that make it go bang. If it's cold out the oil will thicken, and if its dusty it will catch dirt. I just try to keep it clean and dry. One nice advantage of the new metal coating systems (nitride, duracoat, ect) is that guns which are coated with such have become much more impervious to the elements.
When I hunted in SA my rifle rode in the back of the bakkie most days exposed to all the dust ect. I cleaned it just like I would at home at it worked fine.
Several years ago a group of 9 us went pheasant hunting in South Dakota in November and it was cold. Like below zero cold in the morning. Probebly 20 shotguns between us. I learned more about some of my buddies shotguns than I ever wanted to know. The biggest problem was really that they were over oiled. Also a couple were just pieces of crap, but that's for another story.....
 
A gunsmith once told me to use a little oil and then spray the oil off with compressed air. He said all the oil that is needed would still be on the moving parts afterwards.

I use Ballistol for just about everything. A little Renaissance Wax between the barrel and stock in wet, humid environments keeps it from rusting. I think it’s almost guaranteed that sling swivels will rust but I put a little oil on them too.

I like silicon rags but they make it real difficult to refinish an oiled stock. The silicon seams to imbed itself into the wood making touch ups impossible. If you don’t do touch ups it shouldn’t be a problem.

Apparently graphite is mildly abrasive. I no longer use graphite because of this but have also never witnessed it hurting anything. Some of these newfangled dry lubricants are supposed to be the bees knees. I don’t use them but they do make a convincing argument.

I’ve found all greases to be dirt magnets. I do have a couple of cans of different Lubriplate grease which is a bit less gunk prone. I don’t use many semiautos but it is good on the rails of my 1911. I apply with a toothpick. Used to use on bolt action locking lugs but never really saw a benefit. One of the cans was what was originally used on the Garand.
 
On all of my hunting and field firearms, I've never used any grease in whatever form, (that said Only my benchrest rifles have a dab of bolt grease around the bolt lugs).
What I do use and very sparingly with good protective results for a while now is Kano Kroil. Just a "few drops" and spread using a microfibre cloth over the exposed action and bolt does just fine.
 
From the Timney website:

How do I clean my trigger?

Dip the trigger in white gas (Coleman Fuel), that will dissolve any varnish deposits on the trigger. To lubricate it squirt a small amount of Ronson lighter fluid on the mechanism.
 
I was introduced to this product when I bought my first AR platform rifle. It won't freeze and it wont sweat into your stock in extreme heat. I use it for lubrication on all of my rifles, shotguns and pistols.
LOCTITE LB 8150 Silver Grade Anti-Seize Lubricant
 
It is interesting that amost everyone on this thread avoid grease ! many gun cleaning videos and magazine articles talk about greasing high pressure surfaces in the rifle. I really thought I would get more of mix of answers.
 
Unless you're shooting semis rapid fire, a bolt doesn't move that much. A few rounds and cleaning when you get home. Wipe down the moving parts with a silicone rag and you're good to go. Plenty of lube.
However, I slather my 1911 slide with grease because I have had it bind up from being dry after a lot of fast work..
 
I use Slip 2000 EWL - Extreme Weapons Lubricant on all my rifles & pistols, and on the only DG I have a CZ-550 375 H&H. (y)
 
It is interesting that amost everyone on this thread avoid grease ! many gun cleaning videos and magazine articles talk about greasing high pressure surfaces in the rifle. I really thought I would get more of mix of answers.

I only grease the lug contacts on the bolt in a bolt action. YMMV.
 
When cleaning I basically coat everything (moving parts) with ballistol and then wipe off the excess before putting a tiny bit of grease on the bolt lugs. I have also recently been trying Hoppes black on a couple of my bolt guns but I think ballistol still works better. During the wet season and this time of the year when there is very little dust I will use more lubricant, when it gets dry and dusty later in the year I try and wipe off absolutely all excess oil and when I get a chance even wipe the bolt down with a oily ballistol rag a couple of times through the day when hunting.
 

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