Dangerous Game Rifle Lubrication ideas-Grease or not?

[fourfive8]

All good suggestions and methods so far and agree with the reasons for the various methods. I do clean periodically, taking them apart and cleaning in solvent then re-oiling with light weight oil in small quantities. None of my hunting rifles have a "box" trigger, all have Win M70 type so no worries about oil or varnish build-up or debris. I do pay attention to the bolt internals- pin, spring, safety, etc and will take the bolt apart periodically depending on use and storage and clean in solvent. Then use a small amount of dry lube but no oil or grease inside the bolt barrel. I do apply a very small coat of synthetic grease with a finger to the rear contact surfaces of both lugs on the bolts. The bores are thoroughly cleaned after each shooting session and final wiped with GS Ultra Lube oil on a jagged tight patch before going into the safe. Then a dry patch is pushed through the bore before shooting again and the chambers cleaned with acetone and left dry before firing. I'll periodically wipe down external surfaces with oil to protect from finger print etching and rust. I always tape the muzzle for hunting. Does no harm and will help prevent ANY foreign matter or object from getting into bore.

 

[Scott CWO]

When guiding brown bear hunts in SE Alaska from a 16-20’ skiff in the salt spray, we literally remove the bolts at night on the big boat and rinse off the whole rifle with a fresh water hose - even the chamber and barrel. Then dry everything off as best we can and place the rifles in a rack near the stove or down in the hot engine room near the generators. Before we head out to hunt, we wipe the guns down again with very little oil. About every other day, I will take the bolts apart and make sure they are clean and dry. We also tape barrels.

On the Alaska Peninsula where we deal with rain more than salt spray, we just clean the rifles about every other day but keep them wiped down and dry on the other days. We tape barrels.

In Colorado, I hunt with tape on barrel and clean the rifle between uses and apply a little bit of Rem oil and buff it off before storing. I pull a lightly oiled patch down the barrel and then a dry patch before hunting.

I am often surprised by the amount of gunk, grease and dirt-caked oil on my client’s rifles. I clean their rifles myself if I see problems. One time in the November cold, I told a guy to shoot a 30” buck we found but his bolt action rifle wouldn’t fire. We had to sneak away and hike back to the truck where I removed the bolt. The bolt spring was caked with guck inside. All I had in the truck was some WD40 and some paper towels. I cleaned the bolt and spring the best I could. We dry fired the rifle a bunch and then went back and luckily, found the buck and got him.

 

[Tanks]

Ballistol is a fantastic product!

Other than the smell.

 

[Von S.]

Grease most surely has gotten a very bad name one the years from when it was slicking up the wheels of Conestoga wagons.

Fortunately I doubt that any grease is made with clay and oil any longer. Though some of it is still made with animal fats and such which means acids.

Everyone says that their "stuff" is the best for guns. Hell... even old 3 in 1 oil advertises it.

I use Boesheild T-8 which I have found professionally acceptable.

 

[Jon Glajchen]

Other than the smell.

Hahaha I have to agree!

 

[Hogpatrol]

Grease most surely has gotten a very bad name one the years from when it was slicking up the wheels of Conestoga wagons.

Fortunately I doubt that any grease is made with clay and oil any longer. Though some of it is still made with animal fats and such which means acids.

Everyone says that their "stuff" is the best for guns. Hell... even old 3 in 1 oil advertises it.

I use Boesheild T-8 which I have found professionally acceptable.

Interesting. I've used that for it's advertised purpose but haven't tried that on firearms. I wonder if Corrosion-X would work.

Edit: Found the gun version.

https://www.amazon.com/Corrosion-50...W9DMSHE109W&psc=1&refRID=PY1NSM0BWW9DMSHE109W

 

[fourfive8]

Yep- cold, wet environments like coastal AK are a special challenge to maintaining any firearm.

All mechanical devises, including firearms, with bearing/rubbing surfaces need some lube once in a while. And some need extra protection from corrosion and rust. For moving parts that must move, and not freeze or collect dirt, best to keep it minimal though, especially in certain locations in firearms. In really extreme environments it may even be necessary to only leave a minimal "film" after cleaning- as has been posted a couple times in this thread.

The tiny straw oiler is the best tool I've found for applying small quantities of light weight oil to precise locations for lubing purposes. Also, there is grease and then there is grease I think a synthetic variety like Amsoil GP (pictured) or similar has it's place... and no variety of grease should be packed into a bolt barrel or trigger housing!

 

[Von S.]

Everyone's friend...... Mister Hogpatrol

I originaly bought the Boeshield T-8 for maintenance work on my boat long ago and at $14.95 figured it was probably great.

The next door neighbor was having 2 seriously tight throttle cables and a1 second shot dow each one made them actually too loose.

My m1 national match acts like everything is on needle bearings with 1 light shot for around 300 rounds. It dries to a clear wax like hard finish and what's underneath does not rust

 

[Hogpatrol]

Used the aforementioned Boeshield on airplanes and Corrosion X misted wherever I could get a wand. Curious there's no mention of Tri-Flow. I used a lot of it on control surface bearing points, wire cables and everywhere I had metal to metal. It never gummed up or collected dirt. Maybe if it had some "tactical" use, it'd be more popular.

https://www.amazon.com/Tri-Flow-TF2...hild=1&keywords=tri-flo&qid=1594501666&sr=8-2

 

[fourfive8]

I had a small bottle of Tri-Flow in the shop for a lot of years. Used it as a general lube for firearms until I ran out a couple of years ago. Been using other similar lubes since then. It always seemed to work well. Just looked at it on the net and currently it is being pushed within the bicycle market.

 

[Von S.]

I guess that pretty much well absolutely everything g mentioned here is gonna work one way or another.

I do like the saying that " less is more" when it comes to certain things .

I will say that certain things should not be applied to a firearm... like "Nutz Off" as I've seen people take bluing off with it.

And if accidentally sprayed on live rounds..... just throw them out as before you could get it off its already went where it shouldn't have gone.

 

[fourfive8]

Absolutely. Less is usually more for lubing firearms especially DG types. Normally just a good cleaning of parts in acetone or carburetor cleaner followed by a very light film is all that is required. An evaporate solvent mixed with a good oil is another way to apply a thin film, as has also been posted in this thread. No joke about over application affecting ammo. Famous older story of LEO spraying revolver, including ammo in cylinder, with WD 40- yep no fire! Just lazy.

Quantum reel oil is a very light weight, very low viscosity "modern" oil where very small quantities for tight tolerance small parts is called for. Seems to work well for that purpose.

Certain of these newer lubricants/oils also seem to have cleaning attributes. Tri-Flow has always advertised that way as has Break Free, Tetra Gun, Gunslick Ultra Lube and M Pro 7. I noticed a few years ago these "oils" also cleaned fairly well. I would clean the bore as usual then run a dry patch to remove cleaner/solvent then a final "oil" patch on a tight jag before putting rifle away. During final bore oiling I started noticing more fouling being removed?? I began using them as a final bore cleaning agent for storage. Seems to work. Been using the Gunslick Ultra Lube for that purpose lately. M Pro 7 also seems to work very well as a dual purpose and has had quite a few similar recommendations to that effect. There is also a following that uses synthetic 2 stroke oil for that purpose. We're all looking for a better mouse trap I guess.

 

[Tanks]

I use Ballistol to clean/oil on barrels bolt guns and shotguns. On 1911/2011s I use Lubriplate grease on the outside of the barrel, rail and recoil rod after I clean the whole thing with brake cleaner.

Shotgun and double rifle lugs get Lubriplate.

 

[roverandbrew]

Bolt Guns I wipe on CLP with an oily rag and semi auto I squirt on CLP. If there is a long walk in I will often leave the operating system very lightly lubed until the I am in the area I am hunting. Extreme cold and maritime environments are a bit different. I never have a completely dry gun though.

 

[ChrisG]

I don't know as a whole lot of lubrication is necessary on a bolt action rifle. enough to keep it from wearing excessively I guess. I look at oil in the action as more of a rust prevention method. As such, I use a water displacing oil like WD-40 or ATF. WD-40 is a great choice and contrary to internet urban legend, it will not "seep in and ruin your powder" if used in normal amounts.. I wouldn't drop your shells into a buck of it but in a light corrosion resistant coating it is great and I use it especially after I have had my rifles out in the rain.

I will add a caveat, that you should keep WD-40 or ATF off your stock as it will penetrate through wax and oil and stain your stock darker if you aren't careful. Best practice is to keep a wipe down cloth of it for use after using the gun in high humidity or in the rain.

I keep a gun oil impregnated rag around for general "after handling" wipe down and a coat of wax on the metal is long lasting and works well too.

 

[RayAtkinson]

Depends on where and what your hunting, use common since, never use more oil than needed, put a bit on your index finger and rub it down, keep and eye on that and add or subtract from that..Never use grease on a rifle except for long term storage..I dry arid area I don't use oil, I just wipe it down dry from time to time to get the dust off..