Now if you want to spend a ton of money on extremely high priced oils, that�s your business. But the lubrication demands of a firearm are NOTHING in comparison to that of an engine. Simple motor oil or ATF is well beyond what you�ll ever need for your handgun unless you are in the Arctic. CLP�s are a fantastic thing for militaries; one stop shopping, easy logistics for everyone involved. Break Free is a VERY good product for its intended purpose and there are a few that are even better. But you have to recognize that a CLP is a compromise solution. Military CLP (Break Free) is a truly outstanding lubricant, a generally superior preservative, and a marginally adequate cleaner (but it IS adequate). So for military purposes, it�s damn near perfect.
For us civvies though�I find cleaning with CLP to be just annoying. When I was a gun writer, I got EVERY cleaner known to man, all for free. With the exception of copper removal (the need for which is HUGELY over-stated), I have found that they all work much the same. The biggest issue by far remains nitro powder fouling and solvents for cleaning nitro powder fouling were mastered a little less than a century ago. Hoppes #9 cleans nitro solvent as well as any other solvent I�ve used. Personally my favorite nitro solvent happens to be about the cheapest option; Ed�s Red (Google it).
For lubricant I put some Mobil 1* into a little oil can for a sewing machine and put a drop here and there and it works perfectly in all conditions. ATF would be even better but I have NO complaints about engine oil; the stuff was created for conditions far worse than anything I could come up with.
*I didn�t choose Mobil 1 because it�s �so much better� than non-synthetics�it is a better oil than fossil oil, but even regular fossil motor oil is perfectly adequate for our needs. I chose Mobil 1 because that�s what�s in my motorcycles and that�s what I happen to have on hand. And I have NO complaints about its performance whatsoever.
