Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 5W30 Synthetic Engine Oil on Guns

Just got done cleaning a bunch of 1911s and S&W revolvers... The oil used where appropriate was MOBIL 1 10W-40. I prefer a thicker oil to keep it from running and it doesn't seem to effect functioning when freezing cold...

Have been using it for at least 15 years.

Bob

Interesting thread here..... Now I know what to do with that quart of Dexron ATF out in the garage that I no longer have any use for.

It's good to see a lot of people have been doing this for a long time so it definitely works. I have plenty of gun oils on hand but it's good to know some motor oils work well in case I needed to use them.

In this day and age of shortages it's always a good idea to have a back up system in place.

I have been using Type F for a long time, works great for a case lube also and is easy to wipe off cases.

I've used oil off the dipstick...5W-30 Mobil 1....for choke tube lube more than once.

After reading this a little bit ago, I went and used the extra bottle of Mobil 5W-20 I had left over from my son’s car when I changed the oil. I lubed the two ARs that I shoot the most with it, and no complaints so far. It seems to run a tad bit smoother than it did with the Lucas CLP I’ve been using in it.

I concur with what woodmaster81 said regarding a light oil.

I do not use even very light oil at all in cold weather. When I hunt when the temperatures are low, I will strip the rifle down and the bolt and trigger will be cleaned of any/all oil - below zero F or colder for instance. Not that at my age I do that much cold weather hunting.

I recall a couple times in my youth (two instances, not me) where a 03 and 03-A3 Springfield's firing pin did not strike the primer hard enough to fire the cartridge.

If you have an enclosed trigger, having the sear slip due to not having a strong enough spring tension and thick oil could mean a rifle firing unexpectedly.

All I use on an enclosed trigger is lighter fluid, advice I got here on the fire that seems pretty sound.

It's best to differentiate lube requirements of trigger groups vs bolting and gas systems.

Trigger groups, including AR lowers, need little lubrication. Having experiences similar to Bugger, understand an argument for nothing more viscous than CLP. Some would suggest lighter fluid, or no lube, and I would not argue otherwise. Have not had trouble with CLP, tho, and I reside in Maine.

Those very low viscosity lubes so prudent for trigger mechanisms at low temps are not at all what you want for gas systems and for bolting, unless you intend to fire a minimal number of rounds before relubing. For bolt actions and break open shotguns I always grease lugs/recesses. As stated previously, very much prefer some synthetic motor oil for gas and other autoloading mechanisms.

I have been following this thread with great interest, I know more than a few Active Spec OPS guy's and they use Mobil 1 with a touch of STP, on all their CQB guns and AR-10s, their reason in it don't burn off with heavy use and high temps, there are lots off things that will work for us low speed high drag guys. that don't run our ar's and ak's near as hard as they do, but I have had good luck with their stuff . plus they clean their weapons after every time they go out fired or not. Rio7

Motor oil is not a particularly good (appropriate) gun lube. The thing is, guns are super-tolerant of whatever people put on them. That means they tolerate motor oil fine, and people are cheap so that's what they use. Lots of 'gun oils' aren't put together by people who know anything about lubes at all, so some of them are kinda similar to motor oil (or ATF). That doesn't make them good.

I don't use motor oil because various of the organometallic additives (and some of the organics) aren't good for you.

I am acquainted with a professional lubricant formulator. He makes his own firearms lube and has given me some.
It's not similar to motor oil except in the very most basic way (they're both oils).

Yes, there is something special about it. It does not freeze up nearly as easily as anything with standard petroleum. I have used Amsoil synthetic on many things and use it exclusively in my engines-for many years. Yes, 0w-20, or any other thin viscosity synthetic will be superior to petroleum.