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Lube or not to lube barrel?


Gator4838

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I was poking around for old lube posts,probably missed something but did not see a discussion on my simple question.do you lube or not lube the inside barrel?I have looked on quite a few forums and some yes to a light coat and some say absolutely not.some believe it can increase fouling or even effect accuracy for the first few rounds shot,and others say they have lubed for years and will continue to do so.and if you do say no,would you consider doing so for storage?
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It depends on what you mean by "light."

 

I put some oil on a patch and run it through after cleaning, then run a dry patch through to get out any that I can. What's left inside is what's bound tightly to the bare metal and prevents rust and corrosion. If you leave too much behind, it can actually impair the travel of a bullet down the barrel, although there appears to be some debate about how much impairment there is, like whether it's dangerous or just affects accuracy for the first shot or two.

 

Of course, if you use a CLP product, the cleanser is the oil, so you're oiling the inside whether you think about it that way or not.

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"I use Hoppes#9 for cleaning and Mobil 1 for oiling."

 

Now that I'm retired I really should start up a home business marketing the PHENOMENAL new gun oil I've invented at $4.98 per 2oz bottle.

 

All I need is a steady supply of 2oz plastic fine-tipped squeeze bottles, a few gallons of Costco/WalMart generic synthetic motor oil and a small funnel.

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...

Now that I'm retired I really should start up a home business marketing the PHENOMENAL new gun oil I've invented at $4.98 per 2oz bottle.

 

All I need is a steady supply of 2oz plastic fine-tipped squeeze bottles, a few gallons of Costco/WalMart generic synthetic motor oil and a small funnel.

Fireclean beat you to that business model, but there are still lots of Youtube videos proclaiming it to be the best thing ever. $12 for 2 oz at Brownell's. If they still sell it, I guess there are people who still buy it.

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It depends on what you mean by "light."

 

I put some oil on a patch and run it through after cleaning, then run a dry patch through to get out any that I can. What's left inside is what's bound tightly to the bare metal and prevents rust and corrosion. If you leave too much behind, it can actually impair the travel of a bullet down the barrel, although there appears to be some debate about how much impairment there is, like whether it's dangerous or just affects accuracy for the first shot or two.

 

Of course, if you use a CLP product, the cleanser is the oil, so you're oiling the inside whether you think about it that way or not.

What I was taught is to put just a few drops of oil on a patch, fold it up, wait a few minutes for the oil to spread out, and then run it through the barrel. That way you avoid getting too much oil in the barrel. You can still follow it up with a dry patch if you like but it's usually not necessary.

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It depends on what you mean by "light."

 

I put some oil on a patch and run it through after cleaning, then run a dry patch through to get out any that I can. What's left inside is what's bound tightly to the bare metal and prevents rust and corrosion. If you leave too much behind, it can actually impair the travel of a bullet down the barrel, although there appears to be some debate about how much impairment there is, like whether it's dangerous or just affects accuracy for the first shot or two.

 

Of course, if you use a CLP product, the cleanser is the oil, so you're oiling the inside whether you think about it that way or not.

What I was taught is to put just a few drops of oil on a patch, fold it up, wait a few minutes for the oil to spread out, and then run it through the barrel. That way you avoid getting too much oil in the barrel. You can still follow it up with a dry patch if you like but it's usually not necessary.

 

 

I never follow it up with a dry patch but there are people who swear that any oil in the barrel with greatly throw off the accuracy of your first shot. I personally believe this is over hyped, my first shots have never seemed to be affected. I mean really we aren't taking about soaking the barrel in oil, only a lightly coated patch.

 

There's no such thing as too much oil unless your running out door immediately after cleaning and getting into a gun fight, after a day there will not be too much oil IN the barrel. I would guess the temperature of the barrel would be the biggest factor (if it was one on a pistol).

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It depends on what you mean by "light."

 

I put some oil on a patch and run it through after cleaning, then run a dry patch through to get out any that I can. What's left inside is what's bound tightly to the bare metal and prevents rust and corrosion. If you leave too much behind, it can actually impair the travel of a bullet down the barrel, although there appears to be some debate about how much impairment there is, like whether it's dangerous or just affects accuracy for the first shot or two.

 

Of course, if you use a CLP product, the cleanser is the oil, so you're oiling the inside whether you think about it that way or not.

What I was taught is to put just a few drops of oil on a patch, fold it up, wait a few minutes for the oil to spread out, and then run it through the barrel. That way you avoid getting too much oil in the barrel. You can still follow it up with a dry patch if you like but it's usually not necessary.

 

 

I never follow it up with a dry patch but there are people who swear that any oil in the barrel with greatly throw off the accuracy of your first shot. I personally believe this is over hyped, my first shots have never seemed to be affected. I mean really we aren't taking about soaking the barrel in oil, only a lightly coated patch.

 

Those are likely the same people who don't understand that a cold bore shot (first shot) will be off regardless of how much lube is in the barrel lol.

 

I do the wet followed by dry patch through the barrel simply because if you're storing the gun in a safe, the oil is going to run down into your action, or if you store them upside down like some folks do, the floor of your safe gets oily.

 

The worst thing that happens is your barrel gets dirtier because you get carbon mixed with oil.

 

The whole point of the dry patch is to just leave a thin coating on the barrel, which is what the dry patch accomplishes. If you want to test this....take a piece of metal not unlike a gun barrel, take a patch that you put oil on in a similar amount as you'd do for a barrel and then rub it onto the metal. Now take a dry patch and run that over the metal. Use a bit of force when you're doing both because a patch going down the bore is being squeezed down the bore. Now that you'd wipe the steel with a dry patch, run your finger over it. Feel oily still? It's because it is. The oil is soaking into the microscopic pores of the steel. You can run 50 dry patches down the bore and it won't remove that coating of oil. You're just trying to remove the excess oil that will eventually run if the rifle isn't stored horizontally.

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