So what is the general consensus on lubrication of your bolt rifle actions?

I finally assembled my new rifle tonight. I have been slowly collecting all the parts for weeks after much careful consideration... but now its done.

I am very familiar and have built ARs for years. They need Lubrication to run reliably.

But what is the Lubrication consensus on bolt guns?

My new rifle was going to be based on a Savage 110 action (but wound up being a Nucleus because I couldn't find many aftermarket stocks for the 110 with DBM and a tactical style pistol grip), but I assume the lubrication issues would be the same in all bolt actions.

So I had some of that TEFLON Remington spray lube and used it tonight in a pinch because I figured the dry lube wouldn't attract dirt so much...

But does it even need lube?

Do you guys do any bolt action lubrication at all?

I would love your insights on this.

Thanks

I give mine a light coat just to smooth out the sliding of the bolt...

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Originally Posted by bignorm40

I give mine a light coat just to smooth out the sliding of the bolt...

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+1:thumb::thumb:

Dri-Slide

I've also started using a spray Teflon made by DuPont that dries to a wax. Seems to work well. Be sure to spray the bolt lugs.

I have switched to using Hornady one shot on every gun I have. It is a dry film type lube, very slick and excellent corrosion protection (just look it up online).
I also have a little bit of moly grease I use on some higher pressure areas (like the cocking ramp in the bolt body)

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1014743837

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Originally Posted by bignorm40

I give mine a light coat just to smooth out the sliding of the bolt...

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Light coat of WHAT exactly?

Thanks

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Originally Posted by JeepsAndGuns

I have switched to using Hornady one shot on every gun I have. It is a dry film type lube, very slick and excellent corrosion protection (just look it up online).
I also have a little bit of moly grease I use on some higher pressure areas (like the cocking ramp in the bolt body)

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1014743837

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Thanks. I will check that Hornady lube out and order me some. Again Thanks.

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Originally Posted by fayettefatts

I've also started using a spray Teflon made by DuPont that dries to a wax. Seems to work well. Be sure to spray the bolt lugs.

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I like teflon.... just not in my frying pans cause its a carcinogen... buts its ideal to not let crud stick to it.

Ok then, lots on the lugs!!! Got it!!!

I like bow string wax and a squirt of rem oil.


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Originally Posted by hamiltonkiler

I like bow string wax and a squirt of rem oil.


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Never even knew that stuff existed til now!!! ok then. Ironically my cousin owns an archery store in Weatherford, Texas. I will call him. Again thanks.

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Fuj' Dri-Slide

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Consensus?

Dri-Slide

I've bounced around all over the place through the years but have moved back to what I started with originally for the most part. Good synthetic grease on the high friction areas. A very thin film on the bolt body, and then good coverage on the back of the lugs, as well as the cocking cam, and extraction cam. Those are the areas with the most pressure. Most of the time I use Mobil 1 synthetic grease. Much much cheaper than anything made specifically for guns and is rated down to -40F. I also put a little bit on the sear engagement. Everything thing else is usually sprayed down with Hornady One Shot as it's a very good dry lube and rust protector. The reason I've gone to that regiment is because oil tends to migrate and creep in to places it's not supposed to be and doesn't stay where it's needed. Grease and dry lube tend to not run off.

I use CLP or Rem lube for everything. CLP is all we used in the Army for everything from the M16 to M2 50 cal to MK 19 grenade launcher. I was taught a light coat of oil simply means putting it on and wiping it off. It worked in evironments from Ak where I was stationed to deployments to Iraq.

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Originally Posted by efm77

I've bounced around all over the place through the years but have moved back to what I started with originally for the most part. Good synthetic grease on the high friction areas. A very thin film on the bolt body, and then good coverage on the back of the lugs, as well as the cocking cam, and extraction cam. Those are the areas with the most pressure. Most of the time I use Mobil 1 synthetic grease. Much much cheaper than anything made specifically for guns and is rated down to -40F. I also put a little bit on the sear engagement. Everything thing else is usually sprayed down with Hornady One Shot as it's a very good dry lube and rust protector. The reason I've gone to that regiment is because oil tends to migrate and creep in to places it's not supposed to be and doesn't stay where it's needed. Grease and dry lube tend to not run off.

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I like your approach of using automotive grease. Its so much cheaper than fancy "gun lubes" and a tube will probably last you a lifetime and your Walmart Automotive section is probably a lot closer than Midway USA...

In that vein of "automotive items", I use a gun cleaner called "ED's Red". You may have heard of it, but its a mixture in equal parts of a quart of acetone, Dexron III Transmission fluid, Kerosene and mineral spirits. You wind up with a gallon of gun cleaner and its great cause you can pour some into a container and let your parts soak overnight... I then run the leftover liquid through a coffee filter and use it again and again. Its really great... and cheap.

I also make my own case lube. I use an ounce of liquid lanoline (I bought a 16 ounce bottle on Amazon and it will probably last me the rest of my life) diluted into 16 ounces of fuel injector cleaner that is 99.9 % alcohol. You put it in a spray bottle and its just incredible. Youtube has lots of videos of these home made lanoline based case lubricants. Again you just save a lot of money and they work great and they are not so harsh on your hands.

So I have a feeling a tube of Mobil one grease will be following me home next time I go to Wally World. Thanks EFM!!!!

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Originally Posted by Chowda

I use CLP or Rem lube for everything. CLP is all we used in the Army for everything from the M16 to M2 50 cal to MK 19 grenade launcher. I was taught a light coat of oil simply means putting it on and wiping it off. It worked in evironments from Ak where I was stationed to deployments to Iraq.

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I am sure CLP is great. The military must have very sound reasons for using it. I just dont much care for liquid lubricants since they tend to migrate. I also am skeptical of something that does too many things at once like CLEANING, LUBRICATING and PRESERVING...

Obviously I am not a chemist and may very well be full of it. And it wouldn't be the first time someone has thought that of me!! ha ha !!!

But I can clean with Ed's Red, Lube with something that won't migrate (like the Mobile 1 grease EFM77 suggested), and preserve with Lanolin which is a really great rust inhibitor.

I think the military uses LSA in their machine guns now... its a liquid grease... its virtue is that it can be squirted on out of a bottle, but then behaves much like a grease and doesn't tend to migrate. Dont ask me how it works... Remember I am not a chemist!! ha ha !!!

Thanks Chowda!!!

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Originally Posted by wbm

Consensus?

Dri-Slide

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Is this a gun product? I have never heard of it. Thanks

https://uniquetek.com/product/T1247

I use automotive synthetic motor oil for oil, 0wt . If it stays thin at 50 below, it won't freeze an action. For high bearing surfaces like cams and lugs, #1 moly grease. Moly is magic, but it sure is black. Mobil 101 is good stuff.

Hobo oil.

Contact: Group Therapy on Accurate Shooter

What about spraying the bolt with graphite? It doesn't attract dirt and dust like grease, although I would think the lugs should be greased very lightly. I use John Deere Polyurea grease on the lugs but genuine CaseIH 251H EP is always preferred. I would think graphite would make for a smooth working bolt.

Using Hornady One-Shot as well for cleaning, light lubing, and corrosion protection.

LP (Lube Protect) for oil.

Super Lube light synthetic grease on sliding contact areas.

Places you should not put any lube: trigger assy, chamber, bore, sear assy, firing pin assy, ammo. Mineral oil is the base of 99.9% of all lubes, so just get mineral oil, it's alot cheaper.

IMO, I don't trust anything that claims to clean, lube and protect all in one. I suspect that it doesn't do any of them very well. To me, the issue isn't what lube (most all attract dust and dirt and grime, grease more than oil, and then dries out), but how much to put on. I take a flannel cloth and infuse it (not dripping saturated) with mineral oil and keep it in a gallon baggie and simply, lightly wipe down everything that I didn't mention up there and then wipe it off with a clean, lint free cloth (plenty enough stays on it). Remember, it's not a car engine (or even an AR or semi SG or pistol) it's a bolt action rifle, no rapid fire, it doesn't get NEAR as much friction as folks think. Gun makers harden the crap out of their parts, especially those that rub against each other. Anyway, we're letting them cool off between shots, too, right? YMMV

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Originally Posted by cchgn

Places you should not put any lube: trigger assy, chamber, bore, sear assy, firing pin assy, ammo. Mineral oil is the base of 99.9% of all lubes, so just get mineral oil, it's alot cheaper.

IMO, I don't trust anything that claims to clean, lube and protect all in one. I suspect that it doesn't do any of them very well. To me, the issue isn't what lube (most all attract dust and dirt and grime, grease more than oil, and then dries out), but how much to put on. I take a flannel cloth and infuse it (not dripping saturated) with mineral oil and keep it in a gallon baggie and simply, lightly wipe down everything that I didn't mention up there and then wipe it off with a clean, lint free cloth (plenty enough stays on it). Remember, it's not a car engine (or even an AR or semi SG or pistol) it's a bolt action rifle, no rapid fire, it doesn't get NEAR as much friction as folks think. Gun makers harden the crap out of their parts, especially those that rub against each other. Anyway, we're letting them cool off between shots, too, right? YMMV

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My feelings exactly!!!

I SUSPECT the military has adopted CLP as a "good enough" product to be used in the field, so that soldiers are not having to carry a separate cleaner, lubricant and preserver in their field packs... Lord knows they are weighed down with enough equipment already!!!.

However, for us civilians who don't get deployed, its probably best to just employ a good cleaner, a good lubricant, and then a good preserver.

I still lean toward the "automotive class" of chemicals for their quality in relation to their cost and quantity. Ed's Red for example is a lot cheaper per gallon than CLP... and you can pick up the ingredients at Walmart or Home Depot... in other words, just about anywhere!

Bolt or lithium grease on the locking lugs, primary extraction cam and cocking ramp. Ronson lighter fluid on the triggers and CLP on everything else.

I have been having good results with MicroLubrol - a 100% Silicone oil.

I put a few drops on the bolt head lugs and wipe with a cotton rag. Just a very light coating.

The rest of the metal gets an occasional wipe down with Birchwood Casey Sheath (was formerly Barricade) that is a protectant oil.

I use liquids - not sprays.

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Originally Posted by efm77

I've bounced around all over the place through the years but have moved back to what I started with originally for the most part. Good synthetic grease on the high friction areas. A very thin film on the bolt body, and then good coverage on the back of the lugs, as well as the cocking cam, and extraction cam. Those are the areas with the most pressure. Most of the time I use Mobil 1 synthetic grease. Much much cheaper than anything made specifically for guns and is rated down to -40F. I also put a little bit on the sear engagement. Everything thing else is usually sprayed down with Hornady One Shot as it's a very good dry lube and rust protector. The reason I've gone to that regiment is because oil tends to migrate and creep in to places it's not supposed to be and doesn't stay where it's needed. Grease and dry lube tend to not run off.

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As I replied earlier, I had decided to check out this grease because it seemed like a very solid answer that wouldn't cost a fortune as compared to "gun specific lubricants" - which are a fortune for a tiny little bottle's worth at the gun store...

So I went to my local walmart and they didnt have it, nor did the local O'Reillys... I could have kept going to other auto parts stores but I decided to go to my trusty EBAY and there they had it. I paid 13 bucks for it delivered to the house... but... I figure that one tube of grease will last me the rest of my life, and because of the quality, it should handle anything that I am likely to need it to.

Remember that OILS MIGRATE: Grease remains.

As I understand it, one of the problems initially with the M-16 in Vietnam was that soldiers would not adequately clean and lube their guns because they initially thought that these new "space age rifles" were "self cleaning"... In fact no cleaning kits were even issued with them at first!!!

And because of the direct impingement gas on the bolt carrier, these guns would get very hot very fast. And when oil was indeed applied, it would boil off quickly. So LSA is a special "liquid grease" that was developed to solve this problem; It flows like a liquid (in order to be able to apply it on the fly from a bottle), but then tends to stick like a grease. I own a couple of quarts of the stuff that I bought surplus somewhere years ago for 5 or 8 bucks a quart; Great stuff. Made in Germany by world class chemist and NATO uses it on their machine guns to this day. So for the price and given its pedigree, that's all I use in my ARs.

But I will let you all know how the Mobile 1 Synthetic grease works out... but I bet great!!!

Again thanks for all the input !!!

I've started using TSI 321, a synthetic oil on my bolts. I use just a touch of moly grease on the recoil lugs and cocking ramp.

Lucas CLP every time I clean wether it needs it or not, then dried with a shoo rag and a final sweep down the barrel with a dry patch.


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I forgot to mention too that I've started using Ballistol some too. Haven't tried it for lube yet but I'm sure it would be fine. I really like using it to wipe down my wood stocked guns since it's not petroleum based and isn't harmful to wood. That way I don't have to worry about getting it off of the wood as it's supposed to be beneficial to it as well. I'm sure if would be a fine lube too as many seem to really like it. Again, being an oil though, it will migrate, so I probably won't use it much for that as I've gotten really attached to One Shot dry lube and grease.

I forgot the link to Hobo oil if anyone is interested.
https://hobooil.net/

https://www.cherrybalmz.com/

I found this site in doing some searches for lube info. Sure they're trying to sell their product. However, the articles make some very good points and are interesting reads. A lot of what they say in their articles supports what I've thought for years.

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Originally Posted by Robinhood

Hobo oil. Contact: Group Therapy on Accurate Shooter

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Same here and Sinclair synthetic grease for high stress points.