Are we crazy? Yes, we are crazy, but we are not wrong about this. A majority of gun oil being sold out there is a gimmick of garbage in a bottle.
Why we feel this way?
We work on guns from all eras and all styles. We have pretty much seen it all. There are very few times a year we sit back, look at something and stare at it with confusion while the gears in our brain spin with such torque, the city light flicker. We have customers who go all over the world hunting some of earth’s most exotic species. These hunts are EXTREMELY expensive, and a gun that fails to operate would be very bad for everyone involved. What are some examples? There are some bolt action rifles that we will never install oil in certain areas of the gun. We have seen a Remington 700 or Winchester model 70’s firing pin drag forward so slow, the firing pin wouldn’t break an eggshell. How does this happen? Hydraulics, viscosity, and surface finish. If you turn a garden hose on high, try and stick your finger up inside the hose. You will feel resistance, and in reverse the same can happen to your firing pin. We have frozen every grease and oil we use in our shop. We know exactly why and what will happen in the hottest deserts, and coldest ice packs.
Should we not use oil?
Yes, you should use oil. No, you should not spray oil everywhere the company that sells it, tells you too. If we were shitty, and I made gun oil, I would tell you ours is the best and spray it HEAVY on everything you own. It keeps your toothbrush fresh, will protect against the sun fading the paint on your car, and plug your barrel so you can fill your bore with our bore accurizing oil. We would sell boatloads of it, but nothing we mentioned above would do you any good. Use your brain and think about why you are putting oil on it. Engines use oil, and they spin fast and get very hot. What part of your gun spins fast and generates 250 degree heat? NONE! Oil is mainly a rust preventative and to reduce high wear points. Loading oil up on your striker block will most likely cause more issues than it’s worth. Do you want your gun to work 100% of the time, and maybe in 50 years replace the striker block from wear, or have it gum up from an oil that cleans, lubricates, and protects.
It cleans lubricates, and protects!
Read that a few times and repeat it in your head. So many oils claim they CLEAN, LUBRICATE, AND PROTECT. Think lower unit of a boat motor. There is NOT a lower unit oil on the market that will advertise that is cleans and lubricates. A lower unit oils job is to 1000% lubricate. It is a sealed system and generates severe amounts of heat and hits RPM’s that would blow your mind. We don’t care how fast you run your Staccato on Sunday. Your gun doesn’t need to be cleaned, lubricated, and protected at the same time. Get over yourself.
What oil should we use then Mr Know It All?
We don’t care. We just want to prove we can’t be bought. We have our oils we use and sell in our store and shop. Is it the best oil on the market? We don’t know, but it is the best we have found for our customers and most of their applications. You need to think of your application and see how your oil affects your use. Freeze it, heat it up, what does it do when it carboned up? Only you can solve the problem, not the next coolest magazine ad or famous Instagram star.
Remember, sometimes less is more.