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Best Oil For Semi Auto ShotGuns

22K views 77 replies 57 participants last post by  Nixterdemus 
#1 ·
Does anyone use Mobil1 0-20W oil for lubricating there semi auto shotguns?
 
#3 ·
I've found that unless the weather is below freezing, that what oil is used on a semi auto makes utterly no difference worth mentioning. WD 40 is usually the handiest, and most available, but it could be anything. How long it will "last" is academic, because the gun is going to need cleaning before it needs re-oiling, anyway.

Below freezing conditions alter this a bit. Break Free advertises that the Army uses it under a wide range of temperature conditions. But, I find the best thing to do in very cold weather is to wipe off all excess oil, and use fairly "hot" loads. Shotguns don't like really cold weather, and neither do shotgun shells. :)
 
#4 ·
SuperXOne said:
I've found that unless the weather is below freezing, that what oil is used on a semi auto makes utterly no difference worth mentioning. WD 40 is usually the handiest, and most available, but it could be anything. How long it will "last" is academic, because the gun is going to need cleaning before it needs re-oiling, anyway.

Below freezing conditions alter this a bit. Break Free advertises that the Army uses it under a wide range of temperature conditions. But, I find the best thing to do in very cold weather is to wipe off all excess oil, and use fairly "hot" loads. Shotguns don't like really cold weather, and neither do shotgun shells. :)
Isn't WD-40 a penetrating oil and therefore a no-no?
 
#5 ·
Hey Guys I will say this for semi-auto's I think that if you use any oil on your guns then wipe it so that there is very little oil on any of the gun is the best. with that said I use LSA oil. in the cold and very littel of it. never had any problems even after dunkin the gun under the water just let the beads freeze in just a few min. then work the action 2 times and then your ready to shoot, the beads of water freeze and working the action pushes the frozen water right off the gun. becuz of the very thin oil job. and like I said never had a problem.
 
#7 ·
At the risk of starting a ten page thread,,,,WD 40 works as a gun oil. It may or may not be the best, it probably doesn't lubricate as well as other brands,,,,but the stuff will work. As will used motor oil. Or cooking oil. Or anything oily. Most of us have our favorite brands,,,but all of them work.

The big trick is get a shotgun working when it's damned cold. Too much oil will screw up a shotgun every time in frigid weather. Break Free CLP,,,,or some other very high viscosity synthetic oil,,,,applied very sparingly with no excess,,,,is your best bet when it's below zero.

Or, you can stay inside and play with your shotguns. I can stand cold weather now about as well as I did thirty years ago,,,but I get to where the desire to go out in the cold weather is lacking. :lol:
 
#8 ·
SuperXOne said:
At the risk of starting a ten page thread,,,,WD 40 works as a gun oil. It may or may not be the best, it probably doesn't lubricate as well as other brands,,,,but the stuff will work. As will used motor oil. Or cooking oil. Or anything oily. Most of us have our favorite brands,,,but all of them work.

The big trick is get a shotgun working when it's damned cold. Too much oil will screw up a shotgun every time in frigid weather. Break Free CLP,,,,or some other very high viscosity synthetic oil,,,,applied very sparingly with no excess,,,,is your best bet when it's below zero.

Or, you can stay inside and play with your shotguns. I can stand cold weather now about as well as I did thirty years ago,,,but I get to where the desire to go out in the cold weather is lacking. :lol:
Ditto, except I slightly prefer G-96. BreakFree CLP is easier to find, though, and I've used it on occasion. BF CLP and G-96 are both good stuff, IMO.
 
#9 ·
The down side to WD40 is that as it ages it also dries out and leaves a sticky film behind. I've not seen such residue from Break Free CLP of from Corrosion X (a local favorite) or from RemOil.

When you do have a very wet gun, WD40 is a good first step to move the water (disperse) prior to cleaning and re-lubing with some CLP/RemOil stuff.

As noted, over lubing is a bad thing--especially when in very cold conditions.
 
#11 ·
I use RemOil now, but I used to use WD-40 and/or G-66 (predecessor og G-96). I always spray and wipe off most of it, whatever it is. My 1100s have always been fine down to minus 11 degrees F, even with Blue Dot. Any colder than that and I think the ducks are going to get a bye from me from now on anyway.
 
#15 ·
I don't mind WD-40 as a bore cleaner, but that's with the barrels off the gun. Unless a bore is heavily lead-fouled, it does a surprisingly good job with a 10 minute soak or thereabouts. I don't use it on the receivers. My next-to-last bore patches are dry ones, and my my last bore patches are ones lightly spritzed with a CLP, usually G-96, but BF CLP or RemOil if I'm out of G-96. Bores are looking great.

For an exterior protectant, I can heartily vouch for G-96. I've used it for about 10 years now on all my guns, and not speck of rust on any of 'em. I also keep a small bottle of BF CLP in a spare cleaning kit behind my pickup truck's back seat. I have to give the stuff props. It's never gummed up and has come in very handy. I've used the spare kit for its intended purpose, of course, but also have pulled out the CLP to decrud some poor buggers' corroded battery posts when they needed a jump start or to free seized up locks and other parts.

G-96, BF CLP, RemOil have all done well by me. The key, I think, to winter applications is a very light application on moving parts.
 
#18 ·
I thought most shooters got the word and stopped using WD-40 years ago as it will gum things up very quickly, I would rather use Pam.

I like and use both Breakfree CLP and Slip 2000 and carry a can of Rem Oil in my bag if I'm in a pinch operating my Autoloaders and sense the bolt speed is slowing. The Rem oil is a quick fix and gets to where it needs to go without taking apart the gun being that it's viscosity is so thin. As a main stay lubricant the Rem Oil with its light viscosity doesnt last long under heavy use so I don't use it.

.
 
#19 ·
I don't clean my semiautos very often, and I have found that RemOil will gather powder residue and form a sludge which leads to cycling problems. Breakfree CLP is not nearly as bad about that.

Any motor oil, even 0W-20, is way too thick to use on a semi. You might get away with it if you shoot in warm weather and clean the gun often, but it is not a good choice.
 
#20 ·
What about that Remington Drylube for cold weather? Would that not work well?

There's another household lube on the market called Jiga-loo. I think its a silicone based lube. It does wonders on stuff around the house, and they in their ad it can be used on guns.
 
#21 ·
Silicone based lubes collect too much crud. i used to use Tri-Flo on my Bike chain when I did a lot of mountain biking and it collects crud like you wouldn't belive.

G96 is the best product I have tried. One can wil last for years and it smells nice which is an added benefit as many cleaners and lubes don't.
 
#22 ·
Mojo99 wrote:
What about that Remington Drylube for cold weather? Would that not work well?
Sure, on the outside of the gun for a blued finish. I won't use it for this reason nor do about a dozen other guys I know who once did. Seems several others hear feel the same and then some others not having issues. Then there are those other good oils that you don't seem to hear about too often with cold weather issues.
 
#23 ·
On my autoloader I wipe the outside down with Remoil. For the internals I use Outers Ultra Lube. It is a little thick, kind of like 3 in 1 oil. I have used it at 24 degrees while grouse hunting in thick woods and didn't have any problems.
 
#25 ·
I'd shower in Remoil if I thought it would keep me looking as good as my guns. Can't vouch for the cold as here if it makes the teens at night, it's really cold and I'm not going outside anyway. I can speak for WD40 as a amateur machinist. Excellent when cutting aluminum! Does anybody else like those silicone cloths for wiping down the outside of their shotgun?
 
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