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The
Shotgun Shop, P.O. Box 212, Arnold MO
63010
(636)-282-4379
Kirby’s
August 2009 article
Early Bird
Attitude
It is a
truism that sometimes
“time” can get away from you, and you are left with little leftover
“time” to
react to a problem that has been left for another “time”. And now it is
near
that “time”. For outdoors enthusiasts, grabbing the fishing pole is
second
nature as soon as hunting season wanes. Now is the time to reflect on
any
firearm maintenance or alterations that are necessary for a prime
shootin’ iron
itchin’ to be used. End of sermon.
Something
to consider for
mechanisms not thoroughly disassembled and cleaned for a number of
years is
that the lubricant initially and subsequently applied may have gone
beyond the
useful lifespan and be turning into a harmful residue. Old lube has a
tenacious
hold on any dirt or grit that can cause excess wear, and the thickening
and
stickiness factors inhibit free motion. Low temperatures during typical
hunting
situations can increase lubricant viscosity and part motion resistance.
A bad
lubricant case can also be
caused by a poor choice of lubricant or possibly just an inappropriate
amount
of lubricant. An excess amount of oil in a firing pin channel has
provided
enough cushioning to soften the firing pin fall and cause a misfire for
the
first shot. A “pal” providing a clean-n-lube decided to thoroughly
grease the
firing pin in a rifle, but packed the bolt rather full (instead of
maybe just a
touch, if any) and caused a hangfire at the range on a cold day. The
owner had
fortunately decided to go to the range for one last time before leaving
on an expensive
Elk hunt the next week. He had just enough time to have the
overly-generous
wheel bearing grease removed and re-test his rifle before leaving.
Naturally
that was an extreme
case, but well worth the lesson element embedded inside that grease.
Incidentally, grease is typically best used only on high pressure
surfaces with
slow rubbing motions, such as hinge pin and cocking cam surfaces, or
where other
lubricants might flow out of position. A small amount is usually better
than a
glob.
Picture 1
has a nice view of a
barrel breech that had been over-oiled or lubricated, and the amount
applied
has collected across the surface with a minor amount of “droop”. The
barrel
extractors fail to move freely, but haven’t gotten totally sticky, so
one might
presume a cleaning job could be postponed a little longer. If a cold
shooting
day had been in the offing, there would be some possibility of shell
ejection
failure.
Picture
2 has evidence of extra
lubricant collecting at the breechface of the frame, and the openings
present
above and below the firing pin holes were channels available for any
excess
residues to flow after each lubricant application. Go to Page 2
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