revchuck Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 (edited) Folks - In the "I Must Be Crazy" thread, people started talking about guns jamming in cold weather due to the lube used on them. Steve M. mentioned that he uses TW-25B for a lube and it works well in cold weather. What have you used that works well when it's chilly out? When I lived in PA, I used Break-Free for everything - cleaning and lubrication - year round, and had no problems. I've been living in Louisiana since 1990, and have changed to whatever solvent I have on hand for cleaning, and Slide Glide Lite for lube; I keep a small bottle of RemOil in my gun bag, and when I shoot my carry gun, I use that to give the gun a quick cleaning and lube touch-up until I can break it down at home and clean it. It has worked so far for me, but then again we had four days last week when it got below freezing, and it was record-breaking cold. Edited December 13, 2006 by revchuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 I used Tetra for years. Even used it when it smelled really bad. I have since gone to FP 10. I really like it. It stays put and works well in cold weather. IMO grease is not a good choice for a gun. There are some the swear by Mobil 1. Never tried it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 We do a fair bit of match shooting in truly cold weather here in Iowa. One of the reasons I switched to Mobil 1 several years ago is that I found it to be the only liquid lube that continues to work correctly when the temperatures really plummeted. It's great stuff for firearms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn jones Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 We do a fair bit of match shooting in truly cold weather here in Iowa. One of the reasons I switched to Mobil 1 several years ago is that I found it to be the only liquid lube that continues to work correctly when the temperatures really plummeted. It's great stuff for firearms. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 We do a fair bit of match shooting in truly cold weather here in Iowa. One of the reasons I switched to Mobil 1 several years ago is that I found it to be the only liquid lube that continues to work correctly when the temperatures really plummeted. It's great stuff for firearms. +2. FP10 does almost as well and it smells good, if that is your thing..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihatepickles Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 The answer depends on how tight the gun happens to be. On a tight 1911, I use FP-10 in cold temps. I use Slide Glide Lite on these same guns normally. On loose guns, I use Slide Glide Lite in cold weather while in 50+ degree temps I'd use Slide Glide standard. Test your guns out before you trust them in the cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Cheely Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Most any light oil will work. The guys having problems in the cold have really tight guns or those that use grease. +1 on the FP-10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19852 Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Here in Florida cold weather is anything below 70 degrees. I use Slide Glide #3 in my CZ 75 competition gun and my P 01. I carry my gun close to my body so I think its always at +80 degrees. I have no idea how SG #3 would work in a "tight" gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardschennberg Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 At the last stage of cleaning, I use a patch with Birchwood Casey gun oil inside the barrel. For the rest of the gun, I use 10W30 motor oil. I originally started doing this to save money since I usually have a partly used quart around, but I have come to the conclusion that this is a great all-weather solution. The 10 weight portion allows cars & trucks to start in sub-zero weather, and does fine for guns in cold weather. The 30 weight portion is fine for car engines at 200-250 degree F., so it should protect your gun at any reasonable temperature. I have heard suggestions that synthetic is better, but if you clean your gun at all you will replace the lube well before mineral oil could break down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revchuck Posted December 13, 2006 Author Share Posted December 13, 2006 My concern with using light oil is not so much with lubricity, but rather with how well it stays in the frame rails in a carry gun. I know the grease will stay there, and I've had oil run out the front of the gun. Besides, I turn 55 in three days, and a quart of Mobil 1 is a lifetime supply at this point...especially as little as I shoot my bottomfeeders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Murphy Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 I use a light oil like mobil 1 or a gun oil like militec. I've seen greased guns choke badly in cold weather, particularly if you skirt the power factor. The frozen penguin match in the pocono mountains in the Pa winter is a pretty good test for gun lubes. On a lot of the autos you can see how much slower slides move on some guns. Ted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihatepickles Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 I know from personal experimentation that a Glock is loose enough to function reliably for 500 rounds at 10 F with the super heavy #3 Slide Glide. Other than academic curiosity I wouldn't recommend this, but the sloppiness of the gun matters a bunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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