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Lubrication the firing pin channel/spring?


1911jerry

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Totally dry for me as well and I clean the tunnel and pin every other time I clean the gun. I've never had a problem with not oiling this area and in fact usually have to clean out some gunk. It would be at least ten times worse if I had added any oil.

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I'm from the school of in between.

I spray CLP or WD-40 in there, maybe hoppes no 9, then spray out with compressed air.

Leaves a "very" slight layer of film/residue. This is all I do.

I'm sure it lubricates a little, but there is not enough left to even wipe out.

So, where do I fit in here? lube or no lube. Technically there is some there...but, enough to count?

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I'm from the school of in between.

I spray CLP or WD-40 in there, maybe hoppes no 9, then spray out with compressed air.

Leaves a "very" slight layer of film/residue. This is all I do.

I'm sure it lubricates a little, but there is not enough left to even wipe out.

So, where do I fit in here? lube or no lube. Technically there is some there...but, enough to count?

Count what?? Is there a prize I wasnt told about :)

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I'm from the school of in between.

I spray CLP or WD-40 in there, maybe hoppes no 9, then spray out with compressed air.

Leaves a "very" slight layer of film/residue. This is all I do.

I'm sure it lubricates a little, but there is not enough left to even wipe out.

So, where do I fit in here? lube or no lube. Technically there is some there...but, enough to count?

Count what?? Is there a prize I wasnt told about :)

Of course there's a prize! I'll have it direct deposited in your account in the Caymans.....oh, you thought Uncle Sammy didn't know about that one huh? Tsk, tsk... :roflol:

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This is within a category of moving parts. so, it does need lubrication that makes any moving parts functions smoothly..as I mentioned before I only put 1 tiny drop of RHT speed metal oil and it works flawlessly.

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This is within a category of moving parts. so, it does need lubrication that makes any moving parts functions smoothly..as I mentioned before I only put 1 tiny drop of RHT speed metal oil and it works flawlessly.

No, they really don't need any lubrication. I've only been shooting 1911s regularly for 26 years now (got my first one at 13 and still have it), so I'm sure there are older folks with more experience, but I've never put a drop of lube on any of the firing pins in any of those guns and I have never worn out a firing pin or had one break. Heck, the firing pin in my most heavily used gun still looks perfect after what has to be hundreds of thousands of cycles when you add both live fire and dry fire....if it needed lube, I would have had to replace it multiple times by now.

Obvioulsy I'm not the only one saying this and when you add up a bunch of high volume shooters with a combined multiple decades of experience that tells me at least some of us would have had problems before now. When's the last time anybody has seen a firing pin with any significant wear due to friction with the FP hole in a 1911/2011?

The firing pin on a 1911/2011 has a very small amount of surface contact area and it's not exactly a tight fit, so even with no lube they function smoothly and perfectly without any lube at all.

Adding lube to a 1911/2011 firing pin is like putting premium gas in a Yugo....it may make you feel better but it's not helping anything. :lol:

The one exception might be someplace with a very salty, humid climate where you may want the lightest sheen of oil on everything metal to prevent rust on a carry piece that you're going to be cleaning frequently anyway. R,

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I have ran my Benny Hill Open gun with and without. It ran both ways and no problems. I have found very little crud if any in the firing pin hole. I was watching a video that Dave Dawson made and if I remember correctly he puts a drop in the firing pin tunnel and extractor tunnel. He also puts a a drop in the mag release part where the spring is put in. I can only take from that - if you have metal rubbing metal - a little oil cannot hurt and it probably helps if you clean your gun on a regular basis.

Edited by KGentry
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Lubing the firing pin channel is like having an affair. You might be alright for a while, but eventually it's going to get you.

I am new to this Forum, and would like to add my .02 Do not put any lube (oil) in the firing pin channel. When you are carrying the weapon in muzzle down (as in a holster), the excess can run down the channel and through the pin hole on the breech face. Then, guess where it will end up- on the primer of the cartridge. Not a good scenario if you want the weapon to fire when you pull the trigger. The lube (especially if it's a penetrant) could deactivate the primer.

I would suggest keeping the channel clean and dry ( I always use Q-tips to clean the inside of that area, then carefuuly inspect it to make certain no cotton or other foreign matter is in there).

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Reading this thread, I get the impression now that lubing this area depends partly on the gun used.

I kept my 1911/2011 platforms dry, but other's don't.

I run Glocks now, and most everything I read is to not lube the channel. There is virtually no metal to metal contact to speak of, mostly plastic on plastic instead. If I remember rightly, the design has the spring cups sliding inside the channel liner with such a tight fit that special cups are needed to avoid a piston effect if the gun is wet. Oil is thicker than water, and, since I'm not a SEAL, I use the regular cups in a dry channel.

My preference is to run both platforms dry, especially the Glocks, but to each his own.

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Apples to oranges, 1911s to Glocks, shooters to users...I don't think there is a right answer for everyone but think under lubricate beats over lubricate in this area. I seem to recall that Glock says no lube in the striker/FP channel. I think the same on the M&P. Both also have some plastic parts in there and probably need nothing at all. I have seen police duty guns-3rd generation Smiths-so "gunked up" in the FP channel that light hits were constant. I was amazed to see what came out of the guns when we cleaned them. That, however, is the problem. If the shooter CLEANS the gun's striker channel, you can probably get away with more oil than if you don't. If you don't clean the channel, and continue to clean it incorrectly as other posters have mentioned-breech face up, brush back and forth to force cleaner/carbon/anything into the firing pin hole, you are more likely to have problems-that is what caused ours. A combination of over lubrication and improper (read-zero) maintanence. If I have some residual oil on my fingers after I clean out FP/striker channels and reassemble 3rd generation Smiths and 1911s and figure that is enough-and clean them religiously. I worry more about rust than the parts sliding in carry guns, vice versa in game guns.

Brent

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You guys clean your guns, huh.... go figure?

+1... :cheers:

Safety Zone at Match: Remove Para from bag, rack slide, check chamber, let slide back down, aim at berm, pull trigger. Goes click as hammer falls, all is good. Rack slide and lock back this time put a drop of Kel Lube on the inside of each rail groove in the back end of the slide, a drop on the muzzle end of the barrel and smear it around, a drop on the guide rod if it's not all shiny-oily from the last match, and a couple drops into the locking lug recesses of the slide through the ejection port. Repeat for the next three months (3 a month and sometimes 4) of matches. I guess I run my FP tunnel dry... :roflol:

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Lubing the firing pin channel is like having an affair. You might be alright for a while, but eventually it's going to get you.

I am new to this Forum, and would like to add my .02 Do not put any lube (oil) in the firing pin channel. When you are carrying the weapon in muzzle down (as in a holster), the excess can run down the channel and through the pin hole on the breech face. Then, guess where it will end up- on the primer of the cartridge. Not a good scenario if you want the weapon to fire when you pull the trigger. The lube (especially if it's a penetrant) could deactivate the primer.

I would suggest keeping the channel clean and dry ( I always use Q-tips to clean the inside of that area, then carefuuly inspect it to make certain no cotton or other foreign matter is in there).

I'm suprised that it took two pages to get this answer.

(At least for Glocks) The armorers school teaches specifically to not lubricate the firing pin channel for this reason.

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Lubing the firing pin channel is like having an affair. You might be alright for a while, but eventually it's going to get you.

I am new to this Forum, and would like to add my .02 Do not put any lube (oil) in the firing pin channel. When you are carrying the weapon in muzzle down (as in a holster), the excess can run down the channel and through the pin hole on the breech face. Then, guess where it will end up- on the primer of the cartridge. Not a good scenario if you want the weapon to fire when you pull the trigger. The lube (especially if it's a penetrant) could deactivate the primer.

I would suggest keeping the channel clean and dry ( I always use Q-tips to clean the inside of that area, then carefuuly inspect it to make certain no cotton or other foreign matter is in there).

I'm suprised that it took two pages to get this answer.

(At least for Glocks) The armorers school teaches specifically to not lubricate the firing pin channel for this reason.

Aaaaaa, I wont go there! :wacko:

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