lube magazines?

[gregmli]

Anyone here put lube on their magazines? The manual says to lightly lube the mag spring and the mag housing "where appropriate".. What's that supposed to mean?

Also, I heard oil + primers = bad news.. Maybe something to do with "where appropriate"?

[ARKAY.357]

Anyone here put lube on their magazines? The manual says to lightly lube the mag spring and the mag housing "where appropriate".. What's that supposed to mean?

Also, I heard oil + primers = bad news.. Maybe something to do with "where appropriate"?

I clean and lube my mags after 500 rounds or so. Mags require a "light lube", defined in the manual as "A finger run across the surface yields little or no lube".

As to the primers, avoid lubricants that are able to penetrate metal. Most modern primers are impervious to gun oil used in moderate amounts.

HTH;

ARKAY

[Backstop]

I've always been stumped by page 5 of the P9S manual, Section 1.3; "Ammunition may be oiled."

[orfeo]

The issue with primers and oil is this:

Reloaders use oil to kill primers thet they may need to discard safely. The oil neutralizes the priming compound rendering it unable to fire. On a loaded cartridge, it is possible that oil could seep through between the primer and the cartridge-case, and maybe get around to the inside of the primer, in which case that round will not fire. Guys who soak their guns in oil (especially WD-40) would theoretically run the highest risk unless they carefully wipe it all down afterwards.

The main real-world liability is when guys spray oil into the firing pin hole on the breech-face. This oil has nowhere to drain until the gun is in a downward-facing holster on your side all day. Then the oil can leak out onto the primer of your chambered round. If it seeps through between the primer and the case, and gets to the priming compound, you'll have a dead cartridge that won't fire when you need it.

Personally I don't advocate ever spraying anything into the FP hole. The firing pin channel stays relatively clean all on its own. That hole is tightly sealed when the cartridge is discharged. The primary way it gets gunked up in there is either when you inadvertantly push crud into it when cleaning near the breech-face, and/or when you spray stuff in there. Nothing wrong with cleaning and lubricating the firing pin and its channel on occasion, but the way to do it is to disassemble the firing pin and firing-pin-block. Then clean and lubricate it all carefully. And then wipe it all down, inside and out so that there is no chance of dripping oil. Any little puddle of oil will eventually congeal into a thick varnish-like goo. Once it is clean and lightly lubed, it will serve you very well for a long, long, long time, if you just take a little care not to let stuff get into the firing-pin hole. :)

[orfeo]

I've always been stumped by page 5 of the P9S manual, Section 1.3; "Ammunition may be oiled."

Yes, you can oil-polish your ammo with a, not-too-oily, oily rag (NOT soaking wet). It will make it cleaner, and may help it to feed more smoothly. The ammo should not be wet with oil afterwards, but just have a slightly oily haze. Do not use WD-40 or any other oil promoted as "penetrating oil". Straight 30 weight car oil or chain-saw bar oil is fine. I would not oil the primer area of the cartridge head. :)

[orfeo]

Anyone here put lube on their magazines? The manual says to lightly lube the mag spring and the mag housing "where appropriate".. What's that supposed to mean?. . .

Disassemble your mags, and clean the inside and outside of the mag bodies, the followers, and the springs carefully. Then lubricate all of the above very well, and then wipe off most of the lube, so that the parts are not sticky or wet with oil. Remember that anywhere that is sticky or wet with oil will attract powder, dirt and dust to stick to it. :)

[ripley16]

I use the dry lube/rust inhibitor Eezox on my magazines with very good results. Everything is slick, there's no moisture to attract dirt and rust is held at bay.

[orfeo]

I use the dry lube/rust inhibitor Eezox on my magazines with very good results. Everything is slick, there's no moisture to attract dirt and rust is held at bay.

I'm with ripley16:

I don't use any oil on my guns. I happen to use Prolix to clean and lube. :)

[AWD]

I don't know if you are familiar with the Box-O-Truth website, but they have some interesting articles. Here's a test that might make you stop worrying about your primers...

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot39.htm

AWD

[bonehead]

I don't know if you are familiar with the Box-O-Truth website, but they have some interesting articles. Here's a test that might make you stop worrying about your primers...

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot39.htm

AWD


Excellent. Thanks for the link:)

[HK_64]

I don't use oil on my mags. I work in a dusty environment and have a hard enough time keeping my gear dust free.

[richark1]

I don't know if you are familiar with the Box-O-Truth website, but they have some interesting articles. Here's a test that might make you stop worrying about your primers...

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot39.htm

AWD

Nice test. Still, wouldn't want to worry about a deactivated cartridge in a life-threatening situation, no matter how remote the chance. Probably for the same reason people meticulously clean their guns more often than is necessary. Preventative care goes a long way

[orfeo]

I don't know if you are familiar with the Box-O-Truth website, but they have some interesting articles. Here's a test that might make you stop worrying about your primers...

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot39.htm

AWD

Excellent article (which I have read before). I never said to worry excessively or that oil in the fp hole would necessarily kill the primer in a chambered cartridge. . . only that it could if it seeped in between the primer and the case (and it could). When I was young (1970s) I often had a lit cigarette in my mouth while gassing up my car. . . nothing ever happened. It's not a good practice. . . nor is allowing oil to leak out of your fp hole onto a chambered round. :)

[orfeo]

. . .oh, and another thing about that test.

1. Your results may vary. This is the Internet after all.

2. His test did not account for a gun and ammo that cycled through different temperature extremes for some time with the oil on it (like being outside in the cold and then being inside the station-house). The metals in the cartridge case and the primer may not always expand and contract at the same rate while changing temperature. That could make a small gap much more likely.

3. It is very possible that a particular brand-new batch of either cartridge cases or primers may not mate and seal as well as another.

4. If you reload, there is such a thing as oversized primer pockets, resulting just from the process of reusing the brass.

Bottom line is, there is no good reason to have oil dripping out of your FP hole onto chambered rounds. And there are some good reasons not to. Would I WORRY about it? Not too much, but I certainly would not teach someone the wrong way to do things either, nor would I tell them not to worry about it if they do. It is generally not a good idea to be casual or overconfident when it comes to firearms and gasoline. ;)

[Dusty]

I have never put oil in a magazine. I want them dry and prefer nickel mags when I can find them. Keep them dry.

[Alan_13]

Two tours in Iraq has left me a little hesitant about oiling anything much if at all if I can help it, mags I dont think warrant lube unless you expose them to water or are plaining on it, such as a rainy day range visit. just my 2 cents

[5wire]

I use Elmer's Slide-All dry Teflon on magazines, especially on the inside and around the follower. First everything is cleaned with MPro7/Hoppe's Elite blown around with compressed air. Same treatment in the firing pin channel, chamber, and bore.

On my HK P7 M8 I do the same treatment in the gas piston and cylinder. The whole idea is to keep the hot places free of fluids that collect crud and still provide surface protection and lubrication in those areas. Cylinder holes, cylinder face, forcing cone and bore on revolvers get the same treatment. Finally, all remaining metal surfaces get a coating of oil blown thin with compressed air.

Each cleaning seems easier, quicker, and more effective than the previous cleaning.

MPro7/Hoppe's Elite Gun Oil. Breakfree CLP, or similar are sufficient IMO for fluid lubrication and surface protection.

[Ops Officer]

I use the dry lube/rust inhibitor Eezox on my magazines with very good results. Everything is slick, there's no moisture to attract dirt and rust is held at bay.

Same here. Mag Slick is another dry lube in a spray can. But there are a number of good dry lubes out there now. Some actually seem to repel dirt and grit.