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not to start a religious debate, but:

do all you other EBR owners use oil or grease or both to lube an AR-15?
I'm specifically interested in lubrication of the bolt/carrier group.

thanks

~ghostrider~

Oil. Lots and lots of it.

gigag04 wrote:Oil. Lots and lots of it.

Yessir, oil. Grease has never been recommended for AR15/M16 rifles. Back in the day, when I was a 21 year old soldier in Vietnam, the Army and Marine Corps told us to use very little oil on our rifles (they said at the time to wipe the parts with an oily patch.) We learned very quickly the "higher ups" were full of beans. The Stoner design needs oil - - - not dripping, but wet. The oil you use is up to you I use Mobil 1 because it's cheap and I haven't found anything better. The only place on an AR that grease is superior is on the trigger engagement surfaces and it needs to be a light grease at that.

Im sure im going to get flamed, but i use slide glide lite for my AR as well as my pistols. I use grease mainly because i do not get to shoot it often and it is stored in the vertical position. I dont want all the oil to migrate away from key areas so i use grease. I dont lather it on. A little grease smeared on the normal lube spots and it works great. I pay particular attention to the areas where the bcg slides in the receiver.

For what it's worth, I had a US Army squad armorer tell me he now uses grease on the bolt assembly (oil elsewhere) after watching multiple M4 bolts o erhear and breakdown (a few even in flames) in Iraq. Granted these were select fire guns that had fired off hundreds of rounds in a short time during a firefight in a remote area (and may not have been properly lubed prior to firefight), so I think it's an extreme example - but worth mentioning.

He showed me his personal AR that he keeps in his truck and it looked like it had a handful of Vasoline on the bolt. He said it was lithium axle grease.

As the arms room NCOIC I tell everybody to use oil, mostly because they have a hard enough time listening to the instructions (many put hardly any on and the vast majority make it drip). But on mine (work and personal) I use a little bit of grease on the outside of the bolt near the gas rings and a little bit (tip of a toothpick to apply) in my trigger assembly with oil on the rest. I have had 0 issues with my M16 or AR15 (minus somehow losing a gas tube roll pin once). Generally I use Break Free (same stuff that I get issued) and TW-25 (also works great for my Sig, 1911 and the Beretta at work)

Grease.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXIsKEHo-4g" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If Tactical Response says to use grease, after all of the rounds they've shot and seen shot, I'm going with that, but that's just me.

Militec grease on the bottom "rails" of the bolt and the matching part of the upper. I also put a bit on the bolt assembly where it contacts the carrier. I did heat up the bolt assembly in my toaser oven first. The Militec grease bonds to the metal if the parts are warm when the grease is applied.

I also installed a "D-Ring".
http://www.m-aparts.com/productsDetail.asp?id=1104

I keep the trigger assembly oiled and the rest wiped down.

After I lubed as I described and the D-Ring installed, I've never had any issues.


That's about it.

As Kieth Jackson might say, "Whoa Nelly!" All this talk of grease and copious amounts of oil is kind of scary. In my experience, a light coat of oil on all the internal mechanisms, plus slightly more oil on the contacting areas (the shiny parts where there is metal to metal friction) is what I religiously swear by. Don't know who the video guy is, or his experience, but this has served me and my Infantrymen well in countless engagements in some fairly harsh conditions. Too much oil, and especially grease, can hold carbon deposits, dust, dirt, sand, etc. All of which can lead to jams and fouling. The only exception to this rule would be in the harshest conditions, where you have already experienced significant jamming, in which case more oil can be used to break up whatever is causing the jam. Grease, LSA, and other thick lubricants are specifically for belt-fed, automatic weapons (holds up to the excessive heat better than oil) and stamped receivers (read AKs, Gallils, and a variety of European stamped firearms, due to their liberal tolerances). Specifically, with an AR though, you need to keep her clean, or she will not be happy for long.

Would your opinion change for piston variants of the AR platform?

Breakfree CLP

I've had one AR that short stroked every few rounds when lubed with grease, but ran fine with oil.

I've had another that ran fine either way.

Go figure.

My current maintenance plan uses oil because it always works - for me, anyway.

gigag04, my opinion for push rod/piston driven ARs is the same as DI (gas blow back) ARs. In fact, the piston systems run cleaner, as the carbon stops at the piston instead of the gas key (bolt). I've even heard of folks who run their piston driven ARs almost dry. Specifically, the cleaner you can keep the moving parts, the less you need additional lubrication. I have 2 x ARs. One is DI, and the other is piston. The piston AR run cooler and cleaner, so I would never slather a crap-ton of oil on her, as it would only work to attack contamination.

lbuehler325 wrote:gigag04, my opinion for push rod/piston driven ARs is the same as DI (gas blow back) ARs. In fact, the piston systems run cleaner, as the carbon stops at the piston instead of the gas key (bolt). I've even heard of folks who run their piston driven ARs almost dry. Specifically, the cleaner you can keep the moving parts, the less you need additional lubrication. I have 2 x ARs. One is DI, and the other is piston. The piston AR run cooler and cleaner, so I would never slather a crap-ton of oil on her, as it would only work to attack contamination.

Thanks - this is inline with what a lot of sandbox users have passed on, just curious for your thoughts.