Originally Posted by Sevens

I evolved over time to the "less is more" camp, both with lubricant and with the cleaning of guns. My routine is that on the night before a range trip, I'll field strip semiauto pistols, wipe them down with a cotton cloth and nothing else, then I'll get lube on the rails. On the cams and locking areas of the barrel and at the muzzle interface between barrel and bushing I use the red grease from Shooter's Choice.

If you own a S&W Performance Center pistol, you will find that a bit of lube seeps from the very back of the slide/frame as the fitment is irrationally close. This has been my experience, perhaps because I use a lube that is somewhat light in viscosity? (FP-10)

For a short time, I owned two different Ed Brown pistols and in the short owner's manual that was supplied, it seemed obvious that Mr. Brown authored the contents. He said in plain English that for his guns, he wanted you to lube the pistol such that it was flinging lubricant on your arm while shooting. I wish I had either of those manuals here in front of me now to get a direct quote. This has never been my taste. If it is metal on metal and it slides, I want it to be lubricated. If it is tossing goo on to me while shooting, I feel that it's too much.

As a barely related side note, I still have three Smith & Wesson revolvers that never in their life has had the side plate removed and no lubricant outside of Springfield has been dumped in there. Two of them are from the very late 1980's and my old one is from May, 1921. They work beautifully just as shipped without my intervention.