Does anyone use Break Free Oil for lubricate for M1 Garand Rifles ?
This is a factory recondition Garand.

We used LuberPlate for our M-14's in the Corps.

Lubricate the bolt lugs and inside of the operating rod with a lithium based grease. The military used to issue the grease in a little tub that held about an ounce of it.

I've read any high temp. grease is o/k to use on a Garand.
I've been using a bearing grease that I've got a 15 gallon barrel of from a bearing shop that I worked at for 3 years before I became a sprinkler fitter back in the early 80's.
The only thing I don't use it on is the firing pin . For that I just use a very light coating of oil.
I use this both for Garands and M1 Carbines and have never had problems.

I bought a pound of Valveline molybdenum high temp bearing grease in the mid-1970's and have used it on any part of a firearm that requires grease. I figure I should run out about 2040.

To answer jimmyj's question, Garands need to be greased wherever parts slide and oil where they rotate. Aside from spraying oil every time they cycle, they may bind up if oil is used in place of grease, particularly if they have recently been reparked.

In the M1 and M14 oil is a rust prevention coating, grease is the lubricant.

The old adage that if "It rotates oil it, if it slides grease it" is not necessarily true.
As example Match shooters discovered that if they greased the hammer and trigger pins they had less galling and broken pins.

The official M1 and early M14 grease was Lubriplate 120, which is the yellow-white grease.
It's Lithium grease.

The later brown grease is Plasti-Lube.
You can still buy Lubriplate 120 from Brownell's and Plasti-Lube from one of the big Match shooter supply houses.

Truth is, most any heat and water resistant grease will do.
A lot of match shooters just buy tubes or cans of Lithium grease at Walmart, auto or farm stores, or hardware stores.

This is what I use, No. 105 Motor Assembly Grease | Lubriplate Lubricants Co.

It seems like heresy, to use anything but grease on a
Garand...but the Army tech manual has a change (#3,
IIRC) that specifies "do not use grease" and says to
use oil for lubing all moving parts.

I always use lithium grease, never had a problem.

I believe this is the stuff used in WWII on Garands also?
Steve

IMHO---LUBRIPLATE, LITHIUM BASED GREASE, IS EXCELLENT LUBE, FOR ANYWHERE METAL CONTACTS METAL, IN SEMI-AUTO RIFLES AND HANDGUNS.....

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

in boot camp in 1959. I loved that weapon. If I could have only one weapon i. A survival situation it would be an M1. They work all the time.

I'll stick with what the Corps told me about caring for a weapon. Grease it and be happy.

__________________
Who watches the watchers?

POS1980,

I’m with you on that and I was issued oil not grease to my weapons. It worked great.

The official USGI Manual I've read specifies Grease - not oil. If they changed it after the War, I am unaware..... AFAIK the tiny little "grease pots" (brown grease) that are meant to be stored in the Stock are still for sale, are what the US Military specified and what most of my friends do use. Seems to work perfectly.

Certainly it works and that is why it was supplied when the weapon was in its prime. Relying on my ever aging memory (what is my name?) as I recall the change from grease to oil was because they found that grease trapped more foreign matter than light oil. In a combat environment the amount of **** that can get into your weapon is startling. When it gets lodged in grease it just complicates maintenance. In that environment light oil is better. After all you are just trying to reduce the affect of friction. Foreign matter lodged in grease is increasing friction. It can lodge in oil too, but not as much.

I won’t get into the affect of cold on greasea as compared to oil because it is not relevant to most gun owners just like getting foreign matter trapped in oil is not relevant.

I’m use Rem Oil in the spring, summer, and fall, and I use Remington Dri Lube in the winter.

Again, the M1 through early days of the M14 grease was Lubriplate 120, which is a yellow-white Lithium grease.

The later M14 grease was Plasti-Lube which is a brown grease.
Both were packed in the small plastic grease containers that were stored in the butt trap.

Both were also available in larger cans.

Actually they changed from oil to grease very early in the development of the Garand when they found out that heavy rain (like the Philippines during the monsoon season) would wash out oil from what is a very open design. The military doesn't care about longevity of its equipment during combat, but they certainly care about 100% function when needed.

I remember reading that in North Africa in WWII they told GI's to run the Garand dry because of the dry blowing sand.

I went back and looked at three versions (1940, 1951,
1958) of FM 23-5, and multiple change docs for each
version. Apparently the use of grease was something
of a "back & forth" issue.

In a 1942 change to the 1940 FM, do not use grease
appears in lubrication instructions.

The 1958 FM specified grease only "to parts...subject to
heavy wear" before firing, with oil everywhere else, and
warns against grease use in sandy, dusty or extreme cold
environments.

Attached Images

	FM 23-5 Change 2, Jan 1942.jpg (117.3 KB, 22 views)
	FM 23-5 July 1958 pg 68 .jpg (150.3 KB, 24 views)
	FM 23-5 July 1958 pg 69 .jpg (120.4 KB, 23 views)

Maybe, depends on the theater of operations?
Steve

Late to the party, but the easiest manual to follow for me is put out by the Civilian Marksmanship Program. CMP's manual endorsed grease and has great color images showing exactly where it goes. I have always used grease on my M1 without issues. My choice is original GI issue oiler and grease cups, still available on surplus sites and ebay.

http://thecmp.org/wp-content/uploads/M1GarandGuide.pdf

__________________
Gary
SWCA 2515

We had a big stock of Lubri-plate in our Jr. ROTC high school armory for the M1 rifles in use at that time. Some of us with a bit of experience and a nasty sense of humor gave one or more of the little tubs of it to freshmen, telling them it was survival peanut butter. In retrospect, I'm glad no one died from ingesting it...

John

__________________
- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

I recently read a write up on military arms grease and the demands the military required to be met (WWII vintage). Seems that lubrication was quite secondary. Ability to endure water (rains, rivers, etc.) was primary.
So, I guess the focus was preservation from rust versus having the smoothest running machine. When I find the article again I'll post it.

My M1 has survived quite a few years in my air conditioned home and nice weather days at the range being lubed at the critical parts with chassis grease.

I use Lubriplate. I purchased a 14 oz can from Midway for $10 that I fully expect to last the rest of my life. I find it not only useful for rifles, but for pistols, and FAR less expensive than the puny syringes of various premium greases which cost nearly as much as my can.

I had a problem with lubriplate greased Garands on a really cold day, they wouldn't run with my target loads until they got warmed up, that grease gets real sticky when it gets cold, I switched to this stuff, problem solved, plus it doesn't have any color so if it gets all over your stuff, no big deal. 3 Oz Super Lube(R) Grease

Nooooooooo, no, it's so true!

BTW, that reminds me--need to get out on
car and change oil in the wheel bearings,
and grease up the pistons.

I do. Never had a problem.

Lubraplate from brownells or MOBIL 1 hi temp bearing grease

__________________
NRA Life
USPSA/IPSC

I agree with Derek. For regular shooting in dry weather from everything I've heard grease is the way to go.I run Mobil 1 in mine.

__________________
1st smiles,lies.Last,gunfire.

I've always used white lithium on mine. Never had a problem.

__________________
S&W Accumulator

Here’s what I use cause it’s what I got...

I use Lsa55 small weapons oil on everything. Cheap on surplus

__________________
Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

In my opinion GREASE is the way to go UNLESS the Rifle is to be used in severely cold climates OR for extended periods of time in combat without being able to be cleaned. If severe conditions dictate so then a light oil should be used. That said, I doubt the M1 Garand would be the first choice of a battlefield weapon today (although if someone would be willing to lug 11+ pounds of rifle and accept the low 8 round capacity, it is a great defensive and truly capable weapon) and for all of us paper snipers, grease is probably the way to go.

I've been shooting "...the greatest battle implement ever devised" since 1966. Years ago, I replaced Lubriplate, the old standby, with Super Lube, a synthetic grease used by many top skeet shooters, and have never looked back.

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STAY ARMED, VIGILANT, SAFE!

While many have their favorite lubricants, the 'what I got' approach is effective; the issue being maintenance as necessary rather than relying on some wonder product. While in Viet Nam a close friend of mine was mailed a gun store procured M1911A1, which he field stripped daily in addition to wiping it down a couple times a day. He used GI motor oil. He told me people remarked on the pristine condition of his weapon compared to the doggy looking issue pistols.

The "use what you have" approach can certainly be effective and improvising in certain situations can work.
Long ago and far away, I went with a shooting buddy to try a gun he was thinking of swapping for. Needless to say, it was dry and dirty but motor oil right from the dip stick worked wonders and a deal was made.

Over on CMP's forums, the consensus is "whatever ya got",
or the cheapest wheel bearing grease you can find, will work
as well as anything you can find, for the M1.

Give em grease

__________________
NRA Life
USPSA/IPSC