Mobil Motor Oil On Guns

[MrTrolleyguy]

A fellow I frequently go to the range with swears about the benefits of using Mobil Motor Oil when lubing a gun for storage.

He also said that old timers use to soak a rag in a small container and then dry it out a bit then use that to rub down a blue gun after shooting. Does any of this make sense to you? I am skeptical on this one..

Trolley

Edit: Does Ren Wax make all of this a mute point?

 

[doublesharp]

I have no doubts Mobile One would work and work well.

Not sure about the old timer's method but if they are using clean rags soaked in Mobile One they are protecting metal.

 

[badge]

Works just fine,.....

 

[Bozz10mm]

Mobil 1 is fine. You just have to change the oil and filter every 3-5 thousand rounds.

 

[Jaysq]

What is the advantage of using motor oil over gun oil???

 

[arjay]

Price.....

 

[v-13]

I also use Mobil One Synthetic oil to lube the areas of the firearm that need lubrication. Works great on slide rails for semi autos on handguns. A little goes a long way.

 

[Road Rat]

What is the advantage of using motor oil over gun oil???

The OP did mention..........the old timers..............

I'm guessing (before Mobil One) that farmers, ranchers, etc., used whatever they had. Ain't going to waste a quarter buying "special gun oil" when he had a quart of 30 weight sitting on the shelf. The "oil soaked rag" should work great for keeping the elements away from the gun.

Today a lot of people use Mobile One Synthetic on firearms.

Me, I happen to be able to afford a can of Gun Oil every few years!!

JMHO

 

[jimmyj]

Motor Oil on firearms?
The one time I observed this was on a hunting trip with my Father. A young hunting party member hunting on horse back had a Browning 308 semi auto rifle (BAR) that the action was dry. He went to one of the trucks raised the hood, pulled out the dip stick, and applied the oil to the rifle. First and only time i observed this method.

 

[mstuhr]

What is the advantage of using motor oil over gun oil???

Howdy,
I use Mobil 1 synthetic ATF. A quart will last a long long time.
No complaints.
Thanks
Mike

Oh, I forgot. The Pardini and Bennelli get Olive oil!

 

[1morethan8]

I'm a little different(little?) than most. I'll use Johnson's Paste Wax on everything but moving parts. Most oils are not that great on wood and some will even deteriorate your stock... you ever see the black around the wrist of many old shotguns?
And your hands won't slip on your hunting rifle.. even in the rain!

For moving parts, stainless or carbon steel, I use a stainless steel antiseize compound from T.S. Moly that is 70% molybdenum disulfide.
..but it's not cheap!

T.S. Moly Lubricants Inc.

 

[venomballistics]

for metal storage, I think automatic transmission fluid would be a bit better. as far as lube goes, really anything will work better than bone dry and you could do a whole lot worse than motor oil. Its Achilles heel is in high round count sessions where this stuff collects crud.
back when I had a two brick of 22 a day habit, Motor oil would result in stoppage somewhere in the second brick .. a switch to silicone would keep the old marlin running into a third brick.
Either way, the lower action assembly would be removed and dropped into a coffee can full of kerosene and left to soak for a half hour prior to a spray down with carb cleaner.
I still use variations of this method to this day

 

[feralmerril]

Why the heck not? Metal is metal isnt it? I have never tried it though. When I was young I owned a harley. I remember asking a harley mechanic what oil I could use. He just laughed and said "anything is better than no oil or water!"

 

[fshfindr]

JPW, Johnson's Paste Wax, but no moly.

 

[SgtLumpy]

Automobile engines cycle several hundred thousands of times per hour, every day. Several hundred or thousand parts with very close tolerances, moving extremely fast.

Guns cycle maybe 50 or 100 times per range trip. A small handful of moving parts with relatively large tolerances, moving extremely slow.

"Some" kind of lubrication between the moving parts is surely a good idea for either. It's reasonable to assume that an engine requires a lot more protection than a gun.

We very likely over lubricate our guns, and use designer oils that are no more than simple, light petroleum, probably helping nothing, probably hurting nothing but our wallets.

"I just found a new lube and it works really great" makes me laugh.


Sgt Lumpy

 

[Maximumbob54]

I've been using the same bottle of synthetic ATF for few years now. I joke that my AR bleeds red sometimes. It works just fine and is cheaper than any Mobile 1 product. It's also a part of "Ed's Red" if you want to look that up for use.

 

[Comrad]

That's crazy, everybody knows you have to use Texaco Havoline.

 

[inspcalahan]

In Alaska it's not uncommon to use motor oil on firearms. Stays viscous in the coldest temperatures and withstands heat beyond what firearms need. The only drawback in a speckled face after shooting an auto gun that's well lubed.

 

[Alpo]

I don't think it was "the money".

As an "old timer" myownself, I know that motor oil used to come in paper cans, and you punched a hole in the top to get the oil out.

Nowadays taking the top off a plastic jar of motor oil, to get a few drops to lube your gun, ain't no big thing.

Punching a hole in that "quart of 30-weight sitting on the shelf" wasted the quart of 30-weight. Unless you had a car/truck/tractor that needed a quart.

 

[jag312]

I was once told to use Mobil 1 motorcycle oil. Motorcycle oil has more additives than automobile oil.