The Myth of Over-Lubrication

[su_heading size=”30″]Too much Oil can cause your Weapon to Malfunction, Really?[/su_heading]

TAC-TV Crew (Dave) and Vickers Tactical went to the Gunsite training facility in Northern Arizona to debunk some classic small arms myths including this one on firearm over-lubrication. From their observations of people that they have trained in the law enforcement and military groups all commented that “too much lube was not good”. With that being taught by other schools this may be the reason why most people don’t lube their weapon enough, the assumption was that with too much grease, it can jam up your weapon, attract too much dirt or sand, this was being taught at all level.

So TAC-TV and Larry setup this test to debunk this myth. They place an M9 pistol and DDM4 (AR15) in a large plastic container and filled it with regular car oil, the whole canister. All the weapons were soaked and when pulled out of the oil container, its like oil slog every where. Larry goes onto firing the M9 and DDM4 without a hitch. So much for the myth.

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Larry and Dave both agreed “under lubrication or improper lubrication” is the cause of most weapon malfunction. The reason for the serious pet peeve of keeping the weapon lubed is that it can save your life.


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[su_heading size=”30″]Video Transcription[/su_heading]

Larry: Ok, we’ve got another Firearms myth for you, and this is one that’s near and dear to our heart. It’s the myth of over-lubrication. One that we run into everywhere we go. Dave, give me your thoughts on the subject.

Dave: Well this has surprised me more than anything in training, and it doesn’t matter who it is, law enforcement, military; students either have no lubrication or improper lubrication on the weapons, which– well, one of the questions is ‘well, where do I lube it and how much?’

Larry: Yeah, ‘how much’

Dave: And they’re always afraid of over-lubrication.

Larry: Because they’ve been taught that you can lube it too much and it’ll track sand, and you’re better off with no lube or very little lube and whatnot. As we know, that’s a myth, and we’re gonna prove that to you. So, that being the case, I’ve got some lube here…

Dave: Larry, what are you doing there. This is TacTV, and you always do it bigger and better. So, we’re going to make sure that we over-lube the weapons.

Larry: Alright, bro. Straight up.

Dave: Alright.

Larry: Aw yeah dog.

Dave: I brought my lube.

Larry: That’s what I’m talkin’ about.

Dave: Let me know when you think it’s been over-lubed. [dumping a large jug of lube directly onto the weapons]

Larry: Ok.

Dave: Good?

Larry: You know what, go ahead and finish ‘er off, Dave.

[Dave dumps the entire jug into the pan of weapons]

Larry: Oh my god. Now if that’s not over-lubrication, I don’t know what is. I’m surprised the guns don’t just self-destruct in the bucket.

Dave: Yeah. Sand’s just bein’ attracted to it.

Larry: Oh I know. Amazing. I’m just afraid that they’re gonna seize up right there. Blow apart.

Dave: Yeah.

Larry: So! I’ll take the M9 Baretta out, I got ten rounds, load it up, put ten rounds on the target. After that, we’ll take out the DanielDefense M4, load it up, put ten rounds on the other target.

Dave: Do you wanna wipe ’em down or anything?

Larry: Noope.

Dave: Alright, I may be out of frame, because I know what you’re gonna look like.

Larry: Yeah, I’m gonna be a slimy mess, but that’s alright, I’m gonna prove a point.

Dave: Ok!

Larry: Here we go. Here we go! I’ll be damned. It worked exactly as advertised! The gun didn’t self-destruct, Dave. Isn’t that amazing. Alright, now it’s time for the DDM-4. Ooh, she’s a little slimy. Another mag, Dave. [shooting] Unbelievable, Dave! Who’da guessed? It worked just fine.

Dave: Now, you do have more lube on you than some of the students that come to class have on their weapons.

Larry: Agreed.

Dave: I do want to say that you’re not telling them to do this.

Larry: No. This was to prove a point. It’s just like when you have a little kid, sometimes you gotta take things over the line to prove a point.

Dave: Definitely did that.

Larry: That’s why I did this. I’m certainly not recommending this for shooters out there to lubricate their weapon to this degree, this is obviously extreme, bu the bottom line is, over-lubrication is a myth. What we see is under-lubrication, and very rarely improper lubrication for the given conditions. Remember, your weapon is a machine, and just like your car, you wouldn’t run it without oil, and you damn sure shouldn’t be runnin’ your gun without oil.

Source: Vickers Tactical Youtube, TAC-TV


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