oil vs. grease

[HenryAKirk]

I have been having issues with my wife's Taurus PT111 millennium, Its still pretty new only 200 or 300 rounds through it and it has some friction issues. The slide almost seems to grind and i have seen some metal shavings around the slide rails. Mt father, an ex cop, said that it's just the gun being broken in and not to worry about it but it doesn't come into battery every time a fresh mag is inserted, it does after each shot though, I think we ought to use a better lube than we do now I have been using the oil that came in a Hoppes 9 cleaning kit and am thinking of ordering Slipstream from Crusader Weaponry. I know its expensive but I have heard only great reviews about it and you get what you pay for, but I dont know if I should get oil or grease or both. I am also unsure of how to apply grease and where to apply it even.

http://www.crusaderweaponry.com/shop.php?id=1

Hopefully one of you more enlightened shooters can help me out, I would appreciate any input I can get

[Lonest4r]

Coat a little axle packing grease on the slide rails; I bought some expensive gun grease to try out and it works about the same. Save the money for ammo or other cool gadgets.

[carlson1]

Gun Butter!

http://www.gunbutter.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MoJo]

I use Mobil 1 oil on all my guns and if i need a grease I use Rydol. Mobil1 V-TWIN 20W 50 or, Mobil 1 15W 50 is the grades I use. I prefer to use oil rather than grease and have never had a lubricant related failure.

Try oiling your wife's gun and cycling the slide by hand till it frees up then shoot it. How are you releasing the slide when you load from empty? Try the slingshot method and see if that helps. Do you have more than one magazine? If so do you have the same problem with all your magazines? Feed problems are often magazine related.

[HenryAKirk]

She is having the same problem with all three of her mags, so I am pretty sure that is not the problem. It shoots great but it just worries me to see metal shavings along the slide rails after we get home from the range. The slide moves along the track pretty well it just makes more of a noise than i think it ought to so I think its probably a lube problem.
If I go with grease where should I apply it and about how much should I use? I have heard of using synthetic motor oil before, does it really work as well as fancy pants high end gun lube, I'll save some money and use a little Royal Purple the next time I do my truck and try it out if it really works.

[ryouiki]

Gun lubrication is somewhat like motor oil... people will argue about it until the cows come home. That said, I'm not convinced motor oil is a great lubricant for guns, since they are designed to lubricate best at operating temperatures that the gun is unlikely to ever see (and probably wouldn't want it in your hand at that point anyway). On the other hand, some of the gun lubricants are essentially just motor oil...

Best advice I've seen was "You can run a gun wet and dirty, but not dry and dirty, and any lubrication is better then none". Some of the Sig fanatics seem to run large amounts of grease on their rails (almost to excess), some of the HK fanatics run almost no lubrication/slight oil... machining tolerances and metal/metal or metal/polymer + metal is probably one of the deciding factors.

I personally have been using a mix of oil (any brand will do) and grease (TW25)... slightly oiled (enough to come off on your finger, but not enough to run if held upright) on rails and other mechanisms, and grease on locking block/any major metal contact points (particularly on places where wear is visible). Grease will tend to gunk up much quicker though, so it should probably used sparingly for a gun that is going to be carried...

Anyway, I'm not an expert so YMMV.

[OldCannon]

I'd suggest FrogLube (http://www.froglube.com/roothome.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Non-petroleum based and some amazing stuff. I'm biased because I'm now reselling the stuff, but I've been using it for the last two years exclusively and love it. One of the nicer effects of FrogLube on treated firearms is how easy it is to clean guns after shooting.

[TheDude]

Coat a little axle packing grease on the slide rails; I bought some expensive gun grease to try out and it works about the same. Save the money for ammo or other cool gadgets.

I know people are going to disagree who proably never tried it but I have a half tube of Slip 2000 EWG from when i started using grease on my AR-15. Eventually tried High Temp Wheel Bearing grease from WalMart. My AR ran so good I tried it on my Pistols. Works great! Its stays where you need it and 3 bucks worth will last a lifetime. . Just remember a little goeas a long way. Very Thin Coating on the the rails. Watch the video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6Qah-QaxPs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Salty1]

I use slide glide exclusivly on all my semi's and have no issues with any of them and the wear is almost non-existant. Remember to get whatever lubricant you use on the channels on the inside of the slide, that is very important, do not forget where the slide attaches to the frame as well. TW25B also works well for a easy to find gun grease, the thing to remember is just make it look wet when applied, no need to have it caked on, I use a flux brush to apply it.

[DocV]

I don't know about the PT111. I typically safe then strip, clean and lube a new gun then reassemble without the barrel or return spring. I slowly hand cycle the slide to feel for any catching. If all seems well, I slowly hand cycle the gun a hundred times. Then I strip, clean and lube, and reassemble with barrel and springs then hand cycle one hundred times.

I would be more concerned about the return to battery after inserting a new slide. If this is with full magazines try fewer rounds in the mags.

You might also consider Super Lube synthetic grease that you can find at Harbor Freight. It costs about five bucks. More expensive than Coastal Wheel bearing grease but it works. BTW, I use Coastal moly EP - for actual bearings - and am impressed with it too.

[WildBill]

She is having the same problem with all three of her mags, so I am pretty sure that is not the problem. It shoots great but it just worries me to see metal shavings along the slide rails after we get home from the range. The slide moves along the track pretty well it just makes more of a noise than i think it ought to so I think its probably a lube problem.
If I go with grease where should I apply it and about how much should I use? I have heard of using synthetic motor oil before, does it really work as well as fancy pants high end gun lube, I'll save some money and use a little Royal Purple the next time I do my truck and try it out if it really works.

IMO, metal shavings indicate a problem that will not be solved by lubrication.

[glbedd53]

I have been using Froglube for a while now and it seems to work good. Not crazy about the Pepto Bismol smell though. But like Wild Bill said.

[carlson1]

IMO, metal shavings indicate a problem that will not be solved by lubrication.

[TheDude]

+1
Not sure that your lube is the problem with the metal shavings. Modern polymer guns seems to run pretty good with very little lube. Glocks, XD's, M&P's, etc...You might want to call Taurus about that.

[Lonest4r]

I my experience with the 2 Taurus guns I have owned, the shavings are probably a little of their coating from the lower receiver rail starting to chip away from the metal. If it was a new Taurus this is the most likely case and it will wear a little shiny spot on the rails but eventually stop chipping any more metal off. Im not sure Taurus will be able to help you with that problem, but if you can call and get them to ship it on their dollar, give it a shot. My TCP got an all expense paid vacation to Brazil for another problem.