Lubricating the 1911

My first article on the 1911 is on lubrication for a reason; lubrication is the #1 problem area I see in every combat marksmanship class I teach. No weapon is immune to this and it is clearly a lack of education or emphasis by the shooters themselves. On some pistols, like Glocks, it is less of an issue as they are much more tolerant of lack of lube by if you are going to shoot Browning’s classic 1911 you have to keep it lubed. No if’s, and’s, or but’s.

Let me start off by saying the myth of over-lubing a weapon is exactly that – a myth. You might have some excess lube fly in your face while shooting or seep onto your hand, but excessive lubricant affecting reliable function is fiction. I have never seen it even once in nearly 30 years of my experience with military small arms. I have seen the WRONG lubricant used, specifically in cold weather, which can definitely cause malfunctions, but too much lube shutting down a weapon, 1911 or otherwise, just does not happen. So if anyone has ever told you that, flush it – they are wrong.

What definitely will shut down a gun, and does frequently, is no lube or too little lube, meaning the lubricant is gone in minimal firing. That may work fine in a carry piece but for serious range sessions you have to lubricate the firearm often. During my classes I recommend in the morning before training and after lunch break because whatever you put on in the AM is gone by then. I prefer a wet lube like Militech for range use as it easy to put on but a grease like TW25B works well for carry or field use as it tends to stay put and works well in a variety of weather conditions. Just remember that any grease dries out after awhile so it will need to be wiped off and reapplied. In that respect it is not as user friendly as a wet lube.

My recommendation is to stay away from the very thin lubricants as they may work well for preventing rust and corrosion they disappear almost immediately once the gun heats up. One place thin lubes do have some merit is in cold weather as many of the normal wet lubes gum up – my experience with TW25B in the cold has been excellent so it would be a top choice.

It also makes sense to learn to detail disassemble your 1911 not only for cleaning, but for applying a light coat of lube to all the internal parts for proper function and to prevent rust. Many a shooter has finally got inside his prized custom 1911 only to find rust from the sweat of his hands that has seeped in and around the small parts of the lower receiver. Once you have accomplished this task the chore of keeping your 1911 lubed becomes much easier.

The procedure I use for lubricating a 1911 is as follows;

Make sure the pistol is clear, magazine removed, then lock the slide to the rear

Apply lube on the slide rails and around the barrel

Apply lube to the top of the disconnector immediately in front of the breach face on top of the frame rails

Ease the slide forward until it is almost into battery – then apply lube to the barrel hood (the portion on the barrel that you can see in the ejection port). Lubricant here is super important as it is the highest friction point in the gun. Each and every time a round is chambered the barrel hood rubs the inside of the slide therefore it is critical to keep this area wet.

After the slide is all the way in battery apply lube in front of the cocked hammer so it can seep down into the sear/disconnector/hammer hooks area

At this point, rack the slide and dry fire the pistol multiple times – this will help distribute the lube throughout the handgun.

Wipe off the excess with a rag and now you are ready to go. This much lube is probably not needed for carry use and may stain your clothing but the lubrication points remain the same – just be conservative with the dosage.

The same general guidelines work well with other pistols also – just use common sense if it is a striker fired handgun vs. a hammer fired one.

Last couple thoughts; If you are shooting in rain you will need to lube much more often as the rain literally washes it off – except for grease that is. And remember the golden rule; Any lube is better than no lube.