Field-Expedient Weapons Maintenance

John Farnham (in his excellently contexted, but awkwardly formatted website) calls it "Exegent Gun Maintenance".

I call it exceptionally good advice.

Because it's mixed with another interesting comment ("Flat-Stock Technique"), I will include the entire text here. However, I encourage you to read the original and then go to the main webpage for more useful and interesting articles.

(The article is slightly edited for readability: the text is separated into paragraphs and a numbered-points list.)

14 Sept 07 Exigent Gun Maintenance:

There are many commercially-available solvents, lubricants, and devices made specifically for firearms maintenance, and all work well. However, in a crisis, none of that stuff is likely to be available.

What is universally available is

1. hot, soapy water
2. diesel fuel
3. transmission fluid
4. old T-shirts
5. a toothbrush

Those five items can be used to adequately clean and lubricate nearly any gun, and you'll seldom find yourself in a place where they are not readily at hand.

After soaking for a few minutes in hot, soapy water, nearly all hardened deposits of crud on gun parts will soften and can then be easily removed with a toothbrush. After a subsequent hot-water rinse, excess moisture will self-evaporate.

A light coat of diesel fuel can then be applied to prevent steel parts from rusting. Chamber and bore are particularly susceptible to rust and must be continuously coated with oil.

On any car or truck, both transmission housing and crankcase have dipsticks. Remove the dipstick from the transmission. On the tip will be several drops of transmission fluid, one of the best lubricants in existence! Half-dozen drops of transmission fluid is all that is necessary to adequately lubricate most guns. All moving parts that rub against other parts should be lubricated.

On large-caliber pistols, dipsticks can be used to drag an oily T-shirt remnant through the bore.

These is little reason, and even less excuse, to be packing poorly-maintained guns. In exigent circumstances, we may have to get creative, but sensible gun maintenance at the user level is always possible and ever necessary!

/John