Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Improving and repairing firearms. Rifle bedding, barrel work, stock replacement and other ways to improve your firearms.

Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by Snip3o » 19 May 2019, 7:36 pm

It's so damn expensive, haven't checked in my local store yet but online, everything is overpriced. I'm tempted to just use normal machine oil, like sewing oil. But I don't know if that will protect my .22 from rust.
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by CrackThump » 19 May 2019, 9:03 pm

i think i paid $30 for a big can of G96 3in1 lube clean and rust preventer (i think thats what it was called)..

i nearly choked on the price, but its a big can, if its used sparingly it should last for ages..
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by Bills Shed » 19 May 2019, 9:27 pm

It is all marketing. Buy a bottle of Inox and be set for life.

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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by Oldbloke » 19 May 2019, 9:31 pm

Bills Shed wrote:It is all marketing. Buy a bottle of Inox and be set for life.

Bill

Correct, or any light mineral oil. Such as the sewing machine oil u mentioned.

Eds red is ok for basic cleaning.
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by cracker » 19 May 2019, 10:14 pm

Bills Shed wrote:It is all marketing. Buy a bottle of Inox and be set for life.

Bill


yes and use it on your motorbike, jetski, boat motor, guns....tools etc etc etc.
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by Roo farmer » 19 May 2019, 10:26 pm

I thought it was so expensive because people keep buying it. While people buy it, there's no reason for them to sell it cheaper.

Are alternatives, such as Inox, safe to use on the blued areas of a gun?
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by cracker » 19 May 2019, 11:26 pm

Roo farmer wrote:I thought it was so expensive because people keep buying it. While people buy it, there's no reason for them to sell it cheaper.

Are alternatives, such as Inox, safe to use on the blued areas of a gun?


yes very, its a great product youll never use wd40 or rp7 again.
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by No1Mk3 » 20 May 2019, 6:58 am

3 in 1 oil, if you can find it cheap enough, works fine. Light Mineral Oil is baby oil without the smelly stuff and is little different to 3 in 1, work great as well and can be purchased in bulk to save even more money. ATF works well but can be dearer than gun oil sometimes. I would disagree with cracker about never buying WD40 again as it is a poor long term lubricant yes, but a great de-watering fluid and an essential item to carry for older engines using dizzies and points. like Oldbloke I use Ed's Red for all my firearm cleaning, and do a clean with Sweets every 10th clean or so, Cheers.
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by perentie » 20 May 2019, 7:02 am

I use ATF for lube and to protect the bore of all my guns including the Blackpowder ones.
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by straightshooter » 20 May 2019, 7:24 am

Sewing machine oil is not a good choice as it is a blended light oil, contains water and is intended for repeated use as a lubricant for a very specific purpose.
However for firearms it is better than nothing.
The trouble with wd40 and similar sprays is when it is used as a lubricant or a barrel preservative it gums up after the aromatic carriers have dried out.
I have used Inox for at least 25 years and I still have much of the 5 liter container I bought then. A little goes a long way.
For long term storage of 6 months or more I use a lanolin based oil.
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by bigfellascott » 20 May 2019, 7:50 am

Because people are stupid is why, it's magic snake oil ya know and has magical powers to keep ya precious firearm safe and clean and shootin straight. :drinks:

You'd laugh if you knew what I oiled my firearms with for most of my life and never had an issue ever - Singer Sewing Machine OIl! :D it's what we used back in the day and it did just fine, now apparently we need all manner of specialised stuff to keep em from turning orange. :unknown:

Now I just use Lanox I get from the Hardware.
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by bladeracer » 20 May 2019, 8:17 am

Snip3o wrote:It's so damn expensive, haven't checked in my local store yet but online, everything is overpriced. I'm tempted to just use normal machine oil, like sewing oil. But I don't know if that will protect my .22 from rust.


It is expensive, but a can does last a few years, even with lots of maintenance. I go through more oil than solvents or grease so I bought a bulk bottle of gun oil, and use it to refill small squeeze bottles. One lives beside my keyboard and gets used for anything that needs oiling, another lives on my reloading bench to keep my press, dies and tools lubed. I prefer spray packs for solvent. I bought a large can of copper/lead solvent five years ago, and it'll likely last another five at least, so maybe $5 a year or so. I really only use solvent in the bores, and only clean the bores when accuracy drops off, around 300rds to 2000rds depending on the rifle.
For black powder I bought a large squeezebottle of solvent that I drench the barrelled action with immediately after use, but that'll last me years the amount of black I shoot. Oddly, it's the required cleaning that limits how much black powder shooting I do, if I didn't have to worry about the cleaning I'd shoot black a hell of lot more often, it's damned good fun.
As long as you keep it oiled it won't rust. I rub gun grease over the rifle if I'm going out in the rain, or leaving it in the safe for a few months, but tube of grease will probably last ten years as well.
Patches I mainly use rolls of two-by-four, but I bought thousands of .22-caliber patches - I won't need to buy more patches in my lifetime.
Brushes I have dozens of every caliber from .17 to 12ga.
The real expense is the ten or so cleaning rods, some of which cost me $70+.
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by green_comet » 20 May 2019, 8:56 am

I use Ballistol, big cans can be found in most hardware stores for around $20. Never had an issue with the stuff.
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by Snip3o » 20 May 2019, 9:34 am

Thanks for the replies everyone! Turns out the cleaning kit i'm going to purchase has solvent and lubricant included, it's the Hoppe's one for about 30 or so bucks with a 3-piece cleaning rod, brush, jag, slot jag and patches, seems like a good deal to me just for a starting kit, but then i'll upgrade to a 1-piece rod eventually. Thanks again for your insight.
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by marksman » 20 May 2019, 9:45 am

green_comet wrote:I use Ballistol, big cans can be found in most hardware stores for around $20. Never had an issue with the stuff.


this is the good oil :thumbsup: :drinks: :drinks:
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by Bill » 20 May 2019, 9:58 am

I started using silkolene light gear oil on a couple of my rifles after it was recommended for use on my motorbike chains. Seems to be doing as good a job as any product I can buy in a gunshop
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by SCJ429 » 20 May 2019, 7:42 pm

Bill wrote:I started using silkolene light gear oil on a couple of my rifles after it was recommended for use on my motorbike chains. Seems to be doing as good a job as any product I can buy in a gunshop


I second automotive products, millions of dollars in R&D are spent on them. Mobil 1 is one of the best lubricants around. To protect from rust a smear of grease will work wonders and will not migrate away.
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by Stix » 20 May 2019, 7:49 pm

Why so expensive...??

Because its the rifleman's cosmetics...!!
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Re: Why is gun oil/treatment so expensive?

Post by Growler » 20 May 2019, 8:04 pm

But G96 smells sooooo good. Lubed the ol leatherman up with it on the weekend and today used it and the smell gave happy thoughts hahaha
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