AR 15 Cold Weather Lube Test

I try heavily lubricating my BRN-16A1 at -30 F and get some unexpected results. Let me know in the comments how you maintain your guns for cold weather and if you have ever had any cold weather related reliability issues.
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[@jorgequinones991]

In the army, we used brake free and it work in the cold. 🥶

[@daneboro6847]

Love the classic AR's

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Me too!

[@chriscarr6016]

I’ve found running dry isn’t the same nowadays with synthetic oils. Lube all my rifles with 5-30 Mobil 1 motor oil and never had a problem

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

I think your spot on, new synthetic oils are pretty amazing.

[@pwaterdu]

One of the best on ytube..down to earth refreshing!

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it.

[@3rdeyespy967]

I wouldn't worry about the rifle freezing.... your eyes on the other hand.... cause damn bro! You need some antifreeze eyedrops in -30° LoL Great video my friend, stay warm out there

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Haha, not so much your eye's you have to worry about. It's your eyelashes freezing together with the condensation from your breath. Gotta unfreeze them with your fingers every now and them.

[@FoulPet]

Never thought I would enjoy cases to the face.

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Sorry about that, my poor camera!

[@vic2796]

You should have left the gun outside for an hour after lubing to simulate what it would be like if carried for a long while before shooting it

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Yeah, probably so, or overnight.

[@OlegMcLurn]

At -30 the CLP would be instantly at temp as soon as it contacts metal; no need to leave it out. I've never had issues with a light coat of CLP, in any temp.

[@keelyoconnell3911]

Digging the frosty lashes look, Alan! Informative as always.

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Thanks! I did not realize how silly I looked until it was over.

[@jasonrodefeld8758]

Great job Alan, your channel is really growing congratulations buddy!!! One of my goals is to be able to shoot again hopefully someday. I still can’t lift one yet but I won’t give up

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Thanks! So sorry to hear you are still having trouble with that, great attitude, don't give up! Its good to hear from you buddy, take care.

[@s0nnyburnett]

Came here after my Glock 42 carry gun started having problems at my club this past week. It was about 12F and very windy and it was working fine until I set it down to shoot my Beretta 92 which I only use gun oil on and had no problems with that. Go back to the 42 after it's been sitting on the bench and it start having every type of malfunction with all 3 mags and I was using the same brand of ammo bought at the same time for both guns. I've owned both for a while and both have been nothing but reliable but I wanted to try out some grease I bought on my rifle and the 42 and I think the grease started to jelly and gum up the action. I haven't gone shooting at temps like that before because there's only a few days of winter where its like that in CT and I'm glad I did so I can figure out what happened. I put a blob of the same grease into my fridge freezer and even though it's not quite as cold in there the grease did thicken up.

[@ronaldgarvie9661]

Much colder then minnesota today its 10 degrees here great job with that clp and cold.

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Thanks a lot, we are in a warm spell not, its really nice.

[@rickurban9681]

Thanks for the great video. It can be frustrating at times when failures fail to show their ugly head when you want them to. I do believe it would have stiffened up dramatically if you could have left it out in that cold temp for 3 to 4 hours or more. You could tell she warmed up as you shot also. The ejections were definitely moving forward. It did this with both lubes, more so with the CLP. Thanks again and take care.

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Good point about the ejection, I did not notice that. You may be right about needing more time to stiffen up. I should have left it out overnight.

[@Michaeldckry1]

Good job I’ve had good luck with froglube aswell just don’t use to much it will get gummy

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Thanks. I can imagine since it is a solid at room temp.

[@MrMrGAsMASK]

I have camped in the mountains in the winter I have had issues with over nights my lube or just my gun freezing being to close to the fire I suggest putting your gun away so it don’t sweat from the fire then freeze I use WD40 but I’ll try this CLP

[@infogunvault6920]

Good grief! Don't use WD-40 as a lubricant!

[@billsummy2412]

Another Great informative video , Thank you pard !

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Thanks a lot!

[@liamcraig374]

I live in upper peninsula of Michigan where we get 180 plus inches of snow a year(got 270 last winter). We also have weeks/months at a time where it never gets above zero and often as low as you mentioned in the video at -30. Whether it’s summer or winter though I’ve had success lubing all my firearms with ballistol. Good to see other methods that can do the job. Sweet video!

[@stevenbrown1749]

Hey Alan..great video...I’ve found for me the only reason my guns haven’t functioned in cold weather is mainly the cause of the warm fireplace in the house..lol.. but on a serious note I think “MILK-BONES” owes you some ad revenue....nice edit on the end

[@keelyoconnell3911]

I was thinking the same thing about the Milkbones!

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Thanks a lot! I didn't realize how good the product placement was on that one, haha.

[@irafowlerjr.7492]

Thank you, helpful info, thanks 😊

[@therelaxationbox5025]

Great video man!

[@troyfairweather8553]

I run my hunting guns pretty much dry in the winter, I'll clean oil and just wipe off the oil with a clean rag so there's still some oil. The lucas makes good stuff, I have a winter mix of ed's red for the cold. Interesting how your spent cases were starting to move forward, things may have been warming up in the gun and action like more gas but think the bolt was just moving a little quicker as you shot.

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

That's really interesting, I didn't notice that. Good observation.

[@nilsgustavjohan]

Hi, I live in Northern Sweden and have similar weather conditions here. Generally there might be some malfunction issues, but that will be after the gun has been in the cold for a while. While hunting, you might not fire the gun for several hours. I think a field test would have to mimmic those conditions. Thanks for the video!

[@herbertblevins7077]

You also have center fire vs rim fire .

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Great point, I'm sure that was a factor in why I was getting light strikes with the mk4. Those rimfire primers are hard, any slowing of the firing pin could do it.

[@johnnyh-pay5843]

You should tell us about the skis you’re using.

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Maybe I would if I was any good at using them, haha. I am really bad but that is my fault, the skis are fantastic. Here is a link to the website altaiskis.com/

[@0101018888]

I love your videos man. I have never owned an ar whats the barrel length on your AR?

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Thanks a lot! This one has a 20" barrel.

[@mikeskywatcher6763]

i thoght the real test is bringing the rifle inside for a period of time in normal temps and then going back out in those cold temps. to see if the AR can handle it ...

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

That condensation can be a killer.

[@mikeskywatcher6763]

@@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875 not for an AK though. the war in ukraine has proven the AK is good to go

[@FrankieJames7]

What was the "synthetic lubricant rater to -65"? Was it tuff glide? Or tuff cloth? Those are molybdenum disulfide based dry lubricants.

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

I think to was called battle lube or something silly like that, not at home now so I cant look.

[@5jjt]

Just about any clp will not freeze at 0 degrees. Eezox, however, freezes at negative 95 farenheight.

[@dcedce2907]

AWG is best -100F to +750F

[@dongarrett6228]

Hi Alan, which part of Alaska, are you in ? From eastern kansas...

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Fairbanks

[@dongarrett6228]

God's country

[@charlesphillips5906]

After overlubing the rifle did you leave it out in the cold for awhile? In the video it looked like you fired it immediately. May be different if you left it out overnight?

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

I think your right about that. I should have left it out overnight too.

[@FierceMouse]

Gangsta!

[@alexisdetocqueville9964]

A bit unrelated, but were you born and raised in Alaska? You have an interesting accent - wondering if that would be considered an Alaskan accent.

[@saskcop416]

When at rifle qualifications, we will do a bunch of shooting in negative temps and then stand around while the instructors talk for a while. The guns will cool off and then we go back to shooting, and then once again we stand around and the guns cool off. The heating and cooling in -20 to -30 is when you will find out that the AR15 will start to have problems with just about any lubricant.

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Thanks for sharing that. I imagine the heating and cooling allows some condensation to build up inside the gun.

[@5jjt]

Try SeaFoam, or Eezox, or CherryBalmz's winter formula.

[@Shot_Gunner]

I use some of that Pink colored grease and some Mobil 1 from Walmart. I mix them up in a 50/50 solution. Works excellent for my M16A1’s here in the winter in TN. Gets about 15 degrees F with moderate snow in the winter time. Great video. Beautiful Rifle and Cabin you have there. Living the dream for sure. 😁👍🏻

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

Thanks! I bet a lot of engineering has went into the synthetic automotive and industrial lubricants like you use. I may have to try that out. Save some money.

[@Shot_Gunner]

@@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875 yeah I found the formula on S.O.T.A.R KZbin channel. (School Of The American Rifle) it’s been amazing stuff.

[@JasonReilich]

I counted 21 shots

[@joshbonds3599]

I've been wondering if it's possible to modify an AR-15 to work with extreme -60°F to -70°F weather and or ice forming on the gun? Grand Thumb did some tests freezing various rifles and ARs did awful in the tears. AKs pretty much all did great mostly because the safety and trigger system and mag release all use lots of leverage to break freeze from ice. I'm looking at moving to Minnesota soon from Alabama and I'm searching for a rifle that can handle the outdoor climate there. Thanks for the video.

[@tomortale2333]

HEY...THATS A LOTTA AMMO UR WASTING .....WOW MUST BE MADE OUTTA MONEY

[@gunsgearoutdoorsalaska5875]

I wish that was the case. Thankfully I had a few rounds of 556 laying around before all the craziness happened.