Lube trigger?

I was listening to the Gun Talk radio show a few weeks ago. There was a question about AR15 maintenance and in his answer Tom Gresham stated that an AR should never have any lube on the trigger or hammer, as the lube attracts dirt and will result in a gritty trigger pull and/or accelerated wear on the fire control parts. I've used ARs a lot in a law enforcement career and multi-gun competition and I always put some lube on the trigger and hammer engagement surfaces and have never had an issue with it. I've never heard anyone else say not to use lube there until I heard it on the radio. Any time there is metal to metal movement like there is on the sear and hammer engagement surfaces my standard is to put a little oil or grease on it.

So I'm wondering, have I been so wrong all these years to lube my triggers? Am I slowly destroying my expensive after market triggers?

I did a torture test once with my RRA midlength... locked the bolt back, threw in a few handfuls of gritty dirt through the ejection port, popped in a full mag, chambered a round, and started shooting.

The only problems I had was that I had grease on the trigger engagement surfaces, and the sand/dirt stuck to the grease causing the trigger to not reset every few shots. I'd pull on the trigger a few more times and it would pop back in to position and allow me to fire a few more shots until the sand locked it up again. Since then I've been VERY light with the lube on the trigger engagement surfaces, usually using none at all. It really impressed me that apart from the trigger jamming up because of grease, the weapon itself had no problems cycling for 28 rounds with an absolute crapload of dirt and sand inside.

Rubbing metal with no lube?
Not for me. At least not for ordinary use.
Now I might use XF-7 or a dry film lube if I thought conditions might call for it.

Last night I talked to a friend who is a Colt-trained AR15 armorer. He said that his training called for no lube, but that he does it anyway. He said he believes that if the weapon is properly maintained there should be no problem. I just can't see how lubing the hammer-sear engagement could be a problem in any but the very worst conditions. I've shot 3-gun matches in blowing dust and sand (MGM Ironman) without any hint of a trigger problem.

i put one drop of oil on the hammer/trigger sear interface area. it does smooth out the trigger slightly and also results in a slightly lighter trigger pull, which i've confirmed via trigger pull gage. yes, it might attract some dirt over time but that's why i clean the gun after prolonged shooting and use compressed air to blow off the internals and get any extra oil and grime out of the trigger group area. one drop of oil and my triggers seem to operate better.

Right or wrong,I always apply a nice sheen of TW25B to the FCG when I assemble a lower to aid the components in break in,particularly the pins.
After that I just hose the FCG/lower out with CLP during PM,wipe up the excess,which leaves a lubricating film on/in the components.Friction on metal to metal parts aint good IMHO.Dirt and dust is not a problem here in any event(somewhat damp environment),but the CLP on the parts helps float the firing residue off/out of the area during use.Which also helps prevent hard build up of firing residue from accumulating.

It might be one of those questions that has no one answer. For example, if I were running any rifle in sub-zero temperatures, and my life depended upon it working, I might be pretty frugal with lube. Same thing, I suppose, if I were to be running in extememly dusty/dirtly conditions and didn't expect to be able to clean the mechanism frequently. But, if I'm just sport shooting and will be cleaning the rifle at the end of the day, I'm going to generous with the Breakfree –– or whatever lube of choice. It will not only lubricate the parts thereby minimizing wear, but it will keep the crap in suspension so that it can be easily wiped away at the end of the day. For "Zombie killing" I'd probably split the difference.

[Edit] BTW, I use the KNS pins, and KNS says to lubricate them.

I think that with most of the quality gun oils that are avaialble today,which have excessive low temp operation specification and range,extreme cold issues should not be a concern.Short of a ice age hitting here I doubt I will ever see anything in sub zero temps beyond a cold night or maybe factored in wind chill.In fact,the humidity and condesation(due to wild temp swings) here are so excessive for the majority of the year that corrosion is more of an issue than dirt and dust would ever be.
As far as lubricant issues with dirt/dust accumulation,every NavSEA and Crane test Ive been able to find says dry weapons FTF at a higher rate than a properly lubricated one,and that is with mil-spec CLP.

I've probably been doing it wrong all my life, but apparently I tend to over-lube everything.
But oddly enough I have never noticed any problems from that habit, so I will stick with it.
All I use is motor oil (Mobil1 5w30) and axle grease (Super Tech Moly-Lithium Grease from WalMart), and it works.
I've been called everything from a red-neck, to a hillbilly, to a caveman.
But as long as it works, I'm OK with the name calling.


By the way, for those that are interested, the Super Tech Moly-Lithium Grease that WalMart sells does NOT contain any graphite.
I got that straight from a rep. for Warren Distribution.
And they make the stuff.

I've always put Mobil1 on my trigger area and never had any problems.....
















so far

Even Geissele recommends a little dab ol' do ya.

the instructions for my SSA say to grease it so I do.

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