Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “Will Cold Weather Keep Your 1911 Out of the Fight?” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/how-your-1911-could-fail-during-cold-weather-carry/.
Will Cold Weather Keep Your 1911 Out of the Fight?
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
HansGruber
Ronin
Nope.
HayesGreener
Ronin
The Marines loved it at Chosin but they had trouble with the lubricant they were using in sub-zero temps. Nowadays all military lubes must function in sub zero temps
N
nmedge
Guest
With todays lubricants i do not think its as big a issue as it might have been years ago
HayesGreener
Ronin
TW25. But then we live in Florida so it is academic for us.
Area52
Professional
Cold, dry hands and stiff finger joints are always a problem in winter no matter what. Bulky coats like my Carhartt make maneuverability even more a task. As long as I don’t sit in a Kia/Hyundai my chances of getting victimized are minimal.
Temperature fluctuations will cause a bit of condensating and rust, so the idea of lube protectant according to the climate should be considered routine preventative for any firearms. Having any handfun sit idly dry for years on end likely doesn’t happen too often with those active in the sporting art.
Florida is a nice option for this cold-paw midwesterner.
Temperature fluctuations will cause a bit of condensating and rust, so the idea of lube protectant according to the climate should be considered routine preventative for any firearms. Having any handfun sit idly dry for years on end likely doesn’t happen too often with those active in the sporting art.
Florida is a nice option for this cold-paw midwesterner.
That is a correct statement
Core
Operator
I have been conceal carrying a full-size in the North East for nineteen years, and a full-size in a belt holster a prior five or so? Very good article: I give the author credit for explaining some practical but complex nuances with cold weather carry.
I have been using grease on my pistols for some time. My old Walther suffered from cold weather issues with conventional oil. It was a very dry operating system, and the oil would collect dust in a very tight fitted German slide to frame fit. Oil never really held up on the high friction surfaces and it would attract clothing fiber over time, and often result in stoppages in the winter cold.
I started carrying an M9 and had the same issues. And when you went to the range you had to scrub everything down of carbon and fouling. After falling in love with a SA 1911A1 Custom with an initial very tight fitment, I started using FrogLube. It was the only lube that would prevent the carbon from drying the pistols and resulting in a very dry “cooked-off” lube situation.
The FrogLube Paste was so thick it would congeal: and most folks we’re applying it wrong. Once I realized you can liquify it with heat and by properly removing petroleum from the parts in a detergent hot bath, it worked exponentially better. At the time I was using Colt’s Grease on my M4 and I had some winter issues and found the teflon would dry and congeal also. The FrogLube Paste was also too thick for the M4.
So I melted down the paste into a liquid and applied a thin coat. I tested it on several pistols and M4s down to -20F with significant wind chill. When I couldn’t be bothered to apply the lube heated, I used a tube of the FL Extreme liquid which was a solution for cold and folks who tend to over lubricate.
I still use FrogLube, I have run a thousand rounds through several pistols without stoppages due to it’s carbon migrating properties and not cooking off. I do however, find that the FrogLube needs a reapplication after several months and does evaporate to an extent. If you season the parts with several coats it dries off and you won’t see the lube until the parts heat. But a cold coat will not result in peak performance. And like I mentioned, mixing it with factory oil and petrol lines is not good, you want to get it all off prior to application.
Once you season your parts, you can wipe off carbon sludge with a rag and reapply liquid and you really don’t need to scrub or strip the gun down until you need a deep clean. It will keep your guns running.
So I have ten years or so of carrying a 1911A1 coated in a hot coat of FrogLube, and other makes and models that are extremely reliable. It doesn’t stain my clothing, our gas noxious fumes, etc. I am also a big fan of Otis Bio CLP, it’s liquid form like FL Extreme and it is as good as FL but easier to apply, you just have to be careful not to over apply for very cold temps.
All of my guns are ready to go from inside to extreme cold at a moments notice and I do not fear the dreaded seized firing pin due to congealed lube and attracted debris.
Excellent article on a complicated subject with a lot of adaptations needed for folks to find success. There are many good bio lubes on the market today that have low temp ratings, Otis and FrogLube are the two that work so perfectly for me that I have stuck with them.
I do like the non bio teflon/moly greases available for friction surfaces, but I am weary of using them up here in NNE. One grease I have had 100% success with is Aeroshell Red: I use it on my FCGs in my AR rifles. I have also used it on slide surfaces but am careful not to gob it on thick, so results may vary depending on how you apply the Aeroshell.
I have been using grease on my pistols for some time. My old Walther suffered from cold weather issues with conventional oil. It was a very dry operating system, and the oil would collect dust in a very tight fitted German slide to frame fit. Oil never really held up on the high friction surfaces and it would attract clothing fiber over time, and often result in stoppages in the winter cold.
I started carrying an M9 and had the same issues. And when you went to the range you had to scrub everything down of carbon and fouling. After falling in love with a SA 1911A1 Custom with an initial very tight fitment, I started using FrogLube. It was the only lube that would prevent the carbon from drying the pistols and resulting in a very dry “cooked-off” lube situation.
The FrogLube Paste was so thick it would congeal: and most folks we’re applying it wrong. Once I realized you can liquify it with heat and by properly removing petroleum from the parts in a detergent hot bath, it worked exponentially better. At the time I was using Colt’s Grease on my M4 and I had some winter issues and found the teflon would dry and congeal also. The FrogLube Paste was also too thick for the M4.
So I melted down the paste into a liquid and applied a thin coat. I tested it on several pistols and M4s down to -20F with significant wind chill. When I couldn’t be bothered to apply the lube heated, I used a tube of the FL Extreme liquid which was a solution for cold and folks who tend to over lubricate.
I still use FrogLube, I have run a thousand rounds through several pistols without stoppages due to it’s carbon migrating properties and not cooking off. I do however, find that the FrogLube needs a reapplication after several months and does evaporate to an extent. If you season the parts with several coats it dries off and you won’t see the lube until the parts heat. But a cold coat will not result in peak performance. And like I mentioned, mixing it with factory oil and petrol lines is not good, you want to get it all off prior to application.
Once you season your parts, you can wipe off carbon sludge with a rag and reapply liquid and you really don’t need to scrub or strip the gun down until you need a deep clean. It will keep your guns running.
So I have ten years or so of carrying a 1911A1 coated in a hot coat of FrogLube, and other makes and models that are extremely reliable. It doesn’t stain my clothing, our gas noxious fumes, etc. I am also a big fan of Otis Bio CLP, it’s liquid form like FL Extreme and it is as good as FL but easier to apply, you just have to be careful not to over apply for very cold temps.
All of my guns are ready to go from inside to extreme cold at a moments notice and I do not fear the dreaded seized firing pin due to congealed lube and attracted debris.
Excellent article on a complicated subject with a lot of adaptations needed for folks to find success. There are many good bio lubes on the market today that have low temp ratings, Otis and FrogLube are the two that work so perfectly for me that I have stuck with them.
I do like the non bio teflon/moly greases available for friction surfaces, but I am weary of using them up here in NNE. One grease I have had 100% success with is Aeroshell Red: I use it on my FCGs in my AR rifles. I have also used it on slide surfaces but am careful not to gob it on thick, so results may vary depending on how you apply the Aeroshell.
Shootist43
Operator
In several places the author seems to endorse, where legal, open carry. I'm not going to explain why I think that is one of the dumbest things a CC can do because a recent article by Huntington, Mchale, and Wheat (editors of the best gun magazines around) does that very well.
Carrying under a garment, regardless of weather and type of garment avoids open carry and should be done at all times. Open carry is a no, no, even where legal. If you need to show off your manliness, buy a Mustang.
Carrying under a garment, regardless of weather and type of garment avoids open carry and should be done at all times. Open carry is a no, no, even where legal. If you need to show off your manliness, buy a Mustang.
SouthpawUH60FI
Alpha
Shh, I love seeing open carry. It means no one is looking at me.
Shootist43
Operator
What???
Core
Operator
I disagree 100% It’s not about manliness or machismo. Most states allow open carry, with exclusion zones for the dictator run cities and locales. A right not practiced is a right lost. A reason why open carry is really critical is because guns need to be normalized and associated with good law abiding citizens by those who cannot and choose not to carry them.
After the turn of the 20th century guns started to come under attack by leadership. Crimes rates were low, nearly every home had guns and criminals knew this. Most men carried rifles, shotguns, and revolvers when they were out and about in their vehicles and on their person. As leaders started resorting to dictatorship and violating the Second Amendment they assigned the Alcohol and Tobacco Police and FBI to hunt down gangsters who were arming themselves with machine guns that could outmatch the police. And like every other power grab for government, it was only the beginning of the abuses.
Since then the ATF has become a bureaucratic political enforcement branch of the DOJ that has become a specialist adhocracy to flex political leadership’s personal and wholly unconstitutional whims. Somehow we have allowed the Director to “define” firearms that bypasses law, executive authority, and more importantly Congress and the US Constitution itself. As far as I can tell few other branches of government have the authority vested in them to be the most powerful authoritarian bureaucrats in existence. Their power to make criminals of the law abiding, “ban” arms components at the whim of an individual and chain of command that leads to their elected and assigned leadership, defies the checks and balances, protections and guarantees, Western Law, Foundations of Enlightenment, clearly mapped out in the US Constitution!
The debate between open carry and concealed carry under a garment boils down to it’s faster for me to draw my handgun from a exposed hip holster. So open carry wins. The complexities of open carry and conceal carry benefit/cost peripheral debate is one of choice, and whether logic suggests that it’s safer to conceal carry is a study that requires further examination and more research into the deductive and inductive reasoning.
We know 1300% more gun incidents save life than take lives. So does having an open carry population have a deterrent? Absolutely. Does it carry added risk to the carrier? Absolutely. But like deterrent policing it would absolutely deter many criminals looking to murder, rape, rob, and extort victims.
So forgive me if I find your comments victim to confirmation bias. Personally I prefer concealed carry but I will never stop open carrying.
Nerka Dude
Alpha
Something to consider in cold weather firearms use: I live in rural Alaska. A couple years ago, about February, we had a club handgun competition using dueling trees. It was hovering about 30-33F degrees. I have seen many semi autos bind up from cold lube (especially 22s). So I took my dry unlubed Security 6 with confidence. I had a lot of success ending up in the semi final shoot off. Then it started snowing. For a little while I still did well but I made the mistake of leaving the gun out on the bench in the light falling snow between rounds as did my opponent with his semi ( forget the model). Both guns had been warm from the semi finals but the falling snow melted onto them and began to freeze. We started having trouble and had to do several rounds. It cooled more and we were both plagued with ice. I couldn't open or rotate the cylinder and his slide was malfunctioning. It came down to a couple shots left and a race as to who could thaw their gun first. We threw them onto car defrosters for a few minutes. My revovler thawed first and I was able to bang off the last 2 shots a fraction of a second before my friend. It was a lot of fun but the experieince gave us both plenty to think about in self defense scenarios.
Concealed guns may come out of warm cover and may function well for a bit. But what if its snowing, or someone throws snow on you or your hands get snowy, you drop the gun or stumble against a snowbank - on and on......? Are temps hovering about freezing, zero, or far below zero? Your gun performance could change drastically depending on time exposed, lube used and even ammo. I haven't reached complete conclusions other than to keep your gun dry, keep it warm if possible, and as noted above use minimal lube of a high quality and low temperature rating. Or none at all - as I do my rifles in -20 and colder.
I believe AK State Troopers usually carry 40 cal Glocks. I haven't thought to ask them if they have special cold weather techniques.
well HTH things to ponder.
Concealed guns may come out of warm cover and may function well for a bit. But what if its snowing, or someone throws snow on you or your hands get snowy, you drop the gun or stumble against a snowbank - on and on......? Are temps hovering about freezing, zero, or far below zero? Your gun performance could change drastically depending on time exposed, lube used and even ammo. I haven't reached complete conclusions other than to keep your gun dry, keep it warm if possible, and as noted above use minimal lube of a high quality and low temperature rating. Or none at all - as I do my rifles in -20 and colder.
I believe AK State Troopers usually carry 40 cal Glocks. I haven't thought to ask them if they have special cold weather techniques.
well HTH things to ponder.