Guns and WD40?

Gun owners, here's a question for you....

This weekend after hunting, I had a friend of mine ask me about cleaning his rifle with WD40. I was clueless. I'd never used it, the thought never actually crossed my mind to.

A quick scour of the interwebz finds heated debate with plenty of people on both sides of the fence.

So how about it? To use? or not to use? Some say that it gums up, some say it ruins stocks and finishes, others say that as long as the excess is wiped off, you'll be okay.

In the meantime, I told the guy to either wait until I could get him an answer or find a proper cleaning solution.

On that note, what is a favorite solution you all use?
For blackpowder rifles, I actually clean the bore with hydrogen peroxide, then follow immediately with either Hoppes 9. I've also had plenty of luck with Rem Oil.

Oh god where to start....

YES It will ruin stock finishes, some plastics may also be harmed, but plwnty of dedicated gun-cleaning products will also do this

It is not a great bore cleaner. Hoppes #9 is much better, but it's probably better than nothing for a quick clean and to temporarily prevent corrosion

It may gum up, but I would say by no means would it do so badly. Like any wet lubricant, it will attract grime and fouling if you do more than a thin layer. Also, it evaporates pretty quickly. It's not a long-lasting lubricant.

The best use for it is as a water-dispersant. I'll use it when my gun gets a soaking to blow the water out of it, and it's useful for blowing crud out of the trigger group. I make sure I wipe it down well afterwards.

It's something to use in a few situations or if you don't have anything better immediately available. CLP is a good all-around product, but has many of the same complaints as WD-40 except cost (Gums up, dries up, can be bad on some wood finishes) but does a much better job overall. It's just more expensive. Frankly, if price were no option I'd replace WD-40 in every application with CLP to include non-gun stuff, but realistically you need at minimum, a dedicated solvent for bore cleaning and a lubricant that will protect the finish. I have on hand: Otis bore cleaner/ everything, Rem Oil, Hoppes #9, Garand Grease, copper solvent, and TC Bore Butter and BP Solvent (which are both edible) for my Hawken.

The worst thing I have dealt with is 3-in-1 oil. That stuff certainly gums up, especially at low temps. There is about 50 years worth of it on my grandpa's old shotguns. It's worse than cosmoline.

I used it on my guns when I was a kid, just have to be careful. Like Rednekk says, works in a pinch, or as something temporary until you can get your hands on some good gun oil.

Wincheater, Cleaner/Lubricant/Protective...ie US Military grade CLP.

Great stuff, bore cleaner, solvant, lubricant...I only use CLP on my military grade weapons.

CLP and the otis stuff are mainstays, I'd still suggest a better bore solvent, but you don't need it for every cleaning. Remember that it DOES evaporate so either reapply for protection or use something else for storage. Consider a dry lube if you're worried about picking up gunk.

Being of higher importance: What do you use for cleaning gear? Those aluminum 1-peice rods used from the muzzle will wreck a barrel faster than a bad solvent or corrosion. I use a Dewey coated steel rod and bore guide on firearms I can clean from the breech and the Otis pull-through for everything else. The Otis kit, a nylon brush and a bore solvent is really all you will ever need for ANYTHING other than black powder or an artillery peice.

carburator cleaner was a mainstay in the old days for decarbon on the M16 and M-60, brake cleaner solvent in dunk tanks for the m16 and m60 recievers. WD40 was great in the jungle, the old issue goop oil collected to much silt and crap.

The original specs propellant was clean burning, the final propellant wanted by the military was a dirty, high carbon mix. Original M16 did not have a foward assist either on upper reciever to seat bolt if it got too dirty to seat after prolonged firing.

Cleaning rods and comic book styled manuals were issued after the 'need' was determined by command.

M14 was more reliable using a modified 'garand' operating system. tolerances on M16 were too tight. In a pinch all you needed to do to clean m14 in a firefight was to dump mag, partially pull back bolt and 'pee' into reciever to clear dirt, stank but worked. M16 was a teardown no matter what, plus the cases had a tendancy to stick and rim would get pulled off if too carboned. The later crome bore fixed that little problem.

a good friend of mine who is an avid hunter and i respect what he says...

guy shoots remington 1100s and said he had a problem with one jamming during cold hunts. his gun smith said it was the oil he used. ever since he just sprays it down with wd40 and hasnt had a problem with it acting up at all...

DaveEllis wrote: Lets all be clear on the fact that WD40 has no lubricating properties.

This. 
WD40 will break up corrosive powder residue from crappy 8mm ammo.  So, any of you who use WWII era 8mm ammo, spray it into the barrel after you are done shooting and then clean it out with Hoppe's or Shooter's Choice when you get home.