[Ivanhoe]

OK, I've read the manual and know what Wilson Combat says -- put 500 rounds through the gun before disassembly. My question is this: When I rack the slide back, the exterior of the barrel is bone dry. Should I apply some lube there or just leave it as is? The whole gun seems kind of dry, for that matter. Should I apply some more lube to the exposed areas of the slide rails? Or is it best just to leave everything as is and shoot the crap out of it?

Thanks,

Ivanhoe

 

[J Scott]

My Wilson was the same way.
I left it alone and fired away. Nothing but pleasure. Just finished my first cleaning.
Everything looks great. Shootaway!!!

 

[Tim B]

Not that I feel qualified to contradict Wilson's instructions, but I ALWAYS field strip, clean, and lube any new gun I get prior to shooting it. What can it hurt?

Tim

 

[traevin]

Originally posted by Tim B:
Not that I feel qualified to contradict Wilson's instructions, but I ALWAYS field strip, clean, and lube any new gun I get prior to shooting it. What can it hurt?

Tim

I'm with Tim. May as well play it safe and lube your new baby, regardless of what the book says.

 

[Wit]

With the armortuff, Wilson claimed the gun would/could function perfectly without any lube. But like Traevin and Tim B said (including me), if the gun works perfectly when dry, it will work much better when lubed (properly though!)

IIRC, C&S catalog recommends applying a little bit of lube at the barrel hood, barrel (close to the muzzle), guide rod (if full length) and slide/frame rail (when the slide locked open.) HTH

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Wilson doesn't want you to field strip your gun early because they feel that somehow the parts get seated properly within that first few hundred rounds. I don't know it this is a valid issue or just thought to be valid.

That being said, you can lube the barrel without taking the gun apart, so go ahead and give it some lube.

With the slide back, you can check to see that other major parts are lubed as well. I would not strip the gun to lube it UNLESS you can see that it does not have enough lube.

Field stripping a new gun is not a bad idea except that Wilson specifically tells you not to do this. Verifying things are in order, is a benefit of stripping but don't do it unless visual inspection suggests otherwise. I did visually inspect my gun when I got it and it did not need lube, so no problems.

You can also call Wilson and ask for their opinion as well or email them the query and they will get back to you in a couple days. With this being Easter weekend, however, you may not get a quick answer depending on whether they gave people days off for the holiday.

 

[FortyFive]

I have a couple of wilsons and fired about 300 rounds then field stripped them to clean and lube. Its not super important but I do use Wilsons lube for the gun out of habit. They have most likely put a thin layer of their grease on parts that need it when the gun was made. When I lube my gun it looks dry at times but its because I got it right and did not over lube. You will enjoy your gun for sure, they will give you good support if you have a question.

 

[Atlas]

Wcr:

I'm reviving this thread from the depths.

WCR, with all these beautiful 1911's being displayed and on order ( hint )
what is the proper way to start off our 1911's?
Just unwrap and shoot, never cleaning barrel/stripping for 500 rounds?
Unwrap, field strip and clean/lube then shoot, lube as needed and no cleaning.
........?

 

[Moneypit]

Holy revival Bat Man! Is this a record? Almost 10yrs old. The IRS doesn't even keep records this far back.

 

[Atlas]

Holy revival Bat Man! Is this a record? Almost 10yrs old. The IRS doesn't even keep records this far back.

Hence me saying I was reviving it. :biglaugh:

Any input on proper Break in?

 

[paid4c4]

I guess there are some exceptions as I was instructed to throughly clean and lube my RDP. http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=352094&highlight=paid4c4
As you can see there was a reason to take it down. I must say since that time I've not had any problems. I put 150 rounds through it this week and last. I'd like to have 500-750 rounds without fail as this will become my primary CCW. Sure is nice.
Bill

 

[Atlas]

Thank you Bill.

Anthony

 

[.45_ACP]

When my gun arrives I intend to follow the WC manual to the letter and not field strip until the first 500 rounds go through. You can lubricate the barrel hood, the rails and a full length guide rod (which I spec'd on my gun) without having to field strip the weapon and if the gun is dry it's probably a good idea to do that unless the manual (or WCR here on the forum) specifically says not to.

 

[WilsonCombatRep]

Use plenty of light lube like Ultima Lube 2 oil
Shoot 300-500 rounds of factory ball ammo.
Use plenty of lube.
Clean your pistol well (bore not so critical) and relube.

Should be good to go.

 

[Starship Enterpris]

Does Wilson Combat have an opinion on the use of the bore snake when it is time to clean the pistol?

 

[WilsonCombatRep]

A bore snake is fine to clean the bore. Cleaning the bore of a pistol is not really all that important when it comes to absolute accuracy. The chamber must be kept reasonably free of buildup so the round can feed and the slide can close but the bore does not need to be too sanitary. This gets lots of Marines all up in arms, but its true.
Undercleaning is better than overcleaning the inside of a pistol barrel.

 

[Starship Enterpris]

Thank you, sir.

 

[Akicita]

Ran my CQB for 500 rnds without field strip without any problems. I did put "some" lube on the barrel and into the rails at 300 rnds but that is it. After 500 rnds clean it, lube it and its good to go. 9,700 rnds later, no problems.

 

[Atlas]

Use plenty of light lube like Ultima Lube 2 oil
Shoot 300-500 rounds of factory ball ammo.
Use plenty of lube.
Clean your pistol well (bore not so critical) and relube.

Should be good to go.

Ok. So NO initial field strip and clean.
Just lube and shoot.

Thank you WCR

 

[Jarhead83]

(SNIP)The chamber must be kept reasonably free of buildup so the round can feed and the slide can close but the bore does not need to be too sanitary. This gets lots of Marines all up in arms, but its true.(End SNIP)

I LOL'd at this. So true my friend, so true.