Last time I fired my SOCOM I was having major cycling issues. Keep in mind I only put 20 rounds through it before this. I did a quick cleaning after that. The first time I had some light strikes so I did some research and changed out the buffer for an H1, cleaned and greased the tube, and put it back together. Before I had about 2 out of 10 that were light strikes. I’m using my trust M&P lower with a different butt and the Palmetto 3.5lb trigger (rated for AR-10 usage).
I’ve put probably 5-6k rounds through the gun in AR form and never had problems with cycling or, well, anything. In fact I once tried to see how long I could go without cleaning the darn thing and gave up after 3,000 flawless rounds. Surprisingly it wasn’t even very dirty!
That was before the trigger upgrade. Not a single problem with that as an AR-15 either. In fact a couple friends that tried it bought the same trigger.
Now I get to the SOCOM upper. All the research says you slap it on and go. Period. Well it’s a bit more frustrating than that.
Last weekend my wife and I went to the range and the darn thing wouldn’t properly cycle. I was getting failures to eject. I think it was a combination of the H1 buffer and poor lubricant from the factory (and me just lightly lubricating it thinking that would be enough because surely the factory did their job, right?).
I had accidentally bought some molly lube a month ago so I decided to look it up and I think it might be the right stuff for the job but I’ve never tried it. I cleaned the SOCOM and sprayed some on the bolt and in the chamber. Added some to the charging handle slide as well.
Thoughts on molly? Should I just clean it out and go to something else?
I also suspect the bolt needs to be broken in some to work right. Tolerances might be a bit too tight causing the clucking issues.
I’ve never used moly lube. I actually had to Google what it was lol. Personally, I use Amsoil gun cleaner and their gun oil. Not the cheapest stuff out there, but it’s worked great for me.
Ran to the range while my daughter was in dance class and ran 10 .458’s through her with zero problems. The Molly did the trick I guess because I had a 30% failure rate with the gun set up exactly like it is now.
FrogLube; Invented by Navy Seals, is a USDA food grade CLP
Easiest to use, and best product for your firearm, and all their materials. (gives wood & polymer a lustrous sheen)
Smells kind of like mint (not poison) so your family wont have to evacuate, or you wont need to hide in the garage.
I always treat my new firearms with it before first shots, after that cleaning is never hard, and they don’t get all fingered up when handling.
BTW; if it’s good enough for the Seals, it’s good enough for me. (and you)
I use the paste, because it’s easiest to control.
Old hair dryer to heat up parts (buy your wife or girls a new one, use theirs)
Apply FrogLube, heat it up some more, get it in all the cracks, run a bore snake, and maybe some old tooth brushes/shave brushes, then let it sit for 15 min or so, heat every thing up again, put it together, function it, take it apart and wipe it all off with a micro towel.
Reassemble, and you’re good to go.
Once you use FrogLube, you’ll never go back to poison.
I use Break Free CLP on everything, to clean and lube. I still use Hopps #9 to clean carbon and powder fouled parts, and barrels, then I lube with Break Free. Been using it for over 30 years now, I caught a deal back in the early 90s and bought 4 quart size bottles of it at a gun show. Never used moly on firearms, but have used it on other machines I used to work on, seems to do a good job, but those didn’t have any heat involved. I always clean and lube any new gun I get before I shoot it, I’ve yet to get a gun new in the box with a clean bore, they are always dirty from proof testing. That goes for barreled uppers as well. Never trust the factory to properly lube a gun you buy. How did the gun work with the Molly lube? All molly lube is some kind of oil or grease with Molybdenum suspended in it in it, a very hard metal that is sometimes alloyed with steel to make it harder. Kinda like graphite grease. I rarely use any kind of grease on firearms, except on very tight threads that have to come apart later, but not on moving parts. I do like the PTFE grease M-CARBO has on small trigger parts though. That’s teflon, which is also in Break Free. It gets into the pores of the metal and stays there until it wears to that spot. Kind of the same thing Molybdenum does. If I leave Break free on the surface of my guns, the next time I fire them and they get hot, I can smell it.
The Moly is, as described online, messy as hell to put on but once on and dry it’s very slick. Not like gun oil at all as it doesn’t seem to attract dirt either.
In fact come to think about it I might try it on my .22lr that fouls up every time it’s shot. That would actually be a better test than the SOCOM as it’s shot a lot more and the rounds are a lot dirtier.
For the application I can see why people use it. I need some more testing before I can recommend it.
I use the break free or Ballistol to clean. For lube, I use the same thing I use in my car. Mobil 5w-30 Synthetic in a needle applicator. I have never had an issue with any of my firearms due to using motor oil.
I use a blend of acetone and ATF for can cleaning. ATF is too light to be a good preservative. ATF also has friction modifiers to help an automatic transmission work. Synthetic engine oil is all about slippery, heat dissipation and corrosion protection.
Good call on the friction modifiers. Forgot about that part.
I was just thinking of the old car truck of cleaning sludge: pour a can of ATF in, run it for a couple hundred miles, change the oil. That’ll clean out a ton of junk. Used that trick on my old 68 Camaro.
