Thread: Grease not oil on bolt actions?

Originally Posted by gundoc

A wipe over with a lightly oiled rag is all that is needed. A SMALL amount of lithium grease or copperkote on the cocking cam does no harm. Excess oil, gumming oils, and grease should NEVER be used inside a bolt as they will gather dust, as well as causing misfires in cold weather.

Ah yes...the gunsmiths 'secret' to controlling rust....an oily rag.

Well a lot more posts and information has come through regarding rifle bolt lubrication.

I've decided to now apply a negligible amount of grease on the bolt lugs and cocking cam and just use the good old 'lightly oiled rag' wipe over on the bolt.
I came on this method from reading the posts but also knowing that a rifle bolt is a shear action, high-pressure environment... so grease rather than oil (I would say) is needed. And grease is also corrosion-resistant, doesn't readily oxidize even over prolonged periods and provides good high pressure and shear resistance for the lugs and cam.

I've also read (but never seen) that no grease on the bolt lugs can result in the (rare) case of 'galling' (cold welding). And if that happens it's an expensive gunsmith job to recut the galled lug seats and bolt lugs and then re-chamber the barrel for proper headspace.
So a bit of grease is a bit of insurance.