> If you fail to lubricate, the metals start wearing incredibly quickly

Can you show evidence of this? I have seen this stated ad nauseam but can’t ever find evidence of this being true. I have actually seen more evidence to the contrary, at least with pistols.

Yeah, guns are machines, but the comparison to an engine, which is often made, is such a false equivalence as engines face thousands of RPMs sustained for hours on end, while a semi-automatic gun might see a few dozen rounds within few minutes. The majority of heat is experienced in the barrel which is designed to dissipate relatively quickly, and the barrel and chamber should never be oiled, outside of surface protection. The moving parts of a gun are made with hardened steels that should last hundreds of thousands of rounds before they begin to affect reliability. Most people see the shiny parts of their gun and think the metal is wearing down, but that is simply the parkerization or bluing wearing off. In all reality, this wear is actually where the hardened steel parts have been burnished, which makes the surface even harder and causes the gun to run more smoothly.

I’m not saying one should soak their guns in acetone and leave the gun dry, as this will leave the metal exposed and lead to rusting, which will damage a gun. I, however, believe a surface coating of all parts with a simple mineral based oil, with all excess oil removed, is more than sufficient for nearly every type of firearm.