Firearm maintenance

For instance, during the Vietnam War, the newly issued M16A1 assault rifle was distributed to US troops with marketing literature from Colt Firearms claiming that the weapon was self-cleaning, which implied to many to mean that it did not have to be routinely maintained.

However, this misapprehension compounded the rifle's design flaws and made the weapon notorious for repeated failures in combat, which led to needless casualties among US forces.

[3] The ordinary firing action releases fine particles of gunpowder, metals (mostly lead and copper from the bullet moving over the riflings) and other contaminates into the inner spaces of a firearm, which may cause malfunctions or in rarer cases of extreme buildup may raise the barrel pressure too high causing the firearm to explode (catastrophic failure) upon being fired.

It has been widely reported that firearms without a spring to control the inertia of the firing pin require constant cleaning of the bolt assembly, as extremely dangerous phenomena such as slamfire may occur.

This is why many gun owners build their own custom cleaning kits which include extra materials or specialized parts to best keep their weapon in proper order.

When in an extreme and life-threatening situation such as preparing for combat, the manufacturer's recommended lubricants may not be available to soldiers, or others who may enter these scenarios.

One United States Marine Corps sergeant recounts that synthetic motor oil performed better than standard military issued lubricant in extreme conditions.