Preacherman
Member
The following was received via the API List, and is reproduced here with permission from the original poster there. I thought our members might find it interesting.
The author of the report is a Sergeant in the USMC.
The author of the report is a Sergeant in the USMC.
Regarding Militech and its use in Iraq March 2005-Feb 2006
I would like to voice a few comments I have about the firearms product "Militech-1" by Militech, Inc. Waldorf MD. (http://www.militec-1.com/). I used the product during all the climates and conditions in Iraq on almost the complete suite of weapons available to USMC infantry and foreign weapons. It was on all my weapons in urban, desert, farmland, river environments. I used it in the rain, sleet, cold weather, hot weather, dry dusty conditions, you name it. I never had a malfunction on a weapon with Militech on the range or in gunfights. I use Militech on the following weapons:
U.S.:
M2 .50cal
M4A3
M240B, G
M249
M16A4
M9
M14
Foreign:
AK-47
RPK
RPD lmg
PKC mmg
Dragonov SVD
The Militech performed flawlessly in all applications. Not only did it increase the reliability of the weapon systems I was using, it greatly decreased the cleaning and maintenance time required. I will continue to use it on all of my personal weapons, and recommend this product for anyone with a firearm.
Application:
I was very particular about the way I applied the Militech on my weapons. First I would thoroughly clean the weapon and degrease any old lube on the parts. Important areas to focus on are heavy carbon build up areas like inside the gas pistons on a machine gun. You must get the residue off the parts before you apply the Militech as the product needs to be in contact with the base metal. Next I would take the weapon to the range and totally soak any moving part with Militech before firing. I would then "cook" the Militech onto the parts by getting the metal as hot as possible. This normally means about 400rds on a belt fed gun, a full combat load (189rds) through a rifle, or 100rds or so through a pistol. I would shoot this ammunition at the cyclic rate, one magazine after another until it is gone. Then I let the weapon cool to the air temperature on its own. Last I cleaned the weapon by wiping it down. I don't use any solvent or lube after a militech application.
Use:
After you apply the product correctly, the metal will have a silky feel to it. Any residue from shooting will wipe off quite easily. This makes daily cleaning of weapons in a combat zone just a matter of wiping the bolt down with a dry rage and running a dry patch through the bore. Of course after a lot of rounds, I will always clean the bore in the normal way (Hoppes #9 and a patch). I only reapplied the Militech 3 times over the course of a year and I am comfortable with it on this schedule. For a personal weapon, one a year is probably sufficient if you cook it on well. This product is particularly helpful in dusty conditions like the desert in summertime. The windborne dust doesnâ??t stick to the weapons with Militech to the same, annoying degree as a gun cleaned with CLP or LSA. I believe you could dump an entire sandbag into a well Militeched M2 .50BMG receiver and it would still sing to you. (Not that you would want to!)
The one problem I have with Militech is that their product information doesn't emphasize proper use very well. (The problem is not Militech, Inc's it is the user, I know) I saw lots of guys in Iraq using Militech as a wet lube in place of CLP. Militech seemed to thicken up as it cooled and I would not trust it as a wet lube, especially in a combat zone. The product packaging should scream "READ THE INSTRUCTIONS TWICE BEFORE USE!!!" It might cause some problems for those who can't read or who know everything, but otherwise it is a wonderful product. I appreciated having this stuff with me in Iraq and the Militech company made sure that there is a large supply of Militech floating around over there so thanks to them for that and a thanks for a great firearm product. This stuff will be in my cleaning kit from now on.