I bought some links for a 1919 and I heard at one time that before linking your ammo you are supposed to lube the links.  Is that true?  If so, what do you use and how do you do it?

I use Hornandy "One Shot" spray on case lube. It dries dry and is primer safe and makes loading links very easy. government ammo use a graphite type of lube at least on 5.56mm M27 links.

I don't lube my links because lube tends to pick up dirt and my 1919 runs fine without it. I have treated cloth belts with automatic transmission fluid after they'd been used enough to start loosening up.

Factory new links and belts are not lubed, but the comparison may not have much relevance, to reloading used links and belts.

Try loading some dry and some lubed and see what works best for you.

And your basis for this? I have new in the ammo can from LC belted 1 in 4 tracer 5.56 and the links have a graphite type of lube on them. Out of 250K rounds every link has been lubed by the factory.



 

My sample is smaller and in a different caliber. I only have about 13k factory linked rounds left of M60-belted (M13 links) 7.62x51 - 80s Radway Green, and 90s Malaysian and Indian.  None of it is lubed that I can tell, and there's no lube residue on the cardboard packing sheets inside the cans.

Now, maybe LC is different, or 5.56 is different than 7.62, or 80s and 90s surplus differ from more current production - but that's my linked experience.

The only belted 5.56 I currently shoot is run through my MM23E, and I relink those personally on a manual press, with used M27 links from Old Sarge's Surplus I bought back in the early 2000s and keep in a big cardboard box in my basement, and current production steel case ammo (mostly Brown Bear), and no lube.  For me, it runs fine.

Hence my advice to try before diving down the lubehole.  Glad your factory graphite-lubed M27 linked ammo also works well for you

I have to say, even with all my time on crew served weapons and the occasional SAW; I never once noticed anything on our links. Also, it wasn't fun/slick when we had to link up rounds.

I wouldn't use anything that leaves it wet at all, unless you can be sure it'll be kept and shot in a very clean environment.