River soaked pistol

[Ballistics in Scotland]

If there is any chance of the water being salt, brackish or polluted, the best thing to do first is a lengthy soaking in clean fresh water, with the wood removed. Then as water can stay trapped in odd crannies, heat it gently to just above 100 centigrade in an oven. The water has got to be gone then. If there are plastic parts that can't be conveniently removed, heat it just a shade hotter than you enjoy handling, on a radiator for example, for a longer time. After that do whatever you would do about oiling that particular kind of gun.

[Skeet06]

Lots of duck hunters including myself have experienced wet arms. I striped and flushed my auto loaders with kerosene, then dried with an air compressor with no ill effects.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Thank you all I slept a lot better last night

[KCSO]

Quickest and best is a dip in an ultrasonic bath and ALL the gunk comes out, an oil bath afterwords and you are good to go.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Try living in western Washington. Your guns don't have to go in the drink to get as good as dunked. When I come in with all my gear soaked and hopefully an animal to hang I soak my guns with G96. When I get to them the next day they clean up fine. A gun that has been soaked should be checked periodically over the next few days to confirm oil covers where metal was exposed. The shotgun hunters know all about this. I've heard the guys with Beretta shotguns use spaghetti sauce.

[Speedo66]

WD-40 is a water displacer and penetrating oil, which is exactly what you want. Buy a bulk amount, they sell it in gallons, and drop it in. I've read WD-40 tends to harden after a while, so when you're sure all the water is removed, dip it in solvent, then apply whatever oil or preserver you use.

[psweigle]

My boy and I bought a canoe a few weeks back, loaded the dog and rods in the Subaru and went to the lake. Long story short, the dog ended up flipping the canoe at the boat launch, and the gun I was carrying that day went for a swim. The gun was field stripped and wiped down, then reassemble. Last Saturday, my boy and I went to our local range, and the gun fired flawlessly. No worries.

[thegatman]

Don't use wd-40. Use Ballistol.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I used Ballistol on my Sharps and got the offending drool like down the stock from the action.

[dragon813gt]

I used Ballistol on my Sharps and got the offending drool like down the stock from the action.

Please elaborate? Ballistol is all I've used for years. I've never had any offending drool. When applied properly it doesn't run where you don't want it.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

My Shiloh Sharps which I paid the extra $300+ for upgraded wood now wears a line on the stock from Ballistol which was applied to the action prior to being stored muzzle up in a rack. I've been told by other Sharps shooters this does happen with Ballistol. The Shiloh Sharps Rifle Company told me I can send the rifle back for a refinish. They also told me to get Tung Oil and work the area with no avail.

[dragon813gt]

Ballistol doesn't harm wood or finishes. All my rifles are stored muzzle up and I've had no issues.

[Texas by God]

I usually field strip, get a bunch of oil everywhere, and use 100psi air to blow excess oil out. Oh, I 100 psi water out first. Dropped a norinco 1911 into a real fresh cow patty once. Rinsed in a puddle by swishing and continued my shooting adventure. All was well.

And the jokes about crappy shooting began.
Best, Thomas.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Don't use wd-40. Use Ballistol.

I did that's just about all i will use that and Rem-oil

[bob208]

wipe it down blow it out. use wd-40. wipe it again and oil. have done this many times and to many black powder pistols.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

If you were going to say Ballistol doesn't harm wood finishes, why did you ask me about Ballistol staining the stock on my Sharps?

[huntrick64]

I have:

1. blown the water out with compressed air
2. sprayed WD-40 into every hole, nook, and cranny to drive out remaining water
3. Pray with brake cleaner to remove the WD-40
4. then lubed the gun inside and out.

WD-40 is not much good for anything (IMO) except for displacing water and dissolving tar stuck to the paint of my car, and for that, nothing is better. Back in my youthful and daring (aka stupid) days, I would carry a can of WD-40 with me in my truck so that when I drove through too much or too deep water I could use it to drive the water out of the distributor and cap. I would just blast it in there, wipe it out with a rag, and it would fire right up. On a gun though, make sure to use something that evaporates (carb cleaner or brake cleaner) to remove the WD-40. After seeing what WD-40 does to tar, I would think it would break down your gun lube pretty fast.

[Scharfschuetze]

Another Western Washington resident here. My wet weather guns are my Remington 870s in 20 gauge for upland birds and 12 gauge for waterfowl. When shooting ducks on Puget Sound and getting salt spray in and on the Wingmaster I stop at a car wash and use the high pressure soapy spray to wash both the boat and the shotguns. I then field strip, dry them thoroughly, clean the bores and then use Sheath anti-rust oil on them once they are dry.

[54bore]

Air compressor as others have mentioned, oil it back up and shoot it

[Boolit_Head]

In this case WD40 would make a good flush. After all the WD stands for water displacement.