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Thread: River soaked pistol

  1. #1
    Boolit Master

    LUCKYDAWG13's Avatar
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    River soaked pistol

    over the weekend I was fishing in my boat when i was knocked overboard by a wave from a larger boat fresh water well the fox river
    anyway my question is do i need to take to a smith i did field strip clean and oil anything else i need to do
    sig p938
    kids that hunt and fish dont mug old ladies

  2. #2
    Boolit Master




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    I would field strip it as far as you're comfortable. Blow out with air compressor and leave out in the sun. Inspect periodically. When it is dry to your liking oil it all back up and function test/fire it.
    You can miss fast & you can miss a lot, but only hits count.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master

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    that's pretty much what i did
    kids that hunt and fish dont mug old ladies

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by EMC45 View Post
    I would field strip it as far as you're comfortable. Blow out with air compressor and leave out in the sun. Inspect periodically. When it is dry to your liking oil it all back up and function test/fire it.
    I agree.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master


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    After many years in the Marine Corps infantry in a small craft /helo assault company oir rifles pistols and everything else were filled with mud slat grime brackish water sand and mo gas and often spit. field strip,air dry,punch the bore and oil to taste! Ask any serious duck hunter, any gun on a boat will and does eventually take a bath,as long as you find them they are fine!

  6. #6
    Boolit Master

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    Thank you
    kids that hunt and fish dont mug old ladies

  7. #7
    Boolit Master LAH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LUCKYDAWG13 View Post
    Thank you
    ++1++

  8. #8
    Boolit Man
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    Quote Originally Posted by nagantguy View Post
    After many years in the Marine Corps infantry in a small craft /helo assault company oir rifles pistols and everything else were filled with mud slat grime brackish water sand and mo gas and often spit. field strip,air dry,punch the bore and oil to taste! Ask any serious duck hunter, any gun on a boat will and does eventually take a bath,as long as you find them they are fine!
    Yep. Poured water out my shotgun more than a few times and went back to killing.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master gpidaho's Avatar
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    I believe you've done what needs doing. I'm getting a little old for long swims so last SSI payday I bought one of those automatic inflating life jackets. Never know when I might fall overboard taking a leak. lol Gp

  10. #10
    Boolit Master

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    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.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by nagantguy View Post
    After many years in the Marine Corps infantry in a small craft /helo assault company oir rifles pistols and everything else were filled with mud slat grime brackish water sand and mo gas and often spit. field strip,air dry,punch the bore and oil to taste! Ask any serious duck hunter, any gun on a boat will and does eventually take a bath,as long as you find them they are fine!
    This^


    Semper Fi!

  12. #12
    Boolit Master Drm50's Avatar
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    I wish I fell in the drink with a auto loader. They are fairly easy to strip dry & clean. A few years
    ago I took a dunk while Wade fishing, stepped on a slipper rock. I was carrying a 34 S&W in a
    fishing vest. I couldn't abide just blowing out the running gears. I stripped it clear down to bare
    Frame / barrel unit. There is to many places in a DA revolver for water/ moisture to hide. I don't
    carry a revolver fishing anymore, strictly auto loaders. Never did like the idea of cleaning guns
    with water, way back when I was in basic we had to take our rifle to the shower with us. Cleaning
    stations had water so hot it evaporated off metal. Now days the only water cleaning I do is on MLs
    with boiling water.

  13. #13
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    One thing I found out in cleaning and refinishing some guns that had been through Katrina in LA, was that one of our very BEST cleaners for guns that have been in the drink, is plain old brown liquid hand soap. This is NOT diswashing detergent, but SOAP! The difference is detergent is a chemical mix and SOAP is lye and fats, either animal fats or vegetable fats. I just used the cheap brown liquid hand soap from the grocery store. It broke up stuff nothing else seemed to want to break up, probably because of the lye content in it. Then, the fats float out and off whatever needs to be floated out and off. Then, heated in clean water and rinsed repeatedly and VERY well to remove all the soap scum and residue, it'll come out warm enough to dry very naturally. Then, you just spray or rub down with your favorite gun oil, and maybe a little fine grease mixed in, and you shouldn't have any further problems. Most folks think that if a gun even gets near water, it'll rust. But that's simply not true. Water isn't called the "universal solvent" for nothing! But you DO have to be wise with it, and make SURE it's dry and then oil it very well, and rub off any excess with a good oily or clean cloth. It may well even be better than before after this treatment. The judge we did a number of these guns for was elated and fascinated when he got the guns back from us. He couldn't believe how much better they functioned, and how much smoother they were. But he'd been used to being in a hurry, and often just sprayed them down with a spray can of WD-40, and let them sit. It's GOOD to make your local Superior Court judge smile! Never know when you may need a favor!!! ;^)

  14. #14
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by Drm50 View Post
    I wish I fell in the drink with a auto loader. They are fairly easy to strip dry & clean. A few years
    ago I took a dunk while Wade fishing, stepped on a slipper rock. I was carrying a 34 S&W in a
    fishing vest. I couldn't abide just blowing out the running gears. I stripped it clear down to bare
    Frame / barrel unit. There is to many places in a DA revolver for water/ moisture to hide. I don't
    carry a revolver fishing anymore, strictly auto loaders. Never did like the idea of cleaning guns
    with water, way back when I was in basic we had to take our rifle to the shower with us. Cleaning
    stations had water so hot it evaporated off metal. Now days the only water cleaning I do is on MLs
    with boiling water.
    I was wishing that i brought my SP101 I was thinking it would be easier to clean
    kids that hunt and fish dont mug old ladies

  15. #15
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by LUCKYDAWG13 View Post
    I was wishing that i brought my SP101 I was thinking it would be easier to clean
    A Glock would be easy to clean. Everything else is relative. Field stripping anything other than a Glock or AR feels like a chore at this point. I will admit I'm jaded right now. I've been going through the safes and performing maintenance on all the guns. I'm five days in, lots of things interrupting me, and nowhere close to done. I don't usually break them all down but wanted to start at square one.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    My ex FIL was a Green Beret way back in the day before Vietnam. He had a S&W model 25 that periodically he'd take the stocks off and soak the revolver in gasoline for a few days. Never did say why.......
    Tom
    μολὼν λαβέ


    Did I ever mention that I hate to trim brass?

  17. #17
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    I have recovered a few guns from lakes & rivers. From being lost a few days to months. The first thing I'd do is strip them as simply as I could,, and submerge them in K-1 Kerosene for a few days. Then I'd do as much cleaning,,,,, blow drying etc as much as I could. Saved all of them that way.

  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master
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    PB Blaster and air compressor. Detail strip it at your leisure after that.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master

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    Steps to take.

    Shake it out.
    Set it in the sun.
    Spray with WD-40.
    Blow down with air compressor.
    Use hair dryer.
    Oil well with rust preventive.

    If gun falls in salt water, rinse well in fresh water as soon as possible.
    Then follow about steps.
    Political correctness is a national suicide pact.

    I am a sovereign individual, accountable
    only to God and my own conscience.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master

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    Happened to me years ago dropping a GI 45 into the lake. I sprayed it with Brake Clean to evaporate the water, disassembled it, oiled everything lightly and carried for the remainder of weekend. Best I recall, I shot it a few times afterward. A note on the Brake Clean. I believe it was the original 1970's freon based stuff, not the slower alcohol based formula currently used.

    EDIT: The WW2 dated GI holster did not do so good. I let it dry in the sun but took a few days before rubbing it down with leather dressing. It got a moldy smell to it I was never able to remove. At the time US GI 45 holsters were dirt cheap and I tossed it.
    Last edited by azrednek; 06-06-2017 at 02:25 AM.

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