River soaked pistol

[LUCKYDAWG13]

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

[EMC45]

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.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

that's pretty much what i did

[tazman]

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.

[nagantguy]

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!

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Thank you

[LAH]

Thank you

++1++

[Sakoluvr]

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.

[gpidaho]

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

[seaboltm]

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.

[JBinMN]

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!
:)

[Drm50]

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.

[Blackwater]

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!!! ;^)

[LUCKYDAWG13]

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

[dragon813gt]

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.

[Tom W.]

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.......

[contender1]

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.

[725]

PB Blaster and air compressor. Detail strip it at your leisure after that.

[Hickory]

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.

[azrednek]

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.

[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.

[Texas by God]

Always ride the river with a replaceable painted firearm. We have several, not for sale. Garden hose and air compressor if they get dunked & recovered. Oil just attracts dirt so I use it sparingly.
Best, Thomas.

[Lonegun1894]

I take my Glock swimming every time I go. Disassemble, rinse in clean water, soak in Denatured Alcohol, grease, and reassemble. Repeat as needed depending on swimming schedule. :)

[Scharfschuetze]

A good water based cleaner that will completely degrees and clean down to the metal is "Simple Green." As it's water based, you can clean the weapon while it is still wet. Be careful though as it will strip everything from the metal and you'll need to oil it once it is dry. It also works very well on heavily carbon fouled machine gun and M16/M4 rifle actions. You'll still need a good solvent for copper fouling though.

[kmw1954]

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

What part of the river? I grew up on the east side of the river just south of the Johnsburg bridge. Went to school in McHenry

[LUCKYDAWG13]

What part of the river? I grew up on the east side of the river just south of the Johnsburg bridge. Went to school in McHenry

Right at the halfway point between the 176 bridge and the Mchenry Dam I was on my way in I have a 16" Lund with a 30 hp Johnson
on the back when a Scarab flew past me in the wave just under the water was what looked like the inside of a water softner tube that
hit my motor shaft made my boat make a hard left at the same time i was on top of the wave Knocked me out of my boat

[Speedo66]

I take my Glock swimming every time I go. Disassemble, rinse in clean water, soak in Denatured Alcohol, grease, and reassemble. Repeat as needed depending on swimming schedule. :)

Swim suit holster, I'll have to look for one to go with my shower holster and pajama holster. lol

[Lonegun1894]

Sorry to disappoint you. Plain cargo shorts with belt loops and a belt and a plastic Serpa Holster for retention. Boring, but functional.

[kmw1954]

Right at the halfway point between the 176 bridge and the Mchenry Dam I was on my way in I have a 16" Lund with a 30 hp Johnson
on the back when a Scarab flew past me in the wave just under the water was what looked like the inside of a water softner tube that
hit my motor shaft made my boat make a hard left at the same time i was on top of the wave Knocked me out of my boat

Been a long time since I've been on the river south of the dam. Best news is that you weren't hurt when thrown from the boat! Have a daughter down in Holiday Hills off of River Road.