proper gun care in the rain ?

[superior]

Stainless is best for rainy weather...But, what if you want to hunt in the rain with a blued rifle? Are there ways to minimize the effects of water getting into the action of the weapon? What are some good ways to keep the mechanism rust free when hunting "day in and day out" here in the Oregon coast rain forest? I like stainless rifles, but for my Marlin, It had to be blue. I cant help but think of the pioneers and cowboys who never had stainless guns and how they coped with keeping their lever guns in good shape through wet weather. What's the best way to treat a soaking wet gun when you get it indoors?:Fire:

[waksupi]

I like putting a heavy coat of paste wax on the barrel within the channel, and a lighter coat elsewhere. Seems to work pretty well. I suspect Fluid Film may also be a good solution.

[Dogg]

+1 on the paste wax, wax the barrel, stock, everything but the internals. I do it on everything, down here in the south where the humidity is high all the time and where you sweat profusely on the firearm, paste wax has been way better than oil that wears off fast.

[jgraham1]

The wax works great, but cleaning it every night in camp and oiling it down at night is a rust saver?

[superior]

I'm sure the wax works on those exterior surfaces. ( I wonder what the pioneers used..most likely some kind of grease) I worry more about the internal workings of the rifle. Years ago, I would pour boiling water through the action, making it nice and hot. Then after the heat dried the action, I would lightly lubricate with Rem-oil or similar spray lube. However, those guns were NOT lever actions. Can this method work with the lever gun?

[Coldfingers]

My first post here so take it for what it is worth.

I have had excellent results with a product called Barricade (produced by Birchwood Casey)

My blued 94C and Guide Gun get a mite wet durring a fifteen day canoe trip and catch a bit of salt spray while fishing in Prince William Sound. The 94C is in and out of the big rig in all types of weather and EXTREEM temp cycles. Both rifles have been totally submerged in cricks due to operator error in the canoe. Neither rifle shows any blemishes other than normal wear and tear from getting beat about the bush.

The best part is that they do not gum up at minus sixty like other products I have tried.

A little dab'l do ya, the stuff is very thin and flows into every nook and cranny it seems

[crabo]

Great first post, glad to have you here.

[Limey]

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f101/lambris/P1010156.jpg

If know it is going to be pouring down when I am going hunting I give my Marlin a wrap of cling film. It's not 100% at keeping the rain out but close on......

...even better, it's cheap!

If it does get saturated it is always stripped and thoroughly dried out and then given a silicone oil spray and rub down when I get home.....seems to work out well for my gun.

Safe shooting,

Limey

[mike in co]

wd-40......it is formulated to remove moisture from ss.

i think a liberal spray at the begining and end of the day, and a patch thru the bore before shooting,.....as in a lite coat not awash in wd-40

WD= Water Dispersion

seal the wood prior to getting it wet


mike in co
ps
since it the salt issue has been brought up...i should mention that the particular issue was on the west coast of california...san diego and up near santa maria.

[TxBaylea]

We were flooded in '79 while we were out of town. I got back and in to the house 3 days after the flood. I picked up a gallon of WD-40 and a sprayer on the way to the house. I flooded everything electrical with WD-40. AC condensing units, washer, dryer, refrigerator and freezer. Everything continued to work for several years. The freezer shutdown in about a year - I had forgotten to spray the defrost timer, replaced that and it ran for about another 5 years. Cases and frames rusted badly but they continued to run.

Properly used WD-40 is great stuff and I think that it is the stuff to use to strip the water out of a wet gun. It is not a rust preventive!!

Vernon

[Just Duke]

We were flooded in '79 while we were out of town. I got back and in to the house 3 days after the flood. I picked up a gallon of WD-40 and a sprayer on the way to the house. I flooded everything electrical with WD-40. AC condensing units, washer, dryer, refrigerator and freezer. Everything continued to work for several years. The freezer shutdown in about a year - I had forgotten to spray the defrost timer, replaced that and it ran for about another 5 years. Cases and frames rusted badly but they continued to run.

Properly used WD-40 is great stuff and I think that it is the stuff to use to strip the water out of a wet gun. It is not a rust preventive!!

Vernon

WD-40 is Naptha and Parafin Oil.
Coming from Oregon where it rained on me 270 days a year, I would just oil the heck out of my M-14's and .356 Winchester.

[jlchucker]

I just take out a weather-worn Marlin 336 that I bought used, and do nothing except wipe it down in good shape when I come in out of the rain. Everything seems to work OK. If I want to keep the rest of my leverguns fancy-looking, I only use them in sunny weather. WD 40 and a soft cloth after a day of hunting works pretty well for me, rain or no. But then again, I don't live anywhere near salt water and never have, so I can't speak to experiences in that kind of environment.

[atr]

here in the rainy Pacific Northwest.....
I use WD-40.....WD stands for water displacement
and I put a piece of tape over the business end of the barrel....certainly helps keep the snow out if you take a spill....

[stephen perry]

I use WD-40 on guns for bad weather days. But you guys seemed to have fogotten what to wear in those bad weather days. Wear a Poncho that keeps most everything you own especially your guns reasonably dry except your boots of coarse.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR :brokenima

[August]

I spray the action with Hornady One Shot cleaner lubricant until it runs out the bottom. One Shot evaporates completely, leaving a dry-film lubricant behind. Very nice stuff, which I use in the actions of all my lever rifles, hi-walls, and single action pistols. One Shot seems to displace water as well as WD-40.

The real issue with a lever gun is the inside of the magazine tube. You must prepare it well. Here again, I like One Shot because it doesn't attract dirt. But, if I lived in Oregon, I would probably use oil.

Most important is getting the magazine tube plug set up so it is easy for you to R&R it in the field. Most new guns have plugs that are all but impossible to remove. Once you break it loose, and have cleaned and lubricated the tube, spring and follower, reinstall it with grease on the treads. The grease will help you to get it apart in the field and will help keep water out of the tube.

One trick that is very slick is to get an o-ring the size of the plug threads and put that on the plug before installing. You then will have a well-sealed magazine tube that is easy to disassemble. Further, using the o-ring will hold the magazine plug in place without having to tighten it excessively.

[NickSS]

I have used either WD 40 or Birchwood Casey Sheath on my rifles for years. I also wear a poncho in the rain and keep my rifle under it as much as possible. A couple of years ago I bought my Ultimate rainy day deer rifle. It is a 94 winchester that was beat up but mechanically sound and with a good bore. A lot of the exterior finish was warn off. I stripped and degreased the rifle, Then I spray painted all the exterior metal with a bake on parkerizing finish. After baking in the oven to harden and cure the paint I reassembled the rifle. The wood stocks were stripped and painted with black paint. I also installed a saddle ring on the action. I now clip a carbine sling to the saddle ring and carry it muzzle down when hunting. At the end of the day I spray WD 40 into the action and run a bore snake with wd 40 down the bore and I am ready to go again in the morning.

[superior]

I spray the action with Hornady One Shot cleaner lubricant until it runs out the bottom. One Shot evaporates completely, leaving a dry-film lubricant behind. Very nice stuff, which I use in the actions of all my lever rifles, hi-walls, and single action pistols. One Shot seems to displace water as well as WD-40.

The real issue with a lever gun is the inside of the magazine tube. You must prepare it well. Here again, I like One Shot because it doesn't attract dirt. But, if I lived in Oregon, I would probably use oil.

Most important is getting the magazine tube plug set up so it is easy for you to R&R it in the field. Most new guns have plugs that are all but impossible to remove. Once you break it loose, and have cleaned and lubricated the tube, spring and follower, reinstall it with grease on the treads. The grease will help you to get it apart in the field and will help keep water out of the tube.

One trick that is very slick is to get an o-ring the size of the plug threads and put that on the plug before installing. You then will have a well-sealed magazine tube that is easy to disassemble. Further, using the o-ring will hold the magazine plug in place without having to tighten it excessively.

I like the attention to the magazine tube. I'll be sure to keep that area clean and oiled. It seems that by flushing the tube out with wd40 that one may not need to disassemble it. I'll have to experiment.

[stubshaft]

wd-40......it is formulated to remove moisture from ss.

i think a liberal spray at the begining and end of the day, and a patch thru the bore before shooting,.....as in a lite coat not awash in wd-40

WD= Water Dispersion

seal the wood prior to getting it wet


mike in co



WD= Water Displacement formula 40.

[sawbuck]

Thanks Coldfingers that's exactly the product testing I was looking for. Have been in -22* F here in Idaho and found out the hard way my gun lube wasn't up to advertising and since have been using dry graphite w/ reasonable results but realizing that I needed more in protection and really cold lubrication. At -60* you have done my testing for me ..........THANKS I'm a believer in not second guessing experience( I E under water , salt spray , beat about in the brush ) I also USE my rifles and a couple have been under water from high mountain lakes on pack trips and swimming rivers , fine that's what I was there to do , and when it's done and camped I need a product to freshen up the gun with or that will last till end of trip for said attention to detail .Which brings up question of were you able to clean and lube on your 15 day trip or did product last through all water and salt till back home and cleaned?

[cajun shooter]

We have a product available here in Louisiana called Corrosion-X. I have used it for years and it has passed all test, such as three days in the salt-water marsh with the guns being soaked by salt spray and rain. I'm sure that something this good is sold elsewhere.

[azrednek]

WD-40 is Naptha and Parafin Oil.
.

During the 70's WD-40 was made from kerosene, a freon based evaporant and a propriety ingredient that depending on whether it was a 12 or 16 oz can made up 1 1/2-3%. There is also a perfuming agent that gave it it's unique odor to cover up the kerosene stench. I was out of the business when WD-40 and numerous other products like brake-clean had to change to an alcohol or eyther based evapororant. During the 70's WD-40 was great for drying out wet distributer caps. Today's formula doesn't work anywhere near as well.

[FromTheWoods]

I've read conflicting ideas regarding using WD-40 on rifles.

--It will penetrate the primer area causing misfires.
It won't bother the cartridges.

--It will harm the blue of your old Winchester.
It will help preserve the condition of your old Winchester.

[August]

I like the attention to the magazine tube. I'll be sure to keep that area clean and oiled. It seems that by flushing the tube out with wd40 that one may not need to disassemble it. I'll have to experiment.

I'm hard pressed to know how you flush something that is closed on one end, but that's up to you.

It is important to eyeball the inside of the tube. It will rust. It would be nice to find that early rather than later. Thus, the suggestion for having a field expedient way of checking it.

I hunted in Oregon for many years and never had any problem with guns rusting. I just cleaned them when the hunt was over.

[Coldfingers]

I keep a cleaning rod and bore snake in my hunting pack and clean IF the oportunity arises. Usually mid-day IF the sun is shining.

Hunting out of a canoe/boat it seems that everything is in a constant state of damp at best. Throw in some silt/sand and things get gunky. Freezing temps at night and tee shirt weather around the noon hour keep one busy. Flop the canoe in fast, silty water and the fun realy starts [smilie=b:

With the long dark and deep freeze of winter here, I try to refrain from bringing the rifle in from the truck at night, but do transload to the Freightliner from the pickup. The Freightliner gets plenty warm to riase frost on a rifle or handgun that has been sitting in a deep freeze all night.

I get saltwater exposure a couple times a year when fishing salmon out of Valdeze. Again, salt spray in the boat.

I also use the Baricade on my knives that I use to pith/gut salmon as it is in the saltwater alot durring a day of fishkillin. I do not use stainless blades on any of my cutlery in the field, prefering a high carbon steel. Has worked well. Nice to know if you plan on dipping a fine Randall in the ocean. I coat my fillet knife with it after the days cleanup.

I am sure other products work as well, but the Barricade has served me well enough that I doubt I will look further,

My Best,

scotty

[superior]

I'm hard pressed to know how you flush something that is closed on one end, but that's up to you.

It is important to eyeball the inside of the tube. It will rust. It would be nice to find that early rather than later. Thus, the suggestion for having a field expedient way of checking it.

I hunted in Oregon for many years and never had any problem with guns rusting. I just cleaned them when the hunt was over.

I just thought that maybe one could insert a spray tube past the magazine follower and direct a flushing blast of cleaner/lube. I admit to not having any knowledge about even so much as the disassembly of the rifle yet, but I soon will. I just figured I might be able to shoot enough of it up the end that isn't closed.:coffee:

[Tippet]

WD-40 is Naptha and Parafin Oil.
Coming from Oregon where it rained on me 270 days a year, I would just oil the heck out of my M-14's and .356 Winchester.

Sure about that? I come from Oregon too and the common wisdom amongst salmon fishermen is it's mostly fish oil...not uncommon to see guys emptying a can of it into the river...

[Just Duke]

Sure about that? I come from Oregon too and the common wisdom amongst salmon fishermen is it's mostly fish oil...not uncommon to see guys emptying a can of it into the river...

Just call them and they will email you a MSDS form and it will tell you exactly what's in it. ;)

[Tippet]

I think that may just disclose any hazardous ingredients? But if you're sure, I'll run the risk of believing you about the contents of wd-40. I always wondered why it didn't smell like fish oil. lol but you can still walk through Clackamette Park in Portland (or actually Milwaukee I guess) and find empty cans of WD-40 by the banks. Those guys think its contents make it an attractant.