How sweaty do your guns get when you carry?

C

Correia

New member
I'm pretty new to the world of CCW. And yesterday was the first really really hot day. Wore my SA full size for about 10 hours straight. When I got home it was soaked, I whiped it down with an oily cloth. I'm glad I bought stainless. Maybe I'm just a sweaty mammal, but that was one drenched gun.

My question is, how often do you guys clean your guns when just carrying them? Every few days? Once a week? I'm curious.

------------------
Order your TFL shirts and hats now! www.thefiringline.com:8080/forums/showthread.php?threadid=37865
 
I was born, raised and lived in the cold north for nearly four decades. Relocating to the hot & humid southern Florida swamps, sweat pours off of me constantly. My CCW is on me 14-18 hours a day (EVERY day) and in less than half a year I've managed to do a pretty good job of rusting a Kahr MK9.

What seems to help is to wipe the sweat off with a clean cloth and then wipe the gun with a silicone coated rag. The advantage that silicone has over oil is that you don't have to wipe it off the next day when you carry the gun again. Plus, the silicone coating helps to waterproof the gun a little bit and aid in the prevention of rust. Good luck,

FUD
 
Hello. Of course it depends upon the time of year, but when it's hot here in Texas, I wipe my carry gun down at the end of every day. I have "acid fingers" and since I prefer blued handguns, I have to do this. Best.
 
What I do after carrying and my gun gets sweaty is to wipe them down with a water-dampened cloth.

The salt and acids in sweat are not oil soluble, but are water soluble. The water removes the salt and acids.

I wax my guns, I don't oil them. I find it works better than oiling, and doesn't leave a greasy feeling on my hands or clothes.

------------------
Beware the man with the S&W .357 Mag.
Chances are he knows how to use it.
 
That is why I have a Glock.


You guys knew it was coming didn't you? :D
 
Pretty much the same as above. Although I had never thought of wax. Hmmmm.....I'll have to try that.
Like the others I wipe mine down and (being a blued revolver man) I remove the side plate and wipe it down once a week or so. The entire gun is dissassmebled and giving a good cleaing and oiling once a month if shoot or not.
As a side note (and some will cringe at this)I look at my "working" gun(s) differently than the others. I expect and except blue wear. My working guns look just like that.....working guns. I am meticulous about my pretty guns but do not concern myself with a few minor nicks and dings to a working gun. Nor do I trust the gun for long periods. Depending on use I replace the gun with another identical gun on a (failry) regular basis. I don't wait for something to go wrong and then replace or repair the gun. I retire it while it is still functioning fine and start using another. Not only is it good insurance but it also gives me an excuse to buy a new gun and keeps me in a good supply of project guns. ;)
That may sound like an expensive practice but I figure my life is worth the expense.

------------------
Gunslinger
 
Being in Texas one of the reasons I chose the USP Compact Stainless is due to the polymer frame and the SS slide. Well, that and it's just a damn good gun.

I have friends here that have non-stainless CCW guns and they tend to have rust problems too. Seems like we have yet another requirement to meet for CCW around here.

CMOS

------------------
NRA? Good. Now join the GOA!

The NRA is our shield, the GOA will be our sword.
 
Field strip and wipe down daily. If it got really wet I'll detail strip and clean. I normally use a stainless slide and aluminum frame gun, but I don't have a lot of faith about the "stainless" interior parts.

The waxing is an old practice from the days when there weren't stainless guns and the Gulf Coast was just as humid as now. Regular old automotive paste wax.

------------------
Jim Fox
 
Good suggestions here, Larry...
I would add that you may want to reconsider your carry method/holster arrangement.
Concealed carry is a compromise... Sometimes you just have to RE-NEGOTIATE the matter.

[This message has been edited by George Hill (edited July 11, 2000).]
 
In the south (Georgia) in the summer, the only method I know that is reasonably low maintenance is a Glock, a Kydex holster (I like Sidearmor) and a towel. No oil and no rust.
 
Wipe it down with Birchwood Casey Sheath (I have also heard good things about CorrosionX) and it will be fine.

Regards,
Frank

[This message has been edited by faiello5 (edited July 12, 2000).]
 
for these reasons i find that in the summer a belt slide or belt scabbard like the Kramer belt scabbard or Kramer vertical belt scabbard is better than my other holsters that hold the weapon closer to my body. i am a large guy and i live in a 90+ area in summer, humid too. i used to wear IWB holsters because they concealed under light clothing better. every day my pistol was drenched. i was wearing it out taking it down every day and cleaning it. i clean my carry guns at least once a week and carry stainless guns but stainless don't mean rustproof.
a belt type holster means being more creative about clothing and concealment ect. but as it is as already said. CCW is a series of compromises. you carry a gun probably a little larger and heavier than is comfortable because you can hit with it and the caliber is trusted to "stop" an attacker. you carry, in summer, in a holster rig that may not be as easy to conceal but isolates your weapon from the rivers of sweat that we all produce. finally we learn to clean and care for our weapons on a regular basis.
remember the old Mexican's advice from Lonesome Dove. he was talking about a knife but it applies to a pistol as well.
"A gun is like a woman, if you want it to hang around, every few nights you have to stroke it."

------------------
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what is for lunch.
Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the outcome of the vote.
Let he that hath no sword sell his garment and buy one. Luke 22-36
They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night. Song of Solomon 3-8
The man that can keep his head and aims carefully when the situation has gone bad and lead is flying usually wins the fight.

[This message has been edited by riddleofsteel (edited July 11, 2000).]
 
Never thought of sweat being an issue on my handguns. It makes sense though. I have to pay attention on the few sweaty days here.
 
I live in South Ga too and if it's really hot I carry my Glock in a custom made (by me) fanny pack. No matter how I carry I wipe my gun down with a silicone rag every night, even though my Glock doesn't really need it.

------------------
"It is easier to get out of jail then it is a morgue"
Live long and defend yourself!
John 3:16
NRA lifer
GOA
GSSF
KABA
 
You guys sure do spend a lot of time wiping
and fussing over your sweaty guns. I have
better things to do. That's why I carry a
Glock. No muss, no fuss! :)
 
Summer carry is some what of paradox. As can be seen above some choice to change their mode of carry to something less concealable but farther from the body. While this does seperate the gun from body contact reducing sweat soaking it also requires a cover garment to cover the gun. The summer heat is, of course, the time we do not want to be forced to wear a (hot) outer garment.
Because of this many resort to a smaller, more conealable gun. Yet in the summer we are out more, more active and the potential for becoming involved in an encouter where the gun is needed is greater. In the winter most of us go to work, home, the local store and places familiar. During the summer months we vaction, spend time at the lake, attend evening movies and place ourselves in areas unfamiliar.
There are many areas that we all have to make comprimises. However our carry piece should not be one of them. We should carry the gun we feel the most confident with.......year round. If it means being hot that is something we have to live with. If the gun gets sweaty, losses some blue or becomes worn "looking" it can be replaced. We can not be.

------------------
Gunslinger
 
Drat, KilgorII beat me to it.
Carry a Glock. Forget about the sweat!!! :)

------------------


Yeah, I got a permit to carry,it's called the friggin Constitution.---Ted Nugent

"Glock 26: 17 rounds of concealed carry DEATH comming your way from out of nowhere!!! THAT'S FIREPOWER, BABY!!!"
 
Boy there sure are a lot of us Georgia Boys & Girls here, and sweatty too :D.

And just like the rest of the Georgian's I sweat all over my gun on these sweltery summer days. My solution is carry an HK, excellent hostile enviroment coating ( as is the Glocks for you Glock Fanatics) but instead of silicon, oil or wax I wipe mine down with a Sentry "TUF-CLOTH". This is the wipe down cloth that was tested and is used by the Navy Seals. And their operating enviroment is at least equal to my body perspiration. Actually a lot of military folks use these cloths faithfully on their guns and knives. I have found it to be superior to silicone in protection.
No I don't work for or own stock in Sentry.
 
Have all of you Glock owners ever stopped to consider that the slide on your vaunted plastic gun is STEEL?

I've seen more than one rusted Glock slide, caused by someone thinking that "wow, since this is a plastic gun, I never have to take care of it!"

I don't care what anyone says, Tennifer-coated products CAN and DO rust.



------------------
Beware the man with the S&W .357 Mag.
Chances are he knows how to use it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top