If a gun dropped into the ocean, how to clean

The SEAL's routinely take their guns swimming.
They still sometimes use S&W Model 686 revolvers for this.

They don't have time to fool around with simple jobs like gun cleaning, so they submerge the gun in fresh water to flush out the salt water, then spray the gun thoroughly with a water displacing lubricant.
It used to be WD-40.
Everyone knows WD-40 is not a lubricant and gums up guns if used.
Someone forgot to tell the SEALs.

In his book "Good To Go" multiple tour Vietnam SEAL Harry Constance described how he dealt with his Stoner machine gun after patrols.
Upon coming in, he'd remove the plastic stock and hand guards, then drop the entire gun AND THE LINKED AMMO into a cut-off 55 gallon drum of gasoline.
He let it soak while he cleaned up and had breakfast.

Then he remove the gun and linked ammo, disassembled and completed cleaning the gun, then he sprayed the entire gun AND THE AMMO with WD-40 and was ready to go out again.
He said he never had a stoppage in two tours.
True he didn't store the gun for weeks and allow the WD-40 to gum up, but he like most SEALs ran automatic weapons with nothing in them but WD-40.

I'd imagine that the SEALs now have some other water displacing lubricant, but the method is still to flush with fresh water and spray with a water displacing lube.
No ultrasonics, no boiling water, etc.
 
When I was in the Navy, we had a 1911 end up in the mud in San Diego harbor next to the pier. It took the divers about 5 hours to find it and bring it up. The poor kid that dropped it got to take it all apart (with supervision), wipe it all down and spray it with CLP. No lasting ill effects.
 
Recall reading about a duck hunter out with a guide,

on the east coast and the shotgun fell overboard.

THe guide fished it out and shook the spare gas can then poured it over the shotgun, cycled it and wiped it down.

Continues the hunt and repeated the dunk after returning to cabin.

Before the hunter left for home at end of second day, the guide completely broke the shotgun down clean and lube with regular oil.

This supposedly occurred in the 20's.

Appears that the gas/oil mix was thinned enough to get into the receiver and trigger with little problem and the residual oil retarded corrosion.

Then again I observe a County sheriff of PWC with a S&W stainless model with no lanyard / retention. Asked about recovery if dropped, he didn;t care because it was stainless!
 
Fifty-five gallons of gasoline is a rather expensive cleaning solution

A CUT OFF 55 gallon drum. They were usually about 1/4 of a drum.
 
Corrosion X was specifically created for a marine environment.

I use it on all my guns and even clean my black powder rifles with it.

Never have had a speck of rust since I started using it.
 
submerge in FRESH water until you can get to a place to strip and clean the gun. This is how we take care of electronics exposed to salt water. Randy
 
Fifty-five gallons of gasoline is a rather expensive cleaning solution.
Click to expand...
A 55 gal drum would have been about $14.00 or so back in the Viet Nam era when that took place.
Don't forget - gas @ one time was twenty some cents a gallon.
1967/68/69 prices for regular ran about $.24 a gallon
Diesel was even less.
 
I would hose it in and out with break cleaner if it has no plastic parts. If in doubt use gun scrubber. I then would lube liberally with Ballistol.
 
Depending on the gun. Generally speaking, I'd probably disassemble it, swish the parts around in distilled water, towel dry the parts then spray with something like WD-40. Wax blued parts, oil, lube and reassemble.
 
Post Katrina we used planting troughs (about 4'long sold in the garden section) and diesal fuel, rinse, submerge in fresh water, dry, submerge in diesal, clean, dry, oil. leave in the attic and keep wiping down the stocks as the heat leeched the diesal out of the stocks. It worked very well.
 
WD 40 was developed as 'water displacer'

Detail stripping would be a good idea, but hose it down with WD 40 which will remove the water and probably take the salts with it. Inspect to make sure the salts and gunk is gone then normal oil and reassemble.

If a Glock is dropped in the ocean, leave it.
 
I doubt they threw the 55 gallon drum of gasoline away after one dunking... might have even still used it... that's what fuel filters are for... and the U.S. wasted a lot of gas and other stuff back then...

still, dipping your weapon in that drum of gas, I'd be worried about a sniper with tracer rounds...
 
I can see there aren't too many saltwater duck hunters on this thread. The answer is... you swish it around in the clearest (not muddy or really sandy) saltwater you can find, check that the bore is not obstructed and keep hunting. Most of us carry a small bottle of lube, but some don't. When you get the boat back to dock at lunchtime you take the hose and hose it off and relube.

The guns stay wet from the bow spray even if you don't drop them overboard. Everytime the boat noses into a wave the guns, dogs and hunters get wet. If it's calm the dogs are going to drip and shake saltwater all over everything anyway. If you don't use dogs the wet decoys are going to drip on everything when you pull them. It just isn't an issue.

You know, people were doing this hundreds of years before Gaston invented his polymer wonder and before superlubes.

John
 
I've dunked a pistol in saltwater before. At the end of the day, (or trip) I'll detail strip it, wash the parts in warm, soapy water, and rinse. The I dry off and oil the parts, and put them back together. I don't use anything fancier than Dawn, tap water, and Break-Free.

I like to oil my saltwater guns with Inox, but my son always snatches it for his fishing reels.
 
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