Waterproofing Firearms?

K

Kobra

New member
Yesterday I hunted for an hour and half in pouring rain in bottomland timber looking for that big buck others have seen after modern gun season.

Anyway when I got home I discovered my SS/syn Encore had begun to rust in the non-SS places (screws for ram rod holder, block under barrel etc.) Well I got home and disassembed it good and oiled most things and cleaned the gun good to retire it for the year.

Anyway got me thinking about stainless replacement screws, sealing things, etc. Any one have some ideas that they have applied?

The gun fired after all of this (so I could unload it) so I was very impressed. Blackpowder in the pouring rain - usually not good.
 
I have hunted in the rain before, especially bird and squirrel hunting when I was a teen ager. A couple of things help. One is a long cloth sprayed with scotchgard (we didn't have scotchgard then so we used light oil) and wrapped around the gun from one end to the other with just the working parts sticking out. Another is to apply more than the usual amount of oil then as soon as we got home stripped the gun and wiped it off.

I've not tried it, but do you recall the plastic bags Tom Hanks and others had at the beginning of the movie "Saving Private Ryan"?
 
Some of my friends in Alaska use a high-grade wax. Famous knifemaker Bill Herndon protects blades (worth more than most rifles) with neutral Kiwi shoe polish.
 
You know ahead of time whether you're gonna go out and play in the rain, right? So, spray some WD40 (carefully; you don't want it around the powder or cap) ahead of time.

Spray some more when you get back to camp or your vehicle.

Then, when you get home, do your usual cleaning.

WD40 = Water Dispersant, 40th combination of chemicals.

WD40 only hurts guns when it's left in place; the film holds dust and it can harden into a mess. A short-term exposure won't have it soaking into the wood, either. It's not like you're slopping it on, daily.

Art
 
Actually the rain episode was kind of unexpected. It was drizzling all day but several hundred yards into the woods and it started to pour. I kept the muzzle down because my biggest concern was the rifle actually firing. Except when I had to sling it to climb over creeks or debris (read my above post), then it was up (slinging pointed down drove the trigger guard into my back).

All I have to say is I now love GoreTex and SS weapons.
 
When duck hunting last week, I had to use the only semi-auto shotgun I have - a Beretta 390 Trap model with adjustable comb and fancy wood.

Prior to going up, I waxed the whole exterior of the gun with pure carnuba car wax. The gun looked great after polishing, and water beaded all the way off. I got mud all over it too, which was easily wiped off with a damp cloth.

I was very impressed by the job the wax did.

To keep the bore rust free, I used a silicon spray,

Bowser.
 
Boat guns. Duck huntin on Puget sound. Years of living in the tropics. Using only blued guns and no corrosion problems.

Introduced to RIG....Rust Inhibiting Grease....in the 30s. Put a little on the wooley side of a small piece of sheepskin, work it in. Use it to wipe down before and after the hunt. Use it on internal parts. Don't have to make the gun greasy, very thin film will do the job and will last. Film thin enough so that white linen or sharkskin suit is not stained.

Stuff has been around for nigh on to 70 years that I know of and still works great.

Just a thought.

Sam
 
Bottom Gun......haven't had to buy any in a long time, bought nuff for me n mine and the grandkids years ago. Have seen it lately, in little white plastic jars but not sure where. Maby at Dillons or maby at Bill's Trading Post, on White Spar in Prescott. My search not workin this evening so can't ferret it out.

RIG.....Rust Inhibiting Grease.....Rust Inhibiting Products, 5800 Stoney Island Ave, Chicago, Ill. Used to be yellow cans n tubes with black lettering, now white containers. Addy off of yeller can so may not be good.

If you can't find it......try hard......email me and I'll fix you up with a bit.

Great write up on it in Phill Sharpe's...Complete Guide to Handloading. What he said then still holds true.

Sam
 
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