[Capt Rick Hiott]

Lets say you go out and hunt in the rain for a few hours and your gun gets soaked.
Is there a need to take it all the way down? Or just blow it out with the air hose and then spray a little oil on it?
Im sure it depends on the gun. I have a blued Marlin 336 30-30.

 

[Tnhunter]

In my opinion, wiping down with a soft dry cloth, using compressed air, and leaving the action open for a bit and then an oiled cloth on the outside metal along with a lightly oiled patch in the bore is/are all that's needed. On that Marlin you can even get about 95% of the bolt wiped with a cloth and oil by doing so in both an open and closed position

 

[mikenz]

I take the stock off to get the water that sneaks under the stock. Give it a good spray with gun oil whip down and repeat.

 

[MikeG]

I would for sure take the forend off and get all the water out. Had this happen on a hunt and I can't remember if I took the buttstock off, but the bolt came out and the forend was off to make sure everything was dry.

 

[ribbonstone]

I'll wax it before hand. Old school Jonhsons past floor wax (in the yellow tube)...and i won't bother to buff it off, just leave the haze as an anti reflective coating).

Coming in from a hunt, will de-stock and dry both the metal of the gun and the stock (both inside and out). If going out tomorrow, will then add a new coat for tomorrow's hunt.

With a lever gun, which is NO FUN to destock, will just coat it in Johnsons past wax before the hunt, but make sure there is a build up of wax at the metal/wood joints. It will water seal it, at least for the few days of hunting, so you'll have no problem with water seeping into the bare wood enletting of the stock.

 

[kdub]

Stick it back in the closet. Everyone likes that rich patina that develops. Gives it that antique look, ya know!

 

[broom_jm]

I break open the single-shot action, remove one screw so I can take off the forend, wipe down the whole gun with a towel and then an oily rag. DONE!

Take a 55 year-old lever gun out on a rainy day? I don't THINK so!

 

[BarkBuster20]

After 3-4 hours out in the rain ( which is basicly every day here in oregon) i will wipe down my mdl 94 ae (blued, wood stock) with a lightly oiled cloth, then hang it about 10 feet away from the woodstove for about 3-4 hours, or sometimes leave it till morning. I do the same thing with my M77 MKII ruger ss/boat paddle stock.

On the other hand, the other day i rode in on 3 wheeler, in the rain, and got a decent amount of mud splatter on my m77, when i got home i took it out of the stock, washed the boat paddle stock in the kitchen sink, then wiped all the mud off the action and barrel with a paper towel, and lightly oiled everything. I also washed my bolt in the sink.

My uncle used to leave his SS browning .338 WM on the front of his 3 wheeler in elk camp all night, ready for morning. More often then not it was pouring down rain, as it usually is during november in the PNW.

 

[Hair smoker]

I hunt in the rain all the time, it's great for still hunting. Won't buy anything but stainless. I don't do anything to it until the seasons over except spray the bolt out with brake clean if the bolt has water in it so if the temp drops it won't freeze the firing pin. Many seasons my rifle isn't back inside until it's over. Blue and wood is nice but a pain in the rain.

 

[Cheezywan]

Looking at a cold,wet firearm that has duty the next day. I want to blow warm/dry air on it overnight.

A oiled/waxed/whatevered firearm should recover fairly good that way. Better still if it was "preped" for those adverse conditions. Will shed water like a duck!

Treat your firearm like your hunting boots.

Cheezywan

 

[Capt Rick Hiott]

Thanks guys!

I take care of both Cheezywan!

 

[zb338]

Did anyone mention WD40? WD40 is a water displacer. I drown wet guns
with it and I drown my salt water fishing reels with it after I hose them
down with fresh water. The stuff is fantastic at getting rid of water. It's
not a lubricant so you still have to clean and lube your guns or reels
after you use it.

Zeke

 

[Shawn Crea]

It depends on your environment. At the very least, I would dry it with a cotton cloth, then wipe it down with a lightly oiled cotton cloth (a different one), if you're 'in camp' and going to hunt the next day.

If in a hunting camp with a wood stove, keep it in the tent/cabin to further dry where the rag can't get. This can get a bit tricky though. If you're in cooling weather bringing a cold steel rifle into a tent or cabin with propane lanterns that exhaust H2O vapor, and a bunch of people breathing out moisture, wet coats out drying, you'll just condense a lot of water vapor on it again. You'll have to warm it up to tent or cabin temp, then wipe it down to dry, then oil, then get it out of there in a pickup or some other shelter. Pickups that have been sitting in the sun all day with windows closed and got warmed up are usually where I put my guns for night.

I've never taken a rifle out of a stock when at camp, but I'm in a considerably dry environment compared to other places. If I ever really get soaked, I'd take the rifle out of the stock and give it a good cleaning after getting home.

 

[Griz]

zb338 beat me to it.

I lived and hunted in SE Alaska rain forest for a lot of years. before hunting season I take off the wood and clean all the exposed metal and liberally coat everything but the action parts with vaseline. I bed metal back in the wood and wipe off the squeeze out. This lasts for about 9 months and keeps the metal looking brand new.

My guns get coated with salt spray in the skiff, with rain in the woods, and muck whenever I fall down. When I go out I tape the muzzle shut with black electrical tape. this keeps junk out of the barrel. I renew it as soon as I shoot the gun.

When I get back to the boat or to the house I run a lot of wd=40 down the muzzle until there's lots of it flowing out the action. then I open the action and leave the gun by the stove to prevent condensation in the barrel. next morning I wipe it down good so it won't slip out of my hands and repeat. my guns all look about brand new under the wood.

stainless is good too, but it's not all equal. ruger redhawks will look very nasty if left on a cold boat for any length of time, while my smiths almost never get paid any attention and they handle the same climate just great. so far the guide gun has been impervious, but I still dry the inside of the barrel with wd-40 and keep it in a warm place until it assumes room temperature.

hope this helps

Grizz

 

[Capt Rick Hiott]

I know that W-D 40 will react with some grease over time and get hard, but I dont think I have to worry about that...........

Thanks for your post guys!

 

[broom_jm]

I've always stayed away from WD40 on any of the equipment I use in the woods because of two reasons:

1) While it is hydrophobic, it is also known to leave a film behind that attracts and holds dust and grime.

2) The stuff STINKS and continues to do so as long as it's on your gun or bow!

In fact, aside from the odd rusted bolt, the only thing I've used WD40 for in the last 20 years is a spray-on attractant for the squid I used for bait, when fishing for stingray and sharks. For most everything else, there are better products available that don't stink as bad.

 

[Davers]

I wipe my rifles down with Silicone spray before the Season, and if I am hunting in rainy weather. Gun oil odor could be detected by Deer.

 

[JoeS]

for what its worth, I take the wood off and dissassemble any parts that can hold moisture, (except trigger groups, etc) and use a hair dryer or compressed air to remove water from areas that cannot be easily dissassembled. After everything is dry,I apply pastewax or some other long term protectant to the underside of the barrel (the part covered by wood) before re-assembly. Joe S

 

[mac266]

I take it all the way down, clean and dry it, and put a light coat of oil on EVERYTHING metal.