Rain or other bad weather guns.

I have a Cynergy and what I call my Ugly Gun a browning Citori 20ga with a fair amount of blueing loss and dented stocks that I use in wet weather. I actually prefer the Wood stocked Citori if it’s really wet because it is easier to wipe down completely than the Cynergy, many more nooks and crannies on the Cynergy.
 
I have several that I reach for when the weather is rough. It depends on what I'm hunting for. If it is waterfowl, then I usually grab a Parker Brothers VH 12 gauge with 32" barrels and tight chokes. Nothing fancy, but that one really feels like it belongs in a marsh or goose blind on wet days, or any other day for that matter.
For upland I usually find myself reaching for a 6 lb. 10 oz, J.P. Clabrough & Bros. assisted opening 12 gauge box lock with nitro proofed damascus barrels. It's at least couple of notches above their usual quality level. I bought it at an auction for less than $250 all in. I'm pretty sure it originally had 30" barrels, but some gunsmith had opened the chokes the old fashioned way by lopping off a couple inches of the barrels. The bead had been properly re-installed, but the keels were still open and there were several shallow dents in the barrels, so it didn't get any bidder love. When I got home it took me about an hour to lift the dents and fill the keels. I've never measured the chokes, don't want to know. What I do know is a grouse flushing when I'm carrying that is more likely to die than if I'm carrying any other gun I own.
 
brybenn said:
There needs to be a category for bad weather guns. It's my justification to the wife for a new beretta semi auto
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You tell your wife it's a "bad weather gun" and that everyone has one. Then go buy whatever gun you want. That's the "bad weather" gun. LOL
 
I speficically purchased a Ruger Red Label All Weather for use on the Wet Coast, after worrying about my Browning getting getting soaked repeatedly. Same with hunting rifles, Sako 75 synthetic and a Ruger Scout, both in stainless steel.

I find a shower or light rain no problem for any gun, but 6+ hours in rain that comes in waves not the best way to treat blued steel and walnut.

Candocad.
 
I remember seeing that Browning was turning out a whole line of weather resistant double barrels but I'm not gonna let them or Purdy scare me into doing anything rash. As several of us have observed, as long as you take care of the gun afterwards they come out of a wet day just fine.
 
I've got nearly a dedicated safe to stainless and synthetic mostly in .22lr and 12g as these are what I often require in the rain.
 
BTW, I have no concern about oiled blued steel barrels rusting with a few hours of exposure to any sort of fresh water, nor of the wood being damaged in an equally short term, it's the inner workings of the gun I sweat about. Again, time and events have shown me there's no concern about that, or at least not with my older guns.
 
Big Bad said:
BTW, I have no concern about oiled blued steel barrels rusting with a few hours of exposure to any sort of fresh water, nor of the wood being damaged in an equally short term, it's the inner workings of the gun I sweat about. Again, time and events have shown me there's no concern about that, or at least not with my older guns.
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Moisture, including water vapour, wants to find level. That is to say a moist environment with access to a dry environment will see the moisture flow from the damp to the dry until it is evenly distributed, assuming similar temperatures. Throw temperature differences in there and the game changes. Rust occurs on gunmetal when the metal is damp (for whatever reason) and the water can interact with the metal. So in humid environment, water easily condenses onto the metal and over time, we get rust. Now, raise the temperature of the metal and/or the immediately surrounding air (like the interior of a safe) and the water vapour will stay off the metal. That's why Goldenrods or incandescent lightbulbs work so well in safes. They slightly raise the temp of the metal and the surrounding air and the water is held in the air and doesn't condense on the metal. When it's in the air, it will flow to the drier environment if one is accessible.

Now go hunting in the rain. As Pinfire suggested, throw a coat of wax on the gun, metal and wood, just to help it shed water while you are out in it. You finish hunting and get to your vehicle. You give the gun a quick wipe with a oily rag to remove the obvious external moisture and head home. Now you are back home and the gun is damp. You didn't enclose it in a damp gun sleeve I hope, on the way home. You have a bit of concern that some moisture might have found it's way into the action in places that can't be accessed by your oily rag. Easy.....the moisture got in, so it can come out the same way. Put the gun somewhere warm and dry. Not on the heater, but near. Use a blow dryer and heat the action. If you have a warmed gun safe, put it in there. The moisture inside, on the metal, will evaporate and flow out of the gun into the surrounding drier air.
 
I usually reserve my Browning Silver for nice days (walnut stock/anodized silver receiver/gloss finish barrel) and take my Benelli Supernova (camo dipped) for tough hunting. Often I'll bring both in the field and switch mid-day if needed, usually when hunting with others. When I'm on my own I usually just grab the Benelli (turkey hunting specifically).

I need a new shotgun for grouse though and that's a fair-weather pursuit for me so thinking of a 20ga O/U. Maybe 28ga if I can find one I like.
 
Lost interest in hunting a long time ago so just looking after my Sporting guns which never, all but one , see inclement weather. The Benelli Supersport is my go to on nasty days as easy to strip down and dry out.
 
Arietta said:
I use the same guns no matter the weather. If the weather is too rough for any of my guns it is too rough for me and we both stay inside.
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I'm in a position to do that now, but in the past I had 2 usually random days off and it was them or nothing. Besides that, I had and still have good foul weather gear and I like walking through the woods and fields in the rain. For one thing, you'll see a lot of wildlife, mainly large animals, that have learned that the ape that walks on 2 legs doesn't like to get wet. And you can go very quietly.
 
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