So lets say your hunting rifle or shotgun gets wet....

I carry finger condoms or the cut of fingers from latex gloves to cover the muzzle in wet weather. I also have a field cleaning kit in every vehicle, it takes only seconds to wipe down a wet gun and re-apply a fresh layer of oil, or a quick oily patch down the bore takes only another minute.
 
I have never, ever, stripped a gun, rifle or shotgun, to clean and dry it, after it has had a tough trip.
I have basically the same view on this as Sheephunter.
My extended trips have usually been on foot, days at a time, or sometimes with horses. There has been times when my poor rifle has ben soaking wet for the entire time. I used to take a light pull through, a small container of Hoppe's #9 and a tiny vial of oil, wrapped up in a small cloth. If a rifle had been soaked, I may have tried to dry it a bit by the fire at night, maybe wipe it down and use the pull through in the barrel.
People who are familiar with my guns know there will not be a speck of rust on any of them, though I have owned one rifle since 1949 and used it extensively in some of the worst weather the mountains of BC can dish out while hunting.

Still one of my favorite gun cleaning agents. Hoppe's #9 brings back a lot of memories. Years ago when I first moved to this area, there was an old German gentleman, that called Hoppe's #9 "Za mans deodorant".
Came back from a wet day duck hunting and when I stripped it down and was cleaning and drying my AYA 10ga a guy from across the street came and asked what I used for a protective coating. He explained that in addition to being a waterfowl hunter, he was also was a commercial fisherman and gave me a few bottles of what he made up and used. Ratfish oil. He said he found that in dealing with wet and salt water conditions hunting locally in the tidal flat areas, a wipe down of the exterior with rat fish oil worked better than anything else he'd ever tried.
 
I carry finger condoms or the cut of fingers from latex gloves to cover the muzzle in wet weather. I also have a field cleaning kit in every vehicle, it takes only seconds to wipe down a wet gun and re-apply a fresh layer of oil, or a quick oily patch down the bore takes only another minute.

Too bashful to go to the drugstore and ask for the extra small size, eh?

;)
 
I can't say enough good things about the parkerized finish on my 80's vintage 870 Remington Special Purpose Magnum for duck hunting. The porous nature holds oil if you wipe it down b4 a rainy day and water rolls of it just like water off a ducks back.
 
I carry finger condoms or the cut of fingers from latex gloves to cover the muzzle in wet weather. .

All of my rifles always have the muzzle taped with electrical tape and I make sure there's always a few wraps around the barrel just ahead of the forestock that I can use after I shoot.
 
Over the years having a gun soaken wet has never been an issue, having it turn real cold and freeze while the action is laden with water is another matter. My M-70 has never froze up. My Win.100 semi has been froze up so solid nothing functioned. Wouldn't fire, and had to hammer the bolt lever back with a good size piece of wood to get the round out of the chamber. That was a severe circumstance as I had just crossed half frozen beaver pond, fell in up to my waste, gun got submerged, then covered in snow getting out.
I always carry one of those little " Otis" pocket gun cleaning kits. So at the end of the day at least you can get the worst off it with toilet paper, run the pull through down the barrel, give her a little wipe with oil and your good to go again. I use my guns, but I do not abuse them, so I try to give them the best care that is possible at the end of day.
 
Condensation should NEVER be a problem on the inside of a scope. If it fogged inside you didn't ruin it, it was junk before you started.

Or it broke; I had a hunting partner's Schmidt & Bender blow a seal on a winter deer hunt once. Certainly not junk by anyone's measure.

A Tasco? Uhh, erm. Hmm.
 
Or it broke; I had a hunting partner's Schmidt & Bender blow a seal on a winter deer hunt once. Certainly not junk by anyone's measure.

A Tasco? Uhh, erm. Hmm.

Broke or not, it's still junk until it's fixed.....I had a very high end Euro scope fog first day out on me. Apparently it was not sealed properly at the factory. Once it fogged it was junk. The replacement they sent wasn't!
 
Depends on the gun. My Remington 700 SPS and 870 both rust like a bastard! so whenever i get back to camp i wipe them down with hoppes oil. Seems to do the trick
Never had a problem with rust on my old marlin 336. guess it all depends on the quality of the finish on the metal.
 
I wax all my guns with Renaissance Wax, then coat with Boeshield T-9. The action gets treated with Breakfree CLP. Seems to work pretty good. I would carry a little 2 oz bottle of Boeshield with me and wipe the gun down now and then.

Lee Valley sells a microcrystalline Conservator's wax that may serve just as well. Don't buy anything with abrasives!

Also, keep fabric cartridge holders off of wood stocks in the rain. They can ruin the finish.
 
I carry finger condoms or the cut of fingers from latex gloves to cover the muzzle in wet weather. I also have a field cleaning kit in every vehicle, it takes only seconds to wipe down a wet gun and re-apply a fresh layer of oil, or a quick oily patch down the bore takes only another minute.

I use my regular condoms when duck hunting... But it does limit me to .410 or 28 gauge if I really stretch them...
 
WD-40 stands for water displacement perfected on the 40th attempt if anyone thinks its not good enough to prevent a little rust.
 
I never had much luck with WD-40. It gummed up stuff, attracted dirt and I think eventually caused rust. Not much luck with Hoppes No. 9 either. (EDIT: Hoppes didn't seem to help me with exterior finishes where I carried the rifle eg. blued receivers. It may have worked fine on the inside.)

Depends on the gun. My Remington 700 SPS and 870 both rust like a bastard! so whenever i get back to camp i wipe them down with hoppes oil. Seems to do the trick
Never had a problem with rust on my old marlin 336. guess it all depends on the quality of the finish on the metal.

Renaissance wax and Boeshield sink into these finishes pretty well, leaving a very slightly sticky waxy coating over everything. Jury's out on whether it attracts dirt, but no issues so far.
 
Last edited:
I never had much luck with WD-40. It gummed up stuff, attracted dirt and I think eventually caused rust. Not much luck with Hoppes No. 9 either.



Renaissance wax and Boeshield sink into these finishes pretty well, leaving a very slightly sticky waxy coating over everything. Jury's out on whether it attracts dirt, but no issues so far.

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of the WD anymore either. Big time gunk up.
 
I hunt in a rain forest, from a canoe or boat.
I've migrated to stainless synthetic, lots of guys use blued and wood- to each there own.
I tape the barrel with electrical tape, in the evening I take the tape off and put it somewhere dry- not in a warm tent or cabin, leave it in ambient temperature.
I also use the rubber bikini scope covers.
Other than that, I'm done until I get home.
 
Thanks for all the tips everyone. As always fellow CGN'ers willing to help out.....
Off to camp! Time to add that bottle of G96 spray, boresnake, microfiber cloth and rubber gloves (will cut off the fingers and use on the muzzle, the whole gloves will be used for skinning deer ;) ) to the ammo box!
 
I use my regular condoms when duck hunting... But it does limit me to .410 or 28 gauge if I really stretch them...


A sandwich baggy and a twist tie works in a pinch. THe thumb off a latex glove fits and holds on a 12 gauge without any help. Whatever works, I prefer to not have rain running down my barrel, and as long as I can shoot through it without having to remove it. Latex gloves are handy to have anyway while hunting, just like TP , only valuable when you don't have any.
 
I always pack a silicon cloth, some gun oil and at least a Boresnake for the cailber. If its raining/snowing all the time, I will cover the barrel end with some electrical tape on loose or some method to stop water/moisture entering the bore.

Each night weather its a home or in camp, I will remove the bolt, wipe the gun down with a soft rag, let dry. Then I will give the rifle and bolt a wipe down with a silicon cloth. If needed, will use the boresnake. Been doing this for several years....no complaints.
 
Both of my main hunting rifles have the metal slow rust blued and the wood finished with Min-Wax Wipe-On Poly. Wood and metal get a couple of coats of Renaisance wax.

Before a hunt I coat all hidden metal with a light coat of wheel bearing grease and tape the muzzles with electricians tape.

During the hunt I'll periodically wipe them down with a lightly oiled rag thats kept in a baggy. If they get wet they get dried off with a clean towell and oiled.
 
Back
Top Bottom