Taking firearms from freezing cold into warm temperature

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Just wondering what the best methods to use are?
I'm always worried about the metal sweating when being introduced to warm temps coming from outside. The exposed area can be wiped down and then some oil applied but what about the areas one can't get at without taking action out of stock?
Should a oil patch be ran thru the bore?

I'm curious what others do. I was told that the best method is that once firearm is brought in from the cold put it in a garbage bag with firearm standing up and bag loosely dropped over it... apparently the moisture created will adhere to the inside of the bag..... I've used this method before and it seems to work. Would you think moisture collects in bore and areas not accessible or just exposed areas?

Thanks for your input.
 
I would leave them in their cases until they reached room temperature. That greatly reduces exposure to moisture and condensation.
Based on experience of living "north of 60" for 30 years.
 
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Slowing down the transition will help for sure but when possible I like to get the guns warm enough to dry off any moisture that may be inside or under a stock etc. I usually set them in the shop with a space heater blowing warm air on them if I'm worried about residual moisture after being out in sub zero temps.
Depending on the condition and material of your stock you might want to be careful of over cooking..... :)
 
We have an open gun rack by the front door in our hunt camp. We leave them in the rack when we come back from a hunt and let it warm up to room temperature (and for the safety officer to check for empty chambers). Any condensation would dry up. If you put it away in a confine space right away, the moisture will not dry up and you might get rust. Some members in the camp would give it a quick wipe just before putting it away. Never had issue in the bore. We've been doing this for 30 years.
 
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tiriaq said:
I would leave them in their cases until they reached room temperature. That greatly reduces exposure to moisture and condensation.
Based on experience of living "north of 60" for 30 years.
Click to expand...

very good advice and i have only 11 years of experience living north of 60s ...

will never use a plastic bag for cold or moisture control.

leave the box open to dry after you are removing the rifle as well.
 
I bring them in and stand them near the wood stove with the action open, they warm up and dry quickly. They get a quick wipe down with an oily cloth before I put them away. If I didn’t have a wood stove I’d use the forced air heat vent to dry them off.
 
Once the rifles warmed up in their cases (which takes a bit of time) - they'd be removed, wiped down, cleaned as necessary.
A cold rifle brought into the warmth will be wet with condensation. This doesn't necessarily do any harm, but it requires really thorough drying and cleaning. Minimizing exposure during warming reduces the condensation dramatically.
 
When we return to camp we take them out of the cases, set them up on the bi-pod and open the action. We give them 30 minutes to warm-up and dry them off with a cloth or paper towels. A solvent patch is run-through the barrel followed by two dry patches. An oil cloth is used to wipe-down the exterior of the rifle, bolt and inside the action. The rifles remain on their bi-pods until the morning. This is repeated every evening.
 
I have when Hunting at a Camp .. in a case and into the trunk of the car, Next morning out it comes ... No sweating

and at Home in a case and into the the safe till next day.. then clean
 
I put them in the furnace room upright with action open for convection in the bore. I tried leaving them in their cases to slow down the process but found that when I opened the case the rifle is covered in frost. My theory that slowing the process enough to prevent condensation didn’t work and not only that the rifle sucked moisture seemingly out of nowhere, meaning the inside of the rifle case. I like to use scope sock type covers like leupold to slow down thermal shock in the scope since parts are cemented together and seals and things expand at different rates
 
medvedqc said:
very good advice and i have only 11 years of experience living north of 60s ...

will never use a plastic bag for cold or moisture control.

leave the box open to dry after you are removing the rifle as well.
Click to expand...

I do identical to tiriaq in my twenty five years living Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Had to be more pro-active in eastern townships Ontario and NS humidity to keep on top of possible surface corrosion.
 
I think the garbage bag idea sounds like about the worst thing to do. I do a lot of shooting in cold temps; I take as many cases outside with me as I have firearms to shoot that day, and just leave the cases opened up in a protected spot...usually in my truck, sometimes just on the back deck...so that by the time I am done shooting, the cases are just as cold as the guns. Case each gun, zip it up, take it indoors and then don't open for at least 5 or 6 hours, often overnight. The guns are always bone dry, and will then get whatever treatment or lack thereof that would have happened in normal weather. I don't obsessively clean every gun every time I use it, but I will always wipe down the exterior with a slightly-oily rag before returning it to the safe. If it's hunting season, the guns will either stay in the case until the next morning and then be taken back out and used, or if there is a secure unheated spot (like the truck) they will remain there in the cases overnight.

I do the same for binoculars, spotting scopes, rangefinders, etc., minus the oil.
 
If the gun is already in a gun case, before it comes inside, just leave it sealed up in the case, until it warms up to room temp. 3-4 hours. If mine is not in a case, I take a large beach towel outside and wrap the gun in it, then bring it in to warm up. The towel prevents the moisture in the warm interior, from condensing on the metal.
 
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