Stainless and rivers?

Here's a different sort of question. I will be getting back into paddling whitewater kayaks soon. Not sure if it will fit yet, but how damaging would it be to stow my SP101 in a PFD pocket, knowing it will more than likely get very wet?:scrutiny:

My P11 is smaller but out of the question obviously.

I'm not sure if this helps any, but my dive knife has always been fine in fresh water, but after kayaking in salt water it rusted almost right away even though I rinsed it off well (or so I thought). After that I used a thin coat of vegetable oil (I use the knife for lunch duty since it doesn't get used for emergencies much).

I'm pretty sure that gun stainless isn't as stainless as knives are.

I have dunked in fresh water Alloy/stainless revolvers such as A M38 S&W and A 642.
No harm done. I take the stocks off, lube with CLP and use a air hose when available.
Your SP101 would be A good revolver for your Yak.

I recommend getting a lanyard ring installed and actually attaching a lanyard to whatever you do choose to use.

Not that I have ever tumped over a canoe, jonboat or anything you understand...;)

Go with the lanyard and make sure to do maintence at the end of every day, and you should be fine. I guess you might want to take some precautions with your ammo, but I really don't know anything about how to waterproof ammo...

I would just put in it something waterproof .. problem solved. I don't know much about kayaks. I would think though that there is very little room for a waterproof case, but a sealed plastic baggy should be just fine, right ? Seems like it doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.

You can get heavy-gauge ziplock bags for rafters/boaters. I would be prepared to open the whole thing up if you got it near salt water. The outside might be stainless, but the springs, etc. are not.

Stainless steel can rust, you should oil and clean the gun before and after your canoe trip.

If you capsize, you have to make sure not to loose the gun and keep the weight in mind; swimming with clothes and shoes is hard enough.

Let me clarify a bit, here's what I do. Not actually me, but pretty good example.

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/8972/ryanyoughjw3.jpg

The SP would be in the 'life preserver', ie PFD pocket.

About the ammo, do I need to run something around the primer and bullet to make it waterproof like you find on Wolf?

Lanyard is still a good idea,on the gun itself and any water-resistant containers you may also use.
I don't have to remind you - water and being around water just have some odd situations crop up.

Better to have options and not use them.

In the old days, before all the new products we have today, a old fashioned hot water bottle, the rubber kind, was fashioned to keep things including guns dry and protected.
This "pouch" was flexible, not bulky, and took up less room.
Tie off the small end, and seal with bicycle tire tube repair kit (glue, set glue on fire).
Now we used these two ways, using one, and tying off the small end, and "rolling down" the open end, securing with rope and everything in a canoe was tied to something, even attached to the inside of a pack, which was tied in.

Second was, was using two hot water bottles, roll down the first, insert into second, roll that one down, and secure with rope, cord etc.

We did not have Plastic Bags , like Ziploc, - yet :)
Hey , we thought we were "highfalutin'" with them wax paper sandwich bags like the Dairy had from time to time taking a lunch to school...
( OK so we saved and reused stuff like this, I was a poor boy coming up)
[I happen to still like wax paper, and use it all the time now-a-days...]

Ammunition:
Most Premium offerings are sealed.
One can use clear nail polish to seal as well.


HTH

Clear fingernail polish around the primers and bullet ends should keep ammo good and dry. Pelican makes some good waterproof plastic boxes, but that adds to bulk.

Heavy freezer ziploc should do the trick. If you're in saltwater, there is no way to keep any metal from rusting due to it being an electrolytic solution. However, a healthy coat of oil will help immensely. Dunk it in something like castrol motor oil, then put in bag.

jeepmor

Do A search of CLP, its A fine product for your revolver in wet conditions.

We used it in the Army and they don't issue stainless firearms.
The lanyard idea may be unsafe in your yak. It might hang up on somthing when you flip your boat.
Inner pouch on your PFD with a snap seems the best bet.
I canoe with A 642 in my vest.

Just for fun I had put a couple of reloaded cartridges into a waterglass for three days. When I tried them at the range, they fired fine.

Try for yourself, 30 cents well spent...

Don't trust a velcro closure on the pocket to secure anything! When wet, velcro loses much of its holding power.

+1 for the baggy. I say baggy the thing and put it in a holster and put it in your vest.

Ha! now I want to try to shoot my revolver in a bag...

My P11 is smaller but out of the question obviously.
why is that out of the question? I use my keltec p32 quite a bit. It has actually held up pretty well, I get some rust on the mags, but the gun has been fine. I have a parts washer and run wd40 on the parts and soak the slide overnight. These days I typically have it in my drybib pocket under my drytop, I can pull open the neck gasket and reach through it surprisingly quick. The ruger is probably the best revolver for water work, you can strip those things relatively easily, and the parts are fairly large and robust.

As for the rounds, I would do as PzGren and just test a couple of your rounds. In my experience, the ammo fails enough (even my duty ammo had 10% failure rate after I "fell" into a lake) that you do want to get some sealer and seal the primers and bullets.

Salt water, I would probably just carry in a pelican or otter box and not worry so much about quick access. If you do dunk it, they say you should dunk it in boiling water (unloaded) to get the salts out, then dunk it in oil.

Hi Chris,
Good luck with the paddle adventure!
Your revolver is stainless and will most likely be fine. I would recommend using some break free lubricant on it if it gets really dunked. At the end of each year, I would also recommend a detail clean and spring exchange.
For the ammo, any fingernail polish around the projectile and primer will seal it.
I used to be a freedive spearfisherman when I lived in Hawaii (before moving to VA) and we would use .44 magnum powerheads for shark defence. The rounds would easily last a year without any water damage and we were diving to 50 feet + every weekend.

Have a great day!

If you set a .44 mag round off under water wouldn't you blow your friggin' ears out:confused:

About the ammo, do I need to run something around the primer and bullet to make it waterproof like you find on Wolf?

I think an SP would be perfectly fine in the river. Even if you do get some rust, it's extremely easy to keep clean in the field. Takedown requires the removal of a single screw, that's it.

As far as ammo, all factory ammo is sealed up tight. You could put some more George & Roy on the outside if you wanted, though I've found over-applying primer sealant can cause the bullets to be sticky going in. A properly seated bullet is naturally watertight.

"If you set a .44 mag round off under water wouldn't you blow your friggin' ears out"

HUh? What? Just kidding. No, it is bad.....but not as bad as you would think. I think I was more worried about the shaft from the spear coming back at me or sharky eating me than the noise....but that story is for another forum.

Have a great day!