Water + Rifle = bad??

Dry it off and then oil it, nothing to worry about.

What I do when one of my guns gets wet while hunting or whatever is #1 dry it off (inside & out if possible) #2 I use my wife's blow drier to dry it inside and out (I let it run til the metal is hot to the touch) #3 Oil it well (don't forget the bore).

For my stuff, I take the bolt and submerge it in a small container of denatured alcohol, this will displace the water and gunk. Then dry it thoroughly and oil it.

Good wipe down and dry then oil for the rest of it.

The blowdryer trick sounds like a winner, thanx rugerman.

Iron in steel can bond with oxygen in the presence of water to form ferrous oxide (rust). There also happens to be water (vapor) in the air, so rust can eventually form even if the gun doesn't appear to be wet. Electrolytes (common in salts) act as catalysts and can greatly accelerate the process. This is why salt water is so much more corrosive than fresh water.

That said, it's not a very fast process and water isn't going to "hurt" your gun if you take care to dry it off and re-oil it as soon as the opportunity presents itself. In fact, water is a great cleaning agent (as we all know) and I myself use hot water to wash away corrosive salts from surplus ammo, or with soap to clean away grease (before drying and re-oiling). Certain lubricants and such, even when dry, form a chemical "buffer" between the steel and oxygen - any sort of oil will actually aid in corrosion resistance (to varying degree), because oils are hydrophobic by definition and will repel water. If you've taken the care to regularly lubricate/oil your guns, then there should be a lot of "stuff" on there (even if you can't see or feel it) which will significantly inhibit the rusting process.

When you're oiling the gun, you're simultaneously displacing water and adding layers of chemical protection to the surface of the steel. Of course, these oils and lubricants do degrade over time, so they should be periodically reapplied even if the gun hasn't been used. So, if you've oiled the gun somewhat recently, don't worry.

Just get it wiped off. Modern steels and iron are more resistant to corrosion than their older counterparts. Coatings and gun cleaning products also do a better job of protecting metal than they used to. All you really have to do is make sure you get it wiped off.

If you get water in the chamber or barrel, you need to make sure that it gets out. This is especially true with a .17 HMR weapon or any other small- caliber rifle. If water gets into the barrel, surface tension can make a drop of water stay inside the barrel and stretch the entire diameter of the bore. When you fire the rifle with that obstruction, it can cause the barrel to rupture. Just open up your action and shake the gun to equalize the pressure and make the water drip out.

WD40

Do you know what WD40 stands for? It stands for Water Displacement formula 40. It took 40 tries to get the mixture just right.

Do you know what WD40 is made out of? Primarily it is made out of ordinary alcohol and ordinary mineral oil. So either get yourself some of that WD40 or do it the old fashioned way. Use alcohol on your gun first to drive away the water, and then oil to keep it away.

Anybody else take 'em apart and throw them in the oven set to around 200 to dry them out? Seems to do the trick quite well when there are complicated parts that have water lurking inside.

Anybody else take 'em apart and throw them in the oven set to around 200 to dry them out? Seems to do the trick quite well when there are complicated parts that have water lurking inside.

Click to expand...

Also works for cosmoline. Just don't use your wife's broiler pan as a drip pan.

Water + Rifle + Care = No Problem

Won't retell the entire story b/c most of you have probably heard it . Dropped my 870 in 23 ft floodwater of the Mississippi Riv. Went back 3 weeks later b/c the water had fallen 21ft. felt around at tree base and pulled it out. Pulled the wood off at the shop and put it on low in the oven. Went to the tractor diesel pump and completely soaked the entire gun. a few hours later wiped off excess diesel , put wood back on and went on a good duck hunt. Lost a little parkerizing but gun was still solid as a rock down to the smallest spring. It now wears synthetic stocks and Birdsong Black-T metal. Looks brand new and though it won't float, rust is only an issue for the bore. Bottom Line-get wet gun dry, get wet gun lubed-no problem.