Well, we were motoring to some flooded fields in my friends boat and a branch flung a craving on his Benelli Super Nova. It is about 8 feet beneath the water in all kinds of nasty, sandy muck. We WILL retrieve it. It isn't going anywhere lol. I guess we get to see what happens to a Benelli when it stays submerged for at least 12 hours, probably close to 24. We will be going back out with a large magnet, a garden rake, a 4" snag hook, and anything else we think will help. Swimming is an option, but only if necessary. I will keep you guys posted and may even snap a few pics!
Benelli in the Creek!
- Thread starter juk
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sheepdog
Member
...that's heartbreaking...at least it's too cold for moccasins... hope you find it easily...
Marty183
Member
Grab a pair of goggles and get diving...Although, the nasty, sandy, muck, doesn't sound too inviting. I would probably try the other option first.
Geneseo1911
Member
Please, Please take pictures!
cat_IT_guy
Member
That sucks, hope you are successful in retrieving/salvaging it.
throdgrain
Member
I would have gone straight in after it...
earlthegoat2
Member
I dropped a Nova in the muck once. I promptly retrieved it unloaded it and blew out the barrel. I then loaded the chamber and fired a round. I worked for the rest of the weekend until I could get a gunsmith to detail clean it for me.
Milkmaster
Member
12 or 24 hours in fresh water should pose no problem to your gun. I don't think barnacles can get at it THAT quick! I would just clean it good and dry it off when you get it back. I hope you don't damage it with your drag hook etc. Good luck and keep us posted.
Ohio Gun Guy
Member
was it loaded?
Be carefull!
Be carefull!
arizona98tj
Member
Ohio Guy Guy.....very good point!
This should be an interesting (and hopefully not expensive) experiment. I really want to know if, this gun that would appear to be built like a tank, can bounce back from an extended period of immersion in murky water.
Hope it works out for you. Please keep us posted.
Hope it works out for you. Please keep us posted.
JWF III
Member
Almost any pump will be no worse for wear. I found my 870 a block of ice one mourning, minutes before hunting. I laid it on the lake bottom for a few minutes, then went hunting. No problems, what-so-ever.
I do know a guy that lost his SBE overboard. (This was 15-18 years ago, so it was a very early model.) He pulled it up with a magnet the next day, threw away the shells that were in it, and fired. No problem there.
I wouldn't purposely dunk my gas auto. But if it went accidently, it wouldn't have a problem trying it as soon as it surfaced.
Wyman
I do know a guy that lost his SBE overboard. (This was 15-18 years ago, so it was a very early model.) He pulled it up with a magnet the next day, threw away the shells that were in it, and fired. No problem there.
I wouldn't purposely dunk my gas auto. But if it went accidently, it wouldn't have a problem trying it as soon as it surfaced.
Wyman
scratcherky
Member
Does it ever get too cold in AL to go for a swim???
tactikel
Member
You gotta post some pictures once you fish her out! Once the gun is disassembled and wiped down you may want to use something to drive out the moisture from all the crevices, some WD-40 or CLP liberally applied could help. Good luck!
Virginian
Member
Magnets are good. As long as it's fresh water, the gun should be in better shape than you are about now. A Remington 1100 survived 5 days in about 10 feet of water, 46 years ago, with minimal ill effects - until it got to the surface. When the owner reached out and grabbed it, I guess something was lodged in the trigger, because it discharged and went overboard again. Blew water out the barrel because I saw it. Some pure luck, and maybe some good safety training - it was pointed in a safe direction, because no one dreamed it was going to go off. When it came up again, the safety was still off, the action bars were slightly bent, the barrel was bulged ahead of the chamber, the fore end was cracked, and it had reloaded and was ready to fire again. Owner sent it back to Remington, and I don't remember what they charged, but it wasn't bad, and when it came back it looked brand new again.
Those old Peters ounce and a quarter blue paper duck loads were good stuff, too.
Those old Peters ounce and a quarter blue paper duck loads were good stuff, too.
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An update and ending:
When the gun went in the water, the first thing we did is determine the spot where it fell out. After that, the owner stripped down, put on his life jacket, and went in the water for it.
The "creek" was a river at this point. Air temp was low 30s, the water level was up at least 8 FEET and the current and wind were horrible with respects to the boat and swimmer.
We decided a lost gun was better than a lost life, so we made the guy wear his life jacket. Even though he is 6'2, he still couldn't even touch the bottom. We drug him in and got him dressed and warm and headed back to the ramp. He went home, got the tools and we came back about 3 hours later. After 15 minutes of poking around with fish spears, we finally found it and drug it up. I would have taken pictures, but it looked just like a camo Super Nova. LOL It was just wet. We ejected the shells and came back. The action was still smooth and there was little gunk inside the gun. We didn't shoot it, but there wasn't anything that would visibly hinder performance.
All in all, we were lucky we found it. It had fallen on the normal creek bank so it was lying on a slope about 12 feet down. The only way I found it was because the sling was floating off of the bottom. I threw the hook out once and drug the gun up by its sling. The hook is now a permanent accessory to the boat. Thanks for all the insight and suggestions. If there are any further problems with the gun due to this accident I will be sure to update with explanations. I would suggest that anyone that hunts by boat that you either attach a lanyard, safety rope, or something to secure the gun to the boat. Even a floating case would have prevented this.
When the gun went in the water, the first thing we did is determine the spot where it fell out. After that, the owner stripped down, put on his life jacket, and went in the water for it.
The "creek" was a river at this point. Air temp was low 30s, the water level was up at least 8 FEET and the current and wind were horrible with respects to the boat and swimmer.
We decided a lost gun was better than a lost life, so we made the guy wear his life jacket. Even though he is 6'2, he still couldn't even touch the bottom. We drug him in and got him dressed and warm and headed back to the ramp. He went home, got the tools and we came back about 3 hours later. After 15 minutes of poking around with fish spears, we finally found it and drug it up. I would have taken pictures, but it looked just like a camo Super Nova. LOL It was just wet. We ejected the shells and came back. The action was still smooth and there was little gunk inside the gun. We didn't shoot it, but there wasn't anything that would visibly hinder performance.
All in all, we were lucky we found it. It had fallen on the normal creek bank so it was lying on a slope about 12 feet down. The only way I found it was because the sling was floating off of the bottom. I threw the hook out once and drug the gun up by its sling. The hook is now a permanent accessory to the boat. Thanks for all the insight and suggestions. If there are any further problems with the gun due to this accident I will be sure to update with explanations. I would suggest that anyone that hunts by boat that you either attach a lanyard, safety rope, or something to secure the gun to the boat. Even a floating case would have prevented this.
Virginian
Member
I did not see this, but a buddy says he knocked his gun out of the blind in it's floating case. Had a heck of a time, but finally managed to persuade the dog to retrieve it.
Yeah, you end up spending a bunch of time training the dog to swim through everything without screwing with it, to retrieve birds. Then, every once in a while, you want the dog to get something else, and it just looks at you like, "There's no bird out there. What do you want?"
That said, I've seen a Lab that would retrieve decoys on command, but swim through them to retrieve, no problem. Then again, it belongs to a professional dog trainer...
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
This would be the ultimate chance to settle the old "will wet ammo still work" argument.
You just gotta shot the ammo!!!!
rc
You just gotta shot the ammo!!!!
rc
JWF III
Member
Three hours, probably not much of a problem. But I can attest that you don't want to shoot day old wet Fiocchi shells. Yes, it'll shoot, and you can see the shot land in the water 10 feet from your blind. Also, the wad will stick in your barrel, and end your hunt. Now I carry a 36", 5/8" diameter dowel rod, that is cut into three sections. I won't have to stop 30 minutes into the hunt, and just sit there watching ducks land in the decoys:banghead:, if/when it ever happens again.
Wyman
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