It appears I may be hunting in the rain before deer season is over. I have a Savage Weather Warrior, but getting my firearms wet still bothers me. And I have heard that stainless steel is not completely rust proof, just rust resistant. So, when I am hunting in the rain, is anything much gonna happen to my poor little rifle? I know it won't melt but...
Stainless Steel and Rain
- Thread starter Glen
- Start date
- Status
THE DARK KNIGHT
Member
Nothing is impervious to the elements. Stainless steel and synthetic stocks will hold up just fine, maybe clean it at home just to be safe.
JHansenAK47
Member
When I clean my rifles that have gotten rained on I make sure to pull the action out of the stock. Sometimes you can get little reservoirs of water that take a while to evaporate.
dfariswheel
Member
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2002
- Messages
- 6,660
Either keep a thin coat of CLP Breakfree on the metal or apply a coat of Johnson's Paste Wax. This repels water nicely, which is why saltwater duck hunters use it on their shotguns.
Don't use car wax. It turns white, and many contain abrasives to polish paint.
Buy Johnson's in cans at most hardware stores and many Walmart stores.
Don't use car wax. It turns white, and many contain abrasives to polish paint.
Buy Johnson's in cans at most hardware stores and many Walmart stores.
I've gotten mine wet enough on a miserable snow/sleet hunt that the cartridge I ejected at the end of the day was turning green (might have been some Hoppe's residue left in the chamber as well as nasty wet conditions.) I gave the rifle a good scrub down back at camp, put the cruddy round in a baggie to take apart later, went back hunting the next morning.
I've hunted in Colorado and Wyoming in some really cruddy weather over the past 20 years, never once had a spot of rust.
I've hunted in Colorado and Wyoming in some really cruddy weather over the past 20 years, never once had a spot of rust.
Freedom_fighter_in_IL
Member
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2010
- Messages
- 2,097
First rule my father taught me about firearms (after safety) was this, If it went out the door, it was to be broken down, cleaned, and oiled IMMEDIATELY after it comes back into the house!!! No matter if it was rain or shine, fired or not fired!! Man had a habit of accentuating his point with a size 12 boot if I did not seem to get it!! Even with my stainless barreled weapons I still follow that logic.
Good thing about stainless is you wont be able to sit there and watch the rust grow while sitting in the rain like you can with unprotected blued barrels. But they are not impervious just very resistant to rust. Clear wax is a good application for this BUT it is a MAJOR pain in the rear to remove completely so take that advise with a grain of salt there. Best medicine is, if it got wet, total breakdown and clean, dry and lightly oil when you get back home for the day.
Good thing about stainless is you wont be able to sit there and watch the rust grow while sitting in the rain like you can with unprotected blued barrels. But they are not impervious just very resistant to rust. Clear wax is a good application for this BUT it is a MAJOR pain in the rear to remove completely so take that advise with a grain of salt there. Best medicine is, if it got wet, total breakdown and clean, dry and lightly oil when you get back home for the day.
unwise11
Member
i go outside sometimes, if it doesnt get wet, i don't take it apart.
if it aint humid, i don't wipe it down.
but if it rains, or gets wet, I would take it down.
if it aint humid, i don't wipe it down.
but if it rains, or gets wet, I would take it down.
Z-Michigan
Member
You'll be fine. Sitting in a foam case or a humid safe is a greater risk than actual rain. I do recommend using a good protectant such as Boeshield T-9 or Corrosion-X on all metal stainless or otherwise (either one of those is a better protectant than 99% of gun oils and 100% of motor oils).
Coal Dragger
member
Stainless steel is not corrosion proof, just more resistant to it than chrome-moly steels.
A good rule of thumb with a wet firearm is to take it down as completely as you can and dry the water off, and oil any metal surfaces you can get to after you are done for the day. Clean your rifle and make sure it is taken care of before you yourself are clean and taken care of. Just an old golden rule of the USMC, and the infantry in general.
If you are for some reason unable to take down the rifle to get it dry do not under any circumstances put it away in a case of any kind, or in an enclosed space. This will trap any moisture that evaporates and just about guarantee you get surface rust. Just leave the rifle out in a dry, reasonably open area with good airflow after wiping down what you can get to. This is not as good as option number one, but is a lot better than nothing. I've humped around an M16 in the rain quite a bit, and not been able to detail clean it for days, and didn't have one rust on me in any inland area. Now near sea water or salty air is a different story, I have seen rifles with worn out bluing rust overnight near the ocean and they weren't even wet.
A good rule of thumb with a wet firearm is to take it down as completely as you can and dry the water off, and oil any metal surfaces you can get to after you are done for the day. Clean your rifle and make sure it is taken care of before you yourself are clean and taken care of. Just an old golden rule of the USMC, and the infantry in general.
If you are for some reason unable to take down the rifle to get it dry do not under any circumstances put it away in a case of any kind, or in an enclosed space. This will trap any moisture that evaporates and just about guarantee you get surface rust. Just leave the rifle out in a dry, reasonably open area with good airflow after wiping down what you can get to. This is not as good as option number one, but is a lot better than nothing. I've humped around an M16 in the rain quite a bit, and not been able to detail clean it for days, and didn't have one rust on me in any inland area. Now near sea water or salty air is a different story, I have seen rifles with worn out bluing rust overnight near the ocean and they weren't even wet.
My uncle, who taught me how to shoot back in the late '50s, used to spray rifles and handguns down with WD-40, to displace the water when he came in out of the rain, when he didn't have a chance to clean them right away. I would think this would be very applicable to stainless steel.
I know WD-40 has been replaced by many of the newer cleaning products...plus it leaves a residue...but is it still a viable product to displace water?
I know WD-40 has been replaced by many of the newer cleaning products...plus it leaves a residue...but is it still a viable product to displace water?
hawkeye10
Member
You have to be careful with WD40 around ammo. It will penetrate and kill primers. Don
Maj Dad
Member
WD is an excellent water displacer (remember its ontology as W.D. formula #40) and stainless steel is extremely non-reactive to pure H20 (as in rain and condensation). Some years back one of the gun rags did a relatively scientific test of corrosion resistance of S&W SS & blue steel revolvers submerged in salt water (as in the ocean). The blue steel actually corroded less, but both corroded. The SS version did not corrode perceptably at all with pure H20 but blue steel did. The lesson I think is to clean your weapon regardless, but don't sweat the sweat on your SS weapons quite as much.
As an aside, I sprayed all my weapons liberally with WD before I went to Korea some years back. Let it dry, then wrapped them in dry kraft paper & stored them in safes. 360-something days later they were in perfect condition with zero rust or corrosion, despite a year in a less than totally environmentally controlled home environment in hot & humid Alabama. There are better and worse agents according to all the input, but all I can say is that I had superb results.
As an aside, I sprayed all my weapons liberally with WD before I went to Korea some years back. Let it dry, then wrapped them in dry kraft paper & stored them in safes. 360-something days later they were in perfect condition with zero rust or corrosion, despite a year in a less than totally environmentally controlled home environment in hot & humid Alabama. There are better and worse agents according to all the input, but all I can say is that I had superb results.
Robert Wilson
Member
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2009
- Messages
- 402
The low carbon stainless typically used in firearms is very corrosion resistant. You can't leave a stainless gun on the beach for a week, but rain simply isn't going to hurt it.
I still use quite a bit of WD-40, despite the howls from the tactical crowd. It works quite well if you're not expecting to it cut copper fouling or provide first-class lubrication, and I do find that it displaces water quite well. It's best, though, to thoroughly coat with WD, then wipe as much off as possible. At times I have just sprayed on the WD and given it no further thought, but that can result in a layer of WD-40 with a layer of water on top, with little circles and curlicues of rust forming on the surface.
I still use quite a bit of WD-40, despite the howls from the tactical crowd. It works quite well if you're not expecting to it cut copper fouling or provide first-class lubrication, and I do find that it displaces water quite well. It's best, though, to thoroughly coat with WD, then wipe as much off as possible. At times I have just sprayed on the WD and given it no further thought, but that can result in a layer of WD-40 with a layer of water on top, with little circles and curlicues of rust forming on the surface.
A machinist once told me that the idea behind stainless steel is that regular carbon steel has very porous oxidization. That means that when the metal starts to rust, the rust can (and eventually will) extend into the steel. Other materials such as aluminum and chrome oxidize in a much less porous manner and the oxides tend to stick to the surface. The idea behind stainless steels is that the surface WILL oxidize, but it will be non-porous and will keep oxygen away from the inner part of the steel. This was a machinist that told me this, so a mechanical engineer may need to clarify some of this.
I don't hunt, so if it's raining, I stay home but, different manufacturers use different types of stainless steel (just go to a large gun store and lay a stainless Savage next to a stainless Remington next to another stainless and you'll see what I mean). I suspect that the level of protection varies somewhat.
That said, I probably wouldn't worry too much about it while hunting, but I would tear the gun down as soon as possible, clean the water out of absolutely everything I could, apply lube and then, if safe to do so, let it sit out of the case for several days. I would also keep it out of any safe that does not have a dehumidifier for a couple days as well, again if it is safe to do that.
I don't hunt, so if it's raining, I stay home but, different manufacturers use different types of stainless steel (just go to a large gun store and lay a stainless Savage next to a stainless Remington next to another stainless and you'll see what I mean). I suspect that the level of protection varies somewhat.
That said, I probably wouldn't worry too much about it while hunting, but I would tear the gun down as soon as possible, clean the water out of absolutely everything I could, apply lube and then, if safe to do so, let it sit out of the case for several days. I would also keep it out of any safe that does not have a dehumidifier for a couple days as well, again if it is safe to do that.
Al Thompson
Moderator Emeritus
Ditto for the Johnson's paste wax as a prevention and WD-40 to displace the water.
A hair dryer also helps bunches when drying out your firearm. I have used a heat gun as well, but you have to be cautious about damaging any plastic parts when using one.
If it's a handgun, an immersion in a petroleum product has worked for me before. I went on an accidental swim with a Ruger. Just pulled the grips off and submerged in in kerosene.
A hair dryer also helps bunches when drying out your firearm. I have used a heat gun as well, but you have to be cautious about damaging any plastic parts when using one.
If it's a handgun, an immersion in a petroleum product has worked for me before. I went on an accidental swim with a Ruger. Just pulled the grips off and submerged in in kerosene.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked