Waterlogged O/U

[Picher]

My son took his wire-haired pointer and my gifted "family heirloom" Weatherby O/U 20 ga. shotgun out close to the last gasp of bird season, but due to a hidden log in his recently-harvested forest, tripped and fell on it, cracking the pistol grip area in several places.

I fixed the breaks and pinned it together with hidden screws/pins and Brownell's glassbedding compound. He didn't want it re-finished, citing "historical" qualities.

Well, he's a "shooter" at field trials and took it out in the rain last week, then forgot that, still in the gun case, he'd laid it across the outside trash containers overnight! It was lightly rusted all over the outside and the action was not working right when he brought it back to me for repairs.

I took it apart and found that there was swelling that interfered with the mechanism, so ground it off and lubed the action to prevent rust. It works okay now, but told him that the stock really needs to be protected by resurfacing. He didn't agree to that yet.

I loaned him my Franchi O/U 20 ga, so he wouldn't have to use his shotgun in the rain, whether he does or not, but still hope he soon agrees to let me refinish his gun.

 

[Cokeman]

I’m not sure I’d be loaning him any guns anymore.

 

[Jim Watson]

Saw an irate trapshooter spike his Superposed in wet grass after missing both of the last pair of Doubles targets, pick it up, stomp off and case it wet.
Still in the damp case in the trunk of his car for the next shoot.
I think it still worked but it had not a speck of finish left on wood or metal. Dull brown all over.

 

[Hookeye]

Might just get him some Renaissance wax.

 

[entropy]

Your son and my 2 are too much alike! My oldest left an 870 Express in his trunk all winter after deer season was over-it was a nice shade of orange when he popped the trunk in March! Dad to the rescue. He dropped his Taurus .357 at the base of his deer stand, and didn't realize it until he got home and I asked him why his holster was empty. (he had set it on his lap in case one came in close-he wouldn't admit it but I think he fell asleep and it slipped off his lap......) It of course rained that night. Dad to the rescue. The younger one carved his name into the forearm of my Win. 37 because I told him it was "his" gun. He was 9.

 

[GRIZ22]

Saw an irate trapshooter spike his Superposed in wet grass after missing both of the last pair of Doubles targets, pick it up, stomp off and case it wet.
Still in the damp case in the trunk of his car for the next shoot.
I think it still worked but it had not a speck of finish left on wood or metal. Dull brown all over.

Sounds to me with a temper like that he shouldn't be handling guns.

 

[Mizar]

I have a brother and wife like that ( my son is too small) - they would literally ruin/brake everything they touch. I have come to a simple rule - you want to use (ruin) something? Fine, just use (ruin) your own, one you paid for, because I'm sick of repairing and replacing stuff you don't care for - kitchen knives, tools, guns... You name it, the list is long.

 

[George P]

Sounds like a plastic-stocked Mossberg is in order until he knows what to do.

 

[#1buck]

I'd go maverick, they're cheaper.

 

[Mullo98]

I would try and oil em as good as you can if I was you.

 

[mgmorden]

There's only so much you can do to protect guns from people who aren't meticulous with them. My dad is the same way - he's a hunter not a "gun person" and every time he gives me a gun to clean I'm like "How in the heck did you let this gun get this bad off?". I clean it, repair it if necessary, and give it back. At the end of the day though it's not my style, all he truly cares about is that the gun goes bang and takes down what he's shooting at. I'd suggest you take the same path - make it work again, take off all the rust, oil it, and then just give it back expecting it'll be back again eventually.

I do have an unspoken rule though that if I do have to loan my dad a gun, it'll be a functional but cheap beater. Of course it worked to my advantage too. I remember back when I was 15 or 16 I took apart his .22 LR to "clean it" (mostly because I was curious about how it worked) and - it being WAY more complicated than my 10/22 - I couldn't figure out how to put it back together. When I told him he didn't really even care. Thankfully I put all the parts in a ziplock bag and tied it to the gun. Some years later when I was older I managed to find a schematic/diagram for that gun and finally put the thing back together .

 

[JWF III]

I have to admit that I’m a little like that. And I’m also a little the other way also. My main hunting guns are tools, and typically get treated accordingly. My primary deer rifle is 5 or 6 years old, and has never been cleaned. It get’s a layer of gun oil sprayed on it before and after each season.

Back when I was duck hunting 30 to 40 days a season, my 870 lived in the boat from from Thanksgiving to February, uncased. Several times, after freezing rain, I had to dunk it in the swamp to melt the ice. My Franchi 912 get’s it a little better. It stays cased, and gets the inards lubed periodically.

My nicer, fun guns, get cleaned and lubed periodically, dependent on the particular gun.

Wyman

 

[entropy]

My main hunting guns are tools, and typically get treated accordingly. My primary deer rifle is 5 or 6 years old, and has never been cleaned. It get’s a layer of gun oil sprayed on it before and after each season.

Don't surprised when you hear a 'click' when you have the scope on Ol' Mossyhorns. I was taught to take care of tools, my family was all mechanics, and my Dad was a cop, so I was taught to take care of a gun as if my life depended on it. My time as an Armorer reinforced that. I used to see guys like you come in the gunshop all the time. "Ol' Betsy here didn't go bang opening morning" I'd take old Betsy down to the bench, tear her apart and she'd be coated in years of WD-40 and carbon.

 

[Coyote3855]

I don't understand the "guns are just tools" position. I take better care of my wrenches that some who posted here about their guns.

 

[Steve S.]

I take meticulous care of my firearms; they all get used but kept pristine - an anal thing about my hobby. My son on the other hand, guns are just a chunk of metal, wood and plastic - rode hard and put away wet. Why the difference and how those differences evolve, I have no idea.

 

[entropy]

In my two sons' case, they take after their mother in some ways.

 

[JeffG]

That's why the older ones in good shape are so rare.

 

[roadliner]

I did that same thing with an O/U, put it in a case while wet from a rainy hunt, had car problems and had to get it towed, and totally forgot that the gun was still wet. A week later I found dozens of rust spots all over the finish. Lucky for me the internals were fine. Had to send it away for a re-blueing. It's been decades since, but I still have a hard time understanding why I forgot to clean my gun post hunt.