hunting in the rain...

[twoSevenO]

How do you treat your rifles for it ... prior, during and after hunting in the rain?

It's short term exposure, so it shouldn't be a problem on the barrel and such, and most optics are waterproof nowdays, but what about rain and the stock or rain getting in and around the action? Any problems?

(directed at the die-hards that i know have hunted in pouring weather, if it's pouring, i go fishing, not hunting :lol: )

Thanks!

[todbartell]

well if its nasty out you will want to tape some electrical tape over the muzzle of your gun to prevent any water from getting in there. When you get back to the truck its a good idea to wipe down the excess water off your gun and when you get to camp or home to make sure it gets dried out real good. One reason I prefer to hunt with a fiberglass stock is it is MUCH less likely to warp than a wood stock, so its one less thing to have to worry about

[Will]

Sorta depends....my Stainless rifles I don't do a whole lot after a day out in the rain and or snow. Just a quick wipe down, and run the bore snake through the barrel.

Blued Rifles are a whole different story...I would always pull the action from the stock, clean and oil all the blued surfaces, bore too. If Wood stocked I'd often let that dry overnight before reassembling.

FWIW: I stripped down, cleaned and oiled my Beautiful Model 70 Classic every night while on a 9 day Moose trip up North, the other fellas would rib and laugh at me everytime......
Anyways even after I babied that rifle it had small "freckles" in the blueing when I returned home...http://usera.imagecave.com/BCWILL/Smilies/bangHead.gif

My No1 reason for now only purchasing Stainless synthetic Rifles for my "workhorse" rigs........I save the pretty blueing and wood jobs mostly for range work now 8-)

[hunter1947]

I clean my gun and oil it down soon as i get back home ,or camp. hunter47.

[Bushman]

How do you treat your rifles for it ... prior, during and after hunting in the rain?

It's short term exposure, so it shouldn't be a problem on the barrel and such, and most optics are waterproof nowdays, but what about rain and the stock or rain getting in and around the action? Any problems?

(directed at the die-hards that i know have hunted in pouring weather, if it's pouring, i go fishing, not hunting :lol: )

Thanks!

Having spent a good deal of time hunting in all types of foul weather I found there's a few tricks a person can use to keep a rifle or shotgun looking like new and functioning flawlessly.

If your rifle has a wooden stock disassemble it and apply several coats of paste-type wax into all the inletted portions around the action and under the barrel. You can then use a hair dryer to heat the wax and wood to receive good penetration. The wax will not only seal the stock and keep it from warping, it will help to keep your rifle shooting straight during times of heavy rain or snow.

After a day of hunting in rain or snow get the gun into a warm place and wipe it down thoroughly with a dry oiled cloth.. I then give the action a light coating of DW-40, while the rest of the rifle's exposed steel gets a light coat of bicycle chain lubricant.

I have found that coating gun parts with a light oil works great when I'm on a day hunt in the mountains or marsh, but the bicycle chain lubricant stands up far better and is superior at protecting blued steel, especially if I'm hunting coastal inlets or areas around salt water.

Good huntin'

Bushman

[Woodrow]

I see they make gun oil that is scented like pine or spruce, I wonder if that stuff is any good.

[mapguy]

been hunting in the rain forever never had a problem
wind @ rain = deer

[twoSevenO]

thanks for the replies .... some good advice. I wipe my rifle down regardless of rain or not, just wanted some input for those prolonged rainy days/trips where there is a good chance water might have gotten between the stock and the action.

[Will]

... some input for those prolonged rainy days/trips where there is a good chance water might have gotten between the stock and the action.
Stainless Steel :cool:

[srupp]

Im with Will..s/s and synthetic stock...

Steven

[Krico]

I have no interest in a piece of high maintenance equipment I have to take apart and clean every time it rains for half an hour. Go stainless/synthetic, and your only "treatment" necessary is new electrical tape over the barrel after you fire a shot.

[horshur]

Once again fellows obsessing over nothin much. Wonder how our boys and there Enfields managed in the trenches without stainless.:roll:

[twoSevenO]

no thanks on the ss and synthetic. Looks ugly and feels like a toy .... not for me.

[Rob]

my buddy and I were on a moose hunt in Nov. last year. He had a Savage 111fcxp3(Simmons scope and sling included for $449). He left his gun in a soft case on his Quad over night and the next morning the steel had completly rusted.Temp fluctuated btw -10 and 5 degrees with snow and rain throughout the trip. He cleaned it up but it still has some rust markings on it. I have been fine with my stainless/synthetic Browning A bolt but i stay on top of its cleaning.What oil do you guys use? Rob

[twoSevenO]

that's too bad about your buddy's rifle :(

are there any differences in how the blued rifles hold up depending on their finish .... ie. the standard blueing vs. satin finish rifles?

[Will]

that's too bad about your buddy's rifle :(

are there any differences in how the blued rifles hold up depending on their finish .... ie. the standard blueing vs. satin finish rifles?
High polished blueing tends to be abit "better" then say the "rough" matte finnish jobs coming out today........My rem sps in matte finish would rust just looking at it:|
If you don't like synthetic then get a stainless rifle in a laminate stock....
Best of Both Worlds8)

[4ptbuck]

Did you strip down and pull the action every day on your hunt? Did you clean the barrell? Reason I ask is would that change the POI? How are you ensuring accuracy? Or is there a sight in afterwards?


Blued Rifles are a whole different story...I would always pull the action from the stock, clean and oil all the blued surfaces, bore too. If Wood stocked I'd often let that dry overnight before reassembling.

FWIW: I stripped down, cleaned and oiled my Beautiful Model 70 Classic every night while on a 9 day Moose trip up North,

[300WM]

Did you strip down and pull the action every day on your hunt? Did you clean the barrell? Reason I ask is would that change the POI? How are you ensuring accuracy? Or is there a sight in afterwards?

As long as you are not removing the scope POI should not change.

[Will]

Did you strip down and pull the action every day on your hunt? Did you clean the barrell? Reason I ask is would that change the POI? How are you ensuring accuracy? Or is there a sight in afterwards?
Nope stock was "glassed" so I know the action went back in just fine everytime :)
POI should not change unless your stock inletting is sloppy etc......even then it's unlikely to change by much.

My Hunting rifle bores are always kept clean.....I sight them in, clean em and hunt with em.......I almost always clean the bores when I get home from a trip whether I shot them or not8)

Beleive me...I know where that 1st shot is gonna go;-)

[Deaddog]

My rifle is wood stock, I took all the glossy finish off and just use linseed oil twice a year now, I had the barrel blued every couple of years but was not impressed, now have it tefloned, it stood up for the first year but we shall see, it all depends on how picky you are, I don't mind dents and scratches but am not big on rust, it all depends on how "pristine" you want to keep your rifle.

[Surrey Boy]

Doesn't stainless steel make for better rifling than chrome-molybdenum steel?

I love beautiful walnut stocks, but synthetics are less maintainance, lighter, and guiltless when I modify.

[deadlyshot19]

If its a one off thing that you hunt in this kind of weather, take the gun apart as much as your comfortable doing after the hunt and clean and oil everything. If your planning on hunting in these conditions a lot. Which you should, it's the best time to hunt in my opinion. Get yourself a stainless steel/synthetic gun and besides a little wipe down and bolt cleaning you will have nothing to worry about.

[hoochie]

I have found that sometimes there can be the start of surface rust on bluing, scope ring screws etc. I dismantle and oil my guns after a heavy rain, and use a product called "Barricade" on some of my guns. its kind like WD40, sprays on and removes rust. also it gives a weather resistant coating.
The thing that has caused me the most problems was soft gun cases ( I got rid of them.. they cause rust!) and the foam inside a hard case also needs time to dry out. you place a wet gun in there.. thats a perfect environment for trouble.

we dont have blued rifles anymore, dont have any issues. But the shotguns I still watch closely.

[twoSevenO]

i love when threads from 9 years ago are revived. Anyways, in those 9 years since I started this thread, i have not had issues with rusting at all. Everything is well. Blueing is showing signs of wear in some spots though ...

[hoochie]

OMG.. are you serious?
i never saw the date lol.

[SSG-man]

Had an old Ruger 77 from early 90's I purchased new.
Slapped a B&C stock on her and hunted lots of rain and bush with tape on the end of bbl and cleaned after every hunt or shot, plenty of G96 on bluing.
Few years back I trade it in for a winchester featherweight to try something different, but same caliber.
So off comes B&C and back on goes mint walnut stock before trade in.
I expected to see some rust on bottom of bbl and receiver as I never removed stock in over 10 years.
Mint bluing not a spec of rust!

Chalk it up to reg maintenance and G-96 or just good bluing on the older guns.
Either way even cheap stainless rusts but good quality steel and bluing job does not.

[Bugle M In]

Had an old Ruger 77 from early 90's I purchased new.
Slapped a B&C stock on her and hunted lots of rain and bush with tape on the end of bbl and cleaned after every hunt or shot, plenty of G96 on bluing.
Few years back I trade it in for a winchester featherweight to try something different, but same caliber.
So off comes B&C and back on goes mint walnut stock before trade in.
I expected to see some rust on bottom of bbl and receiver as I never removed stock in over 10 years.
Mint bluing not a spec of rust!

Chalk it up to reg maintenance and G-96 or just good bluing on the older guns.
Either way even cheap stainless rusts but good quality steel and bluing job does not.

My understanding is that it ain't so much the steel these days, but that do to environmental reasons,
the chemicals used in bluing these days is far more inferior than the chemicals/bluing from the past.
My 2 year old vanguard's bluing looks as faded as my 45 year old Husky.

[Sportster]

no thanks on the ss and synthetic. Looks ugly and feels like a toy .... not for me.

That's a matter of opinion, my weatherby vanguard s2 stainless steel synthetic feels solid and looks great, that's why I bought it.

[twoSevenO]

That's a matter of opinion, my weatherby vanguard s2 stainless steel synthetic feels solid and looks great, that's why I bought it.

I wrote that comment 9 years ago. My opinion has changed since, and so have the synthetic stocks. Some are still better than others of course.

[Sportster]

I wrote that comment 9 years ago. My opinion has changed since, and so have the synthetic stocks. Some are still better than others of course.

Thanks twoSevenO my feelings arn'the hurt anymore lol ��

[walks with deer]

Only spent entire life on coastal rain Bell's clean gun once a year after season.
never a issue gun oil stinks
..that 1-3 shots always gòod.

Kills blacktail.

[Squamch]

Tape on the muzzle, wipe the water off when I get back to the truck, and pull the bolt, wipe down, leave it in front of a fan overnight when I get home.