Humidity has reared its ugly head here in South East Mass tonight. So bad that we have a dense fog advisory in effect.
I know we've had humid days recently, but today was a warm one and most people still have their windows open and now have the heat turned off. What does this all mean for milsurp shooters/collectors? RUST.
For you newbies out there that now have a few Mosins, K31s, Mausers, whatever in your safe, all that cosmolene you removed this past winter has left metal unprotected unless you oiled before reassembly. I always wipe down the underside of the barrel, receiver, and any parts I can't get at later because they're covered with wood when the gun is assembled with a coat of quality oil like Break Free Collector. A patch wet with oil passed through the bore a few times is usually enough protection inside there. Just remember to run a dry patch before you shoot.
Close attention should be paid to bore condition if you've shot corrosive ammo or ammo you suspect may have been corrosive. Humidity is attracted to salt deposits left in the bore, chamber, and bolt face and doesn't take long to start attacking metal. Most all shooters that have shot corrosive ammo have pulled a rifle out of the safe at one time or another to discover the dreaded orange frost in what was once a mint bore.[sad2] Its no fun sitting downstairs at the gunbench with a new bronze brush, a few dozen patches, and a can of Kroil scrubbing away hoping you caught it in time. I've been there twice and figured I'd post this in hopes of helping others avoid some stress.![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
I know we've had humid days recently, but today was a warm one and most people still have their windows open and now have the heat turned off. What does this all mean for milsurp shooters/collectors? RUST.
For you newbies out there that now have a few Mosins, K31s, Mausers, whatever in your safe, all that cosmolene you removed this past winter has left metal unprotected unless you oiled before reassembly. I always wipe down the underside of the barrel, receiver, and any parts I can't get at later because they're covered with wood when the gun is assembled with a coat of quality oil like Break Free Collector. A patch wet with oil passed through the bore a few times is usually enough protection inside there. Just remember to run a dry patch before you shoot.
Close attention should be paid to bore condition if you've shot corrosive ammo or ammo you suspect may have been corrosive. Humidity is attracted to salt deposits left in the bore, chamber, and bolt face and doesn't take long to start attacking metal. Most all shooters that have shot corrosive ammo have pulled a rifle out of the safe at one time or another to discover the dreaded orange frost in what was once a mint bore.[sad2] Its no fun sitting downstairs at the gunbench with a new bronze brush, a few dozen patches, and a can of Kroil scrubbing away hoping you caught it in time. I've been there twice and figured I'd post this in hopes of helping others avoid some stress.
