Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Waxing a rifle?

In the "what gun for rainy day hunts" thread someone commented about waxing their rifle. It was one of those...geeez, why didn't I think of that!? moments. I didn't want to hijack that thread but I am interested in doing this to my rifle.
So would someone please layout some details for best results like how to best prep the metal for the wax, anybrand / type that works best and best way to remove it when ready to store the rifle. (if you worry with removing it)

I will be hunting with a levergun for the first time this year and it is no way as easy as my muzz or shotgun to breakdown for cleaning.

I've heard of guys using regular paste wax like the old school type of wax we'd use to wax a car, I've only used the birchwood casey gun wax.

seems to work very well, I really like to get a rifle out of it's stock & wax the action well out of the stock and the inleting as well, esp barrel channel. I don't worry so much about buffing the wax film off until the rifle is back in it's stock.

I like knowing the metal inside the inleting & barrel channel is well waxed.

I aint saying i'm doing it right, just saying that's how I do it.

always knew about the birchwood casey stuff but I guess I was thinking in terms of the wood stock only...

oh heck no, I rub that stuf all over on the steel parts too.

I guess i originally bought a bottle for an oiled wood stock but ended up putting it all over on the barrel & action too.

i would think a carnauba wax would be even better.

probably not so much for the blasted finishes though, the dang wax would get into the texture & turn white, would think it would be tough to buff out of a heavily textured finish.

maybe with a soft bristle brush? i have used a really soft tooth brush to buff wax out of gunstock checkering.

Don't see why it wouldn't work. I have a can of carnuba wax I use for bedding, never thought about waxing my blued rigs for moisture control. Good idea...

I do use some scent free silicone wipes on the blued rigs, but I think I'll give them a wax treatment. I probably wont worry about buffing etc, just let a thin film dry to a haze and wipe it off with a rag.

loder

ya don't want unsightly bikini area hairs on your gun do ya???




i wax the barreled action sometimes with car wax if its going to be wet.

Johnson's paste wax, but it's still second fiddle to ss and fiberglass.

I remove the barreled action & used 2 coats of Helmsman Spar Urethane on the barrel channel and all the inletting. I then wax it twice with Johnson's Paste Wax. I put 2 good coats of Johnson's on the outside as well.

If your rifle is bedded don't get the stuff on the bedding compound. If your bbl. is free floating check to make sure it still is after you apply the everything.

Best,

JM.

i used to put sno seal (the kind you used to use to waterproof leather boots before the days of gore tex). it worked great. just spread it on using a towel. clouded the finish a bit but also rubbed off when you wanted it to

Renaissance wax.

Distant second is Johnson's Paste Wax.

SS/Synthetic trumps either, though.

I use Renaissance Wax as well, and I know a flock of other shooters who recommend it. The original formulation was by the British Museum to treat metals such as armor, weapons, etc...

http://www.restorationproduct.com/

jim

Good old Johnson's Paste wax. It's also a good release agent when you're glass bedding a rifle.

Thanks for the thoughts guys, I am gonna try waxing up the hard to reach metal parts before season gets here.

Butcher's Bowling Alley wax

Oh, for Pete's sake. Lemon Pledge works just fine. These guys will have you mixing up a witch's brew of exotic ingredients. Eye of newt, tongue of bat, blood of a virgin (problem here is - no virgins).

Deer like lemon pledge, mostly because these's no Doe-in-heat-pledge.

O

I heard Turtle Wax was good, but any good auto body wax would probably work. You just want something to get the water to bead up a little.

I still use sno-seal ,it coats nice and slick.
You can use a heat gun or hair drier to warm the gun to make sure it soaks in a bit.
My buddies think it's nuts, too bad for them.

I've used Johnson's and Renaissance and I actually think Turtle Wax works best. I got started using it on my aluminum action benchrest rifle and I noticed it kept the oxidation(black on my hands) at bay longer than the other waxes. I tried it on a few polished blued guns and their stocks. It's harder and resists fingerprints longer than renaissance or scjohnson. Don't use it on matte finishes or you'll have a mess. And don't use any auto wax that's a "cleaner" wax. They are slightly abrasive. My benchrest gun only gets waxed every 6 months or so with Turtle wax and you can't even put a fingerprint on it. Great stuff.

I've never given it much thought, but I can see the benefit now.
The thing is, I like to keep my scent to a minimum, and that includes the rifle. It's for that reason I use some old sewing machine oil I have on my deer rifle; it does not smell much (to me, anyway), and it is high quality schtuff. I'd have to put wax on way before season to let that scent go away.
Maybe next year

I have used car wax - brand not important to me - on all metal parts of my rifle (blued with synthetic stock.) It has prevented rust even for a week of hunting in the rain. I don't buff it off at all. I leave it on, looking cloudy. A rag with Hoppes or kroil takes it right off.