Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Rifle freezing up

Who sh*t in your coffee this morning, Mainer?

Thanks all for the input. I think I'll designate one or two in the stable to clean all the grease off and be my actually cold weather sticks. Probably sew up a cover that can slip on over the bolt and action area.

Always keep your guns oiled to prevent the start of rust, just hose down with Brakleen right before going out into the freeze, stuff eats up all the oil and dries pretty quick, keep a can on hand if possible, will blast away and unlock a frozen action/trigger/ etc.

Jewel triggers are like fine watches but tend to freeze up in sub zero temps with any kind of oily product, my solution was to blast them clean and run them naked during the hunt and oil up after, rinse & repeat

Don't Diddy up yo gun in da cold mang ! no lube

I've had a trigger freeze up partially in wet snowy conditions just below freezing. It still worked just barely, but the trigger pull felt very strange. It was a Rem 700 trigger so not the most robust for those conditions.

Use oils that don't freeze or coagulate in the temps you hunt in. That helps a lot.

Brakleen isn't a lubricant. It works for spraying down parts, to get rid of schidt lubricants, then you can lube with something like EEZOX, or even Rem oil. Some guys us lighter fluid as well, as it has more lubricating factors than Brakleen has.. Just sayin..

I've had guns freeze up a couple of times and they both resulted in bucks living another day. Coastal AK is different than the interior. Heavy, wet snowstorm at sea level and then climbing up to 1,500 ft will cause problems regardless of how much brake cleaner and graphite you spray all over the place. Coldest I've ever hunted on the coast is around + 10 F

Biggest mistake I see is guys wanting to bring their guns in the heated cabin overnight - they will get condensation on them when they go back out in the cold in the morning. I leave my s/s rifles on the porch under the eaves overnite after toweling off all the surface moisture.

Swamplord, I appreciate the clarification. Will do.

I was hunting grouse near circle hot springs years ago with a 22 rossi pump.
It was cold, damn cold, minus 40 cold.

On skis, pulled the trigger and the hammer oozed forward like it was stuck in molasses.

Quite comical actually, that was years ago, if its cold, run it dry and keep it cold.

Lighter fluid is not a bad way to go.

Correct ... Brakleen is not a lubricant ... and that is the entire point ... You don't want the oil .... All oil/petroleum based lubricants tend to turn into a thick oozing gel at extreme temps on steel, enough to gum up your trigger, firing pin, spring etc ... & screw up your hunt, I've lost a couple nice reds & a big gray because of gun oils

imagine hunting wolves in Nov/Dec and running into a 9 ft brownie that wasn't in bed yet cause he was hangry ?

Run it clean & dry during the hunt, can always slop it up with your choice of grease after

BTW, Rem Shotgun Cleaner works good too, just not as readily available as the Brakleen that is found in all the auto care stores, Wal Mart & Fred Meyers

First step is dumping the POS Kimber!

Some very good advice so far. When I asked what model of rifle we're talking about here it was because some designs are much less prone to problems such as what you had. Military trigger mausers, New Haven Model 70s, and Ruger 77s are much more reliable than any rifle featuring a box design trigger. But even with those good designs you still need to have the rifle properly cleaned and lubricated. Bolts which can be easily stripped in the field are also very good.

Kimbers are nice in several respects, but to my mind their triggers keep them from being really good options in any icing or silt-laden environments. I don't take my Adirondack out in such conditions. I'd forgo the idea about making some sort of cover for the action and just use a proper rifle for the conditions you're in or likely to encounter. A cover is a great way to miss a chance at a deer or not be able to bring your rifle into action on a bear.

Muskeg Man is spot on with his point about SE being different. Below freezing temps with our high humidity will cause problems differently than the plain old sheer cold of the interior. Down here, our stuff is very likely to have some sort of wetness to it going into freezing temps, such as the elevation changes that Muskeg points out. When parts on a SE gun are coated with water and then get cold the actual problem is icing. This moisture is different in its effect than the up north guys get. Up there it's generally more dry and the problem is many lubricants gum up in the cold.

One huge issue that's generally ignored is you should, at least yearly, do a full tear down of your rifle to clean, inspect, and lubricate it. This gets out all the bits of muskeg and spruce/hemlock needles, addresses any issues you might have beforehand, and provides you with peace of mind. We're using our rifles in some very difficult conditions and around some legit predators that kill or maim people annually. Treat your rifle like your life depends on it, because it does. If you don't like this, move.

I find that I want some sort of lubricant/rust preventative on the innards of my rifles. Over the last 20-some years I've settled on the use of RIG, rem oil, and shooters choice grease. The portions of the barrel and action hidden in the stock get a light coat of RIG. The firing pin spring gets a light slurry of rem oil and shooters choice grease. The trigger assembly gets a light coat of rem oil. Rem oil is nice because it works in our temps and it gradually evaporates away but leaves a coating of sorts that continues to lubricate and protect without collecting crap. Mind you, this is what I do with a 70 or 77. The kimber I just try to keep clean and refuse to trust in challenging conditions.

You have to look at this practically. People who live in other places, that lack dynamic weather or large predators can afford to dick off with substandard rifle designs. You cannot. You live in SEAK and need to equip yourself for success and safety.

Well I fugged up. Two weekends ago the grandson lined up his sights on his first deer. He pulled the trigger and nothing.
I whispered to cock the gun which he did and again nothing. The third time I watched the striker do a slow slide forward. Crap!!! I grabbed my rigle off my shoulder and handed it to him as I took his. He layed it in the Bog death grip and squeezed the trigger BOOM the rifle barked and deer ran. Shot was high. We searched for blood and none was found.
Remington 722 257 roberts 41 degree weather. When I got home I pulled the bolt apart and it was gummed up. I disassembled the bolt soaked the parts polished up the firing pin and reassembled the bolt and shot it to check his zero.
Hopefully this weekend he will take his first deer . Pretty proud of this 12 year old kid, he stayed calm throughout the whole ordeal. I knew he was frustrated but didn’t let it show too much. He did say he wanted his first to be wth the Roberts since his mom used it to kill her first with it. So I guess that was the silver lining in the miss

"The big thing is to keep it dry. When I hunted in extremely cold weather a lot, once I got my gun good and clean I didn't take it back into a warm house or camp; leave it in the vehicle, outbuilding, wherever. No matter what you do for cleaning/lube you won't stop condensation from occurring and that will freeze."

AMEN! I keep my rifle in an unheated garage in the winter, and if I'm driving somewhere, it rides in the truck bed or in the back seat covered with blankets so it never rises above 32F.

Why do you feel the need to be such a jerk? Your fouil language and attitude impresses no one. He asked a legitimate question and is getting advice from those who KNOW. It is not his fault for others answering to help out. That is what this place is all about. Pro's helping rookies.

Jim

Coastal AK is a different animal. Not necessarily tougher, just different. Then throw saltwater into the mix…..

He said.. brake cleaner to clean oil. Then oil when done. Never heard anyone think that brake cleaner was anything more than a solvent.

Most that have been in really cold temps have found there is no such thing. Normal temps yes. But while there are some good oils that don't freeze, they do gel up. I have yet to see a way around the issue other than run it dry.

Having every part you can get salt bath nitrided helps a lot also. If you are hunting in these types of conditions.

I have also seen some idiots here tell folks to take their rifle apart every night in the wet cold tent and degrease, allow to dry, then lube lightly again. Every night. They don't live in the real world though. That could require me to take apart a rifle 60 days in a row at times. And then have to assume the gun is still on zero when I desperately need it the most to prevent loss of game or loss of life...

I use an old synthetic sock as a scope/action cover, I cut a slit in it just enough to slip over my scope and cover my action, been doing this for years, showed a few others and now they do the same, works good with rifle hanging on your shoulder too.

Do you feel the salt down there has any affect on the need or lack thereof for lube on moving parts, as opposed to running things dry in the cold? I have hunted Afognak but not when below freezing. I have however hunted near the Arctic Ocean in well below freezing temps, and weird things were happening, though my dry lubed rifle fired just fine.

The coldest temp I have hunting in (Maine ) was ~-15' F. I degreased my two hunting rifles (Marlin 336a 30-30, and Win m70 Extreme Weather 30-06), and lubed with Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO). I rubbed "lead" from a #2 pencil (which is graphite, a dry lube), on the m70's lugs, bolt body and action rails prior to applying MMO.

"Lubed" the trigger body with lighter fluid.

Worked fine.