Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Rifle freezing up

Salt water is destructive for sure, but in general use I don't worry much more about it than I do in regards to the rifle getting wet as a whole. Direct exposure is a whole 'nuther matter entirely. Any dunking or splashing salt exposure demands attention. Generally, in the case of splashing that means hosing the gun down with fresh water or dunking it in a stream. If the rifle gets submerged that means a full take down and dunking in fresh water. These things have happened several times over the years, and is one of the reasons I prefer Connecticut 70s and 77s and QD mounts. The simple, rugged design and easy disassembly of these rifles lessens the likelihood of problems for me around here. Salt water does its most insidious work in little nooks and crannies. The less nooks and crannies your rifle has, and the fewer little bits like springs and parts, the better. The Model 70 has a bit of an advantage because its bolt is easier to disassemble and it's easier to reassemble the rifle to proper torque. I keep witness marks on my action screws so I can snug them back down accurately. This is more difficult with the 77 due to the stupid angled forend screw that needs to be torqued to 95 inch pounds so the stock doesn't split.

Good advice!

Alpine Innovations Gun Slicker. You still want to degrease/Eeezox or similar and then put it in this waterproof cover. Not expensive either.

Tag

Moisture still forms even with slickers on. FWIW. Of course I guide and hunt in stuff at times where you would be safer staying dry in your own shower all day long LOL.

In fact a slicker could create a place for condensation. I've seen mine come out of a rain cover with moisture all over them.

Above posts covered it well.

Personally, all my bolts and triggers are dry, but treated with either Eezox or Corrosion X, both of which dry to the touch and provide some lubrication. But then, I'm not one to needlessly pour dozens or hundreds of rounds down-range. Check zero, go hunting, clean rifle as needed, store until next time (once sighted in and loads determined).

If I did do a lot of shooting, I think I'd use a wet lube.

Atmospheric moisture on the other hand, can cause problems if freezing temps.

I've never experienced it tho, even in my 14 cumulative years of winter-hunting above the Circle.

I use an alcohol based graphite.
So far so good.

But the only salt we have here is the crap they spray on the roads.

Disassemble, clean, degrease and relube with either Break-Free CLP or Eezox. You don't want to be out in cold that would make either of those two fail. All you need is a light film to keep the rusticles away. Let cure for a couple hours, reassemble hunt in the usual manner.

I didn't see it mentioned, but once the firearm gets cold - keep it cold. Like a beer can coming out of the fridge, moisture will condense on a firearm if you bring into the warm. It will literally drip. The outside might dry off over night, but the insides probably won't. That's the water that freezes up the firearm.

I leave the firearm in the truck, outside the tent, on the porch, or wherever it will stay cold. Slip a gun case or sock over the firearm and leave it outside.

I know you can remove the bolt, and, if you still have dexterity in your hands, dangle that bolt by your finger tips in a snowmachine gas tank if one happens to be nearby, and free things up.

thats good on the gas. I probably would have never thought of that one.

My son drew a very hard to get deer tag in Idaho.
After a week of hiking nasty mountains and passing numerous bucks in very cold weather, the moment of truth came on a huge buck .
He squeezed the trigger and nothing happened, he racked every round in the magazine and nothing.
I can still see that buck bouncing away.
All because his firing pin froze.
A hard learned lesson.😖
Great advice here fellas.

was that a 700 type action ? and i bet it was

Good review here despite the usual cat fight.

Happy Thanksgiving to all you clowns.

Got 5 ptarmigan today, though coveys were plentiful. Was -32F in town but not sure up on the hill as my vehicle’s thermometer bottoms out at -22F. Most days I would have limited out but the ‘ol shotgun was basically a single shot, and only fired half the time due to a sluggish firing pin. I degreased everything and applied Eezox the other day to no avail. I am going back to totally degreasing everything and running it dry.

Warmed up to -10F today, so not terribly cold but cold enough to turn anything covered in snow to ice. Had my Kimber 84M .223Rem on my back for about 25 miles on a snowmachine. The snowmachine running boards were totally iced up but the rifle…degreased completely and running raw dog, still went bang and functioned fine.

I disassemble my bolts and spray them down with 99% isopropyl, then apply Dri-Slide to the inside. So far, so good, though usually it doesn’t get that cold here. Outside, I use moly truck bearing grease on the contact surfaces.

Bumping this back up.

Was out in -15F to -18F today with a solid 20 MPH wind. Absolutely frigid and miserable. I got this action cover from a guy who makes them in North Pole. Magnetic closure, that easily rips right off when needed to.

I know folks aren’t keen on covering their action, especially when actively hunting or in bear country and there’s good logic to that, but some conditions just don’t care how well your rifle was winterized. I doubt I’ll use this thing all year but I think it is a good piece of gear for the dead of winter and early spring. It takes just an instant to rip it off if I jump a pack of wolves or whatever else, which is less time than blowing snow out of the action, wiping the fog off lenses, etc. I’ve lost opportunities because of that more than once.



This is what the conditions were all damn day, checking traps. I snowshoed for about 3 miles and was on my snowmachine for about 25 miles in this crap, with the rifle slung. The action and scope lenses were 100% clean under the cover and fully functional.


Just an option…

That would be handy when guiding on the Alaska Peninsula beaches. A small wind can pack the action tight with blowing silt or volcanic ash.

"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."

So true. My rifle stays in an unheated garage, and when I travel it rides in the back of the truck. Never let it get above 32F.