Question on condensation?

[boomer92266]

My wife got me a Ruger American in 308 this past Valentines Day and I put a Bushnell scope on it, set it and it is a tack driver. Now deer season in on here in Kentucky and we have a cold one going on, daily temps in 30's mostly to low 40's, mornings in upper teens to low 20's. I came in today from hunting and my gun soon had water all over it, I kept wiping and wiping with a dry cloth till it was dry. I then wiped it back down with oil and ran a oil patch down the bore. Now for my questions, do I need to remove the action from the stock daily and clean inside too? or can that wait till after the 16 day season. Today I only wiped it back down and did not do a complete takedown from the stock. Thanks for any help.

 

[TestEngineer]

Condensation happens when you place a cold object in a warm, relatively humid environment.

If it were me, I'd leave the cased rifle in a dry place that's not much warmer than outside. In the truck, garage, covered porch, or somewhere similar. Then when deer season ends, bring it in and uncase it. Set it near a furnace duct or in front of a fan so air circulates and warms it to room temperature as quickly as reasonably possible. Then wipe it down and clean it if you fired it. Don't forget to let the case air out good at that time also.

 

[recumbent]

Condensation happens when you place a cold object in a warm, relatively humid environment.

If it were me, I'd leave the cased rifle in a dry place that's not much warmer than outside. In the truck, garage, covered porch, or somewhere similar. Then when deer season ends, bring it in and uncase it. Set it near a furnace duct or in front of a fan so air circulates and warms it to room temperature as quickly as reasonably possible. Then wipe it down and clean it if you fired it. Don't forget to let the case air out good at that time also.

I would remove the stock too.

 

[Dan in MI]

One SHORT TERM trick I use is leave the gun in the case to acclimate slowly. This usually prevents the condensation from forming.

 

[Johnnu2]

When I used to camp for a week or two in the mountains; left my rifle hanging upside down from a tree limb to avoid condensation in the 'warm' tent....
To answer your question, YES, I would take it out of the stock and get'er lubed... wherever water meets steel, there will be rust

J.

 

[contender]

Your gun will have moisture in places you can't see or get to easily,, until it's too late.

As noted above, take apart, clean & dry & lube.
Reassemble & re-check the zero.

Then for future use,,here's my procedure.
I take my preferred firearm out of the house when the temps outside are similar to my temp inside. It goes in my truck. It stays in my truck or with me all during the season, without being subjected to extreme temp swings that cause condensation. Luckily, I live in a rural area, and I can leave it in the truck, locked & hidden, w/o worry.

But if that's not an option, when it's apart, and clean & dry, to lube it,, a good preservative grease such as RIG in a thin coating applied in all the places you can get (such as under the stock etc,) to would be recommended. Wiping down the exterior with RIG is also recommended. Condensation can & will get into the tiniest places.

 

[Mobuck]

I NEVER take hunting guns inside during cold weather unless a complete strip and clean is required.

 

[beentheredone]

Do whatever you feel most comfortable with. I have two 336's that I have used extensively over the past 20 years, in all sorts of weather conditions. Both have been repeatedly drenched in rain, as well as moistened regularly by condensation. I wipe them down after each use, but in those 20+ years not once has either one been disassembled for cleaning beyond removing the bolt. And neither one has a speck of rust...

 

[dweis]

The best way to avoid condensation is to keep warm air from getting in direct contact with the surfaces of the gun. I found a simple way to do that decades ago when Indid a lot of winter hiking and camping. I get into the house and my pistol would be be coated with water in minutes. A friend of mine, an engineer, suggested that I filly wrap the gun in plastic wrap like SaraWrap while outside. Then bring it inside. I did that and the cold gun did draw moisture out of the air, but it was all over the plastic wrap. After an hour I wiped the moisture off with a towel, peeled away the wrap, and the gun was dry.

 

[Mobuck]

I brought the 6.5 in for a cleanup before changing from common jacketed bullets to all copper bullets for the elk hunt. I waited until the sun was fairly warm and laid the rifle on the picnic table for 15-20 minutes to warm it up. Just a few minutes in the sun and not a drop of condensation when I took it downstairs for cleaning.

 

[boomer92266]

Thanks everyone, I took the action out of the stock just to be safe and dried and oiled. I guess I will have to do this when I hunt because I have no out building to store it and am afraid to leave it in my car even tho I live in a very rural area. I wasn't able to check zero after the takedown till this morning when a nice doe came into my back yard. At about 80 yards the American 308 placed the shot perfect where I aimed, she never knew what hit her. I have went and bought Barricade and some grease as well as wax to help till end of season which is 12 days more. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[buckeyeshooter]

I leave my rifle out on the porch in Kentucky gun season when it goes down in the 30's. If you do not warm it up, you will not have water all over it. Then after the season (or my tags are full), I tear it all the way down and clean it up. My Ruger 77r 30-06 was bought new in 1982 and hunted with, still looks new. Top 1983 77 tropical 458, middle 1981 77r .338wm and 77r 30-06 1982.