Water ingress

[captainhastings]

What is the preferred wildfowling gun type semi o,u or sxs etc. I have the hatsan semo and every outing where its all ways lashing down. The whole gun is soaked through including the trigger mech. I have not tried one but assume the other two types being more sealed don't suffer as bad and the trigger mech is relatively sealed up?
I have been stripping it down and drying but was out yesterday it got soaked. Cleaned and dried and then in the after thought lets go for a walk and soaked it again. Plus for robustness I am guessing the semi is the least ideal ?

 

[Old farrier]

Whatever you shoot wildfowling loads through the best 😊

iv a semi auto and a pump both with plastic (synthetic) stocks for wet muddy trips 

usually open the breech and stick them in a hot shower for ten minutes when I get back from the foreshore then strip and clean 

the over and under or the side by side are just dried and then stripped and cleaned unless they have been subjected to a lot of salt water 

 

[Smokersmith]

Semi-auto's are normally pretty 'strippable' .. which means there's no place that saltwater can linger and do it's worst.

With an O/U or sbs, I'd be a little concerned if I got dunked that the action would need to be got to ..

[MARSH GUN]

Side by sides and over and under are not generaly stripped unless its had a proper soaking or ytou are wanting to service it.

Semi autos pumps and bolt actions are designed in most cases to be practical field stripped, and this means in most cases when these guns are used in bad conditions its much easier to keep them properly maintained.

Any double gun can get debris in the bite or barrel flats breach face any slight debris there can render the gun unusable, there is not enough clearance in the moving parts to allow any dirt in there.

 Any gun any type needs consideration on the marsh try to keep it dry and out the filth if you can, semis with there plastic stocks wont need the care a oil finnished wood stock would need but its better to avoid any wet where possible, a gun slip flicked over the gun out the mud when its raining can save a lot of drying and time when you get home try and avoid filth and water if you can common sense.

 

[sam triple]

I’ve got a Hatsan that I take wildfowling took it apart yesterday and gave it a good clean bits of debris in action and a small amount of surface rust good clean up and lube and it’s good to go ,I bought it cos it was cheap easy to strip where as I doubt a lot of SxS or O/U have their stocks taken off and given a good clean like this ,2 pins knocked out to get to trigger mech  is about as easy as it gets 

[Townie]

I was in a gunshop one day when they were stripping a semi that had packed up. The trigger mechanism was solid with muck. They squirted with a degreaser and most of it fell off immediately. A quick job that’s well worth doing.

[captainhastings]

I will admit the semi is easy to  strip but in normal rain I couldn't imagine a side by side getting much if any water into that section. I bet most of them in the country have been out in all sorts and rarely if ever been stripped down.

Obviously you drop it in the drink that is a different problem 

[figgy]

That's why when they are stripped down after breaking the insides are a rusty mess. Water will still get in. 

After game shooting in rain I've dried my gun off then stripped the stock off to find small droplets of water in the action. Quick blast of WD40 dry off then light oiling on pins.

Semi is much easier, barrel off trigger group out, blast with WD40 wipe off and dry, relube and back together. Designed for the harsh environments we use them in.

[captainhastings]

Yep make sense 

[MARSH GUN]

4 hours ago, captainhastings said:

I will admit the semi is easy to  strip but in normal rain I couldn't imagine a side by side getting much if any water into that section. I bet most of them in the country have been out in all sorts and rarely if ever been stripped down.

Obviously you drop it in the drink that is a different problem 

Out of all the guns in the wet and filth  semi autos or pumps are the most practical from a keeping clean m\maintenance point of view.

Water gets everywhere in any gun, leaving it is a breeding ground for rust and problems even safety problems.

Doubles that might get around this are not often encountered in wildfowling, they would be detachable lock side locks. these can be cleaned much eassier than your typical box lock double.

  Hammer guns with underleaver are pretty full prof in the filth the lug is manual keep the lugs clean and sevice the locks and they take the filth and a good reason why many of the old fowling guns were made this way.

Once you start with top tang on a hammer gun or box lock its where dirt water can get in thankfully most are leaf spring driven so rust on the spring is less of a problem than say with a coil spring in that respect. but looked at from another angle a coil spring will often work to some extent when broken.

Hammer guns can be checked relatively easy compared to the typical box locks, and most OUs can by removing the stock give some access to clean the inertia  cocking mechanism, and free up the dreaded top tang safetey catches, the safety catch is often the first thing to get stiff on box locks water here seems to get in much easier than oil it has to be said.

  Keep guns well oiled move oil about with your thumb try and help with rust, But best to try and keep any gun out the weather if you can.

 Stripping a semi or pump after a wet muddy day happens routenely, but doubles No they get taken apart you get where you can, perhaps even get some oil into the rib section stop rust in there, but other than that it probably wont get fully stripped.

 water will get in and can cause trouble. same with semi autos, those with back tube bolt springs , get water filth down the back tube rust and spring errosion happens back there on neglected guns, the semi autos that have the bolt spring around the magazine are eassier to clean completely and the spring itself checked and lubricated to stop and weakening.

Pumps are the same in this respect. So your maxus SX3s Benellis Rem 1100s with b ack tube bolt springs, are needing extra attention, the hatsans franchis and baikals are amongst the guns with the around mag spring bolt springs. less fuss to keep going in bad conditions.  Rotary bolts on Benellis some other inertia guns and Winchester ranger 120 1200 1300 and SXP can be a trouble when the going gets rough. a Lug in top tanh lock up is field stripable and less complex fewer moving parts, which help keep things going and easy to maintain.  I think semi and pump myself. if its bad weather or bad conditions.

You do not need very much mud in an action on a double to render it broke down, and if its down in the bite or on the barrel lugs it might not be as easy as you think to get out. Often with a semi or pump there is enough inbuilt slack in the mechanisum, to clear it relatively easy. barrel off perhaps trigger group out all feasable options on a gun slip on a dry piece of grass on the marsh, not so much possible with a double.

 

[captainhastings]

Well when you put it like that being able to access every thing on the hatsan makes it sound like the tool for the job. Thanks for clearing that up

[henry d]

Had an 11-87 and an Xtrema 2 and prefered either of them to my 686 OU for wildfowling. Much easier to use, to strip and to lubricate.

[Vince Green]

Having done most of my 'duck hunting' in the States I am convinced that the only suitable shotgun is a pump. More for safety than anything else. You can carry it on an empty chamber but still load it in a second when you need to. Also once fired it is safe till you cycle it. So you can put it down on the floor of the boat (in USA) or hide or lean it somewhere. . Both important considerations in a muddy hole in the dark with cold hands trying to retrieve a duck. As for water, the internals are more or less open to the air anyway, unlike a sxs or o/u  The water goes in but it comes out again just as easily.

If god hadn't wanted us to use a pump he wouldn't have invented WD40 or Plus Gas in aerosol sprays.

On the subject of extreme water ingress. When I lived in West Africa in the late 70s I used to go swimming in the sea with my CZ75 9mm pistol fully loaded in a button down holster round my waist. The reason was I would not be so ******  stupid as to leave it on the beach with my towel and flip flops.

Back on land, grips off, mag out, slide off  and put it all on the floor of the shower while I showered. After the shower, immerse bits in a bowl of clean water followed by an ice cream tub of meths and out to dry. An Hour later, spray everything with plus gas, dry with an old towel and back  in the holster.   

Edited November 12, 2019 by Vince Green