Wildfowling SxS cleaning

[Scrimshanker]

Just after any tips wildfowlers have to protect a boxlock before going out on the foreshore and when cleaning on your return. What products you recommend and what extent do you clean your SxS.

[enfieldspares]

Clean the "gutters" that is the deep valley between the bottom of the top rib and where it meets the barrels. This is where corrosion can start to cause the top rib to detach from the barrel. Good old fashioned vaseline...or even lard...is good for greasing the gutters before going out. And, as with bicycles never use household washing up liquid to clean (or lubricate an inner tube) as it contains salt.

[sam triple]

What club have you joined ? I’d ask one of their members who use one but I’d say a light coat of oil on barrels before going out and a good clean off everything on your return , end of season strip down and clean internals 

[Goldfish]

@Scrimshanker use a cheap old gun you can shoot but don't love then do what @enfieldsparessays.

for me - On return lay it in the bath with 3 inches of warm water and swill all the mud and salt off it then dry it and oil it, god bless the airing cupboard!!!!

Use it or a year, destroy it then realise a Benelli SuperNova is the gun you need or at least a gun with chrome linings and as much plastic as you can tolerate!

Edited October 12, 2022 by Goldfish

[Dave at kelton]

A big roll of blue towel and thoroughly wipe off water and muck before you dry off the bores. Allow the gun to warm up and then a thorough clean down, scrub out and re oil. Depending how long before your next trip just check for any rust on bits you have missed. As long as you haven’t dropped it in mud or water no reason why it should suffer unduly but don’t expect it to remain pristine.

as above a little light grease can help before you go out but I don’t bother.

[enfieldspares]

One of the real (and well enough known) advantages of the Beesley action used by Purdey is there are no (as large) slots in the "knuckle" of the action as on a gun using Southgate ejectors.

So water ingress into the action through those cut outs is minimised. Now most can't afford a Purdey and, even  if they could, probably wouldn't take it out on the marsh. So again some good applications of vaseline on the knuckle to at least try and "seal" it as much as possible. Which won't be a lot but better than leaving the knuckle ungreased.

That solid knuckle is, of course, also a feature of the common or garden side by side hammer gun! And that the locks can be taken off (with care) a hammer gun. So in many ways maybe a good old BAIKAL hammer gun may be also an answer?

Edited October 12, 2022 by enfieldspares

[London Best]

I used a box lock gun on the foreshore for twenty five years and only used the same cleaning regime as I used every time I shot the gun inland.
That is to say, I cleaned it and dried it properly every time it went out. If it was covered in mud I would wash in warm water, dry with plenty of kitchen roll and leave it overnight in a warm place, airing cupboard or near a radiator. Take kitchen/blue roll with you and, if the gun is wet, dry it as soon as you leave the marsh. As others have said, I would give the gun a coat of oil before going on the marsh. 

[enfieldspares]

Last, from me, the WORST enemy of any gun is putting it damp into a gunslip (or a guncase) and forgetting that you've now got a damp gun IN A NOW DAMP GUNSLIP. Get it out of that gunslip asap and the first chance you get as well as sorting out the gun sort out the gunslip.

Edited October 12, 2022 by enfieldspares

[Scrimshanker]

Thank you all for the tips and advice! Clean with no detergents and plain warm water.

I need to get some extra blue roll and vaseline. Is Legia decent enough to oil? 

 

14 hours ago, sam triple said:

What club have you joined ? I’d ask one of their members who use one but I’d say a light coat of oil on barrels before going out and a good clean off everything on your return , end of season strip down and clean internals 

Hi Sam I have joined Langstone, they were happy to accept my late application and are being very helpful. Just wanted to gather as much info to keep the gun in as best condition I can.   

[London Best]

10 hours ago, enfieldspares said:

Last, from me, the WORST enemy of any gun is putting it damp into a gunslip (or a guncase) and forgetting that you've now got a damp gun IN A NOW DAMP GUNSLIP. Get it out of that gunslip asap and the first chance you get as well as sorting out the gun sort out the gunslip.

And above all listen to this!

Very, very important advice indeed, and often forgotten.

[sam triple]

52 minutes ago, Scrimshanker said:

Thank you all for the tips and advice! Clean with no detergents and plain warm water.

I need to get some extra blue roll and vaseline. Is Legia decent enough to oil? 

 

Hi Sam I have joined Langstone, they were happy to accept my late application and are being very helpful. Just wanted to gather as much info to keep the gun in as best condition I can.   

Ok good luck this season 

[Westley]

I am NOT normally one who 'must' use gun products on guns and I went Wildfowling for a number of years.  I used a rag soaked in clean car engine oil (GTX) to wipe down the external metalwork,  and still do. However I have succumbed to advertising and have purchased a can of Pro Ferrum gun, you name it, it does it,  oil  !  I have yet to try it, but if it does as it says on the tin, then it should be ideal for use on a wildflowers gun.

[old'un]

silicone oil, spray, grease, highly water proof on metal and wood.

[PeterHenry]

22 hours ago, Westley said:

I am NOT normally one who 'must' use gun products on guns and I went Wildfowling for a number of years.  I used a rag soaked in clean car engine oil (GTX) to wipe down the external metalwork,  and still do. However I have succumbed to advertising and have purchased a can of Pro Ferrum gun, you name it, it does it,  oil  !  I have yet to try it, but if it does as it says on the tin, then it should be ideal for use on a wildflowers gun.

I've not used it re salt water, but that pro ferrum stuff is miraculous for cleaning barrels, and isn't supposed to damage woodwork either. The cans also seems to last a while, which is good considering the price.

[Dave at kelton]

On 12/10/2022 at 21:31, enfieldspares said:

Last, from me, the WORST enemy of any gun is putting it damp into a gunslip (or a guncase) and forgetting that you've now got a damp gun IN A NOW DAMP GUNSLIP. Get it out of that gunslip asap and the first chance you get as well as sorting out the gun sort out the gunslip.

Spot on to which I would add the gunslip can accumulate grit from the shore. So, make sure you get a fully zipped slip that you can open, clean and dry!

[aberisle]

I made myself up a batch of "Eds Red" and it makes a great job of cleaning and protecting the gun.

[Westley]

6 hours ago, PeterHenry said:

I've not used it re salt water, but that pro ferrum stuff is miraculous for cleaning barrels, and isn't supposed to damage woodwork either. The cans also seems to last a while, which is good considering the price.

Thanks for that. I have ordered it via the local gunshop, so we shall see.

[Velocette]

7 hours ago, aberisle said:

I made myself up a batch of "Eds Red" and it makes a great job of cleaning and protecting the gun.

Me too, its remarkable stuff ! I have never seen so much muck come off both the outside and inside of my barrels. The outside I could understand up to a point as they have been anointed with Renaissance Wax for ages which may have got grubby but still protected. It was the black dirt from within barrels that surprised me despite previously cleaning with traditional tools and products. I still don't think that Fibre Eley Pigeon Select are a particularly dirty cartridge but "Eds Red" certainly shifts whatever it there.

[Diabolo]

Never use WD40, it's a penetrating oil and can get into the brazed joints and cause separation. I was told this by Cecil at the Gun and Tackle shop Whaplode who had in a Perazzi where the top rib had come adrift.

Steve

[harrycatcat1]

53 minutes ago, Diabolo said:

Never use WD40, it's a penetrating oil and can get into the brazed joints and cause separation. I was told this by Cecil at the Gun and Tackle shop Whaplode who had in a Perazzi where the top rib had come adrift.

Steve

My gun has had nothing else but wd40 for the last 40 years, I'm not saying your man is wrong but my gun is still pristine 👍

[Docleo]

1 hour ago, harrycatcat1 said:

My gun has had nothing else but wd40 for the last 40 years, I'm not saying your man is wrong but my gun is still pristine 👍

I spray some WD40 on barrel/action of my gun before taking it out on the foreshore.. No issues so far, and keeps the rust away (of course the gun is then stripped and cleaned after the flight). 

[greenshank1]

I think the previous comments about the gun slip are key . I have been using a rifle slip as it’s wider and most of my shooting is on rocky seaweed so the extra width allows me to lay the gun down but not come into contact with sea weed and rocks. 
I have used WD40 and it seems to do the trick , I have also used Legia spray and it seems grand but expensive .

[fandango]

Used to give the guns a rub down with a Vaseline before going out, then a good wipe down after coming back and a oil/clean with Ed’s red, this was also done when storing them for next season….now use ACF-50 which does a pretty good job.

[Stimo22]

13 hours ago, Diabolo said:

Never use WD40, it's a penetrating oil and can get into the brazed joints and cause separation. I was told this by Cecil at the Gun and Tackle shop Whaplode who had in a Perazzi where the top rib had come adrift.

Steve

WD40 would not affect a brazed joint, been using it in all sorts of engineering projects for years. There must have been a problem with the joint 

[old'un]

14 minutes ago, Stimo22 said:

WD40 would not affect a brazed joint, been using it in all sorts of engineering projects for years. There must have been a problem with the joint 

WD40 will not harm your gun, been using for years it on all my guns, but for 100% water proofing the outside of my guns I use this...https://www.toolstation.com/wd-40-specialist-silicone/p89943?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid=_dc&pcrid=&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=CjwKCAjw-rOaBhA9EiwAUkLV4uSeEsUne3p_b4gmlC01-VWvFN42NXa5cb5Tpo9sthbWUDW07owDRxoCnT0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds