How do you "Weather Proof" your sidearm?

Munkey Butt · Oct 12, 2012

Today i was walking through the walmart parking lot and the liquid sunshine started to fall. This got me a little concerned, so the question popped up. How do i weather proof my carry gun?

So what precautions do you folks take to keep your weapon high and dry?

-PJ

ScottE · Oct 12, 2012

Munkey Butt said:
Today i was walking through the walmart parking lot and the liquid sunshine started to fall. This got me a little concerned, so the question popped up. How do i weather proof my carry gun?

So what precautions do you folks take to keep your weapon high and dry?

-PJ

You will not like my answers, but here we go. 1) carry a Glock, and 2) carry concealed - either of these options, or preferrably both will work well.

Munkey Butt · Oct 12, 2012

ScottE said:
You will not like my answers, but here we go. 1) carry a Glock, and 2) carry concealed - either of these options, or preferrably both will work well.

why glock? what makes it "Weather proof"?

Citizen · Oct 12, 2012

Mine was manufactured weather-proof: stainless steel.

I've had exactly one carbon steel carry gun. Even without rain, just humidity would flash-rust places where the finish was holster worn. The constant oiling and rubbing off flash-rust convinced me to go with stainless steel. With that said, you can probably submerge most modern handguns without harm--as long as you dry them and re-oil them. So, there's the hint. Don't try to weather-proof; just wipe it down afterwards.

ScottE · Oct 12, 2012

Munkey Butt said:
why glock? what makes it "Weather proof"?

I don't know. It's design? It's the most widely used handgun by cops and military. Ask them how well they work in the rain.

Citizen · Oct 12, 2012

Munkey Butt said:
why glock? what makes it "Weather proof"?

Its not. It has plenty of parts that are, for example, the polymer frame and coated slide. But, there are also parts that rust if they get wet. Its just that they are more weather-proof than say blued steel.

acmariner99 · Oct 12, 2012

Simple -- I don't. I also wear a jacket on occasion.

Freedom1Man · Oct 12, 2012

Munkey Butt said:
Today i was walking through the walmart parking lot and the liquid sunshine started to fall. This got me a little concerned, so the question popped up. How do i weather proof my carry gun?

So what precautions do you folks take to keep your weapon high and dry?

-PJ

Since I hunt with steel rifles I prefer using a good synthetic motor oil my favorite is AMSOIL. Use most any weight motor or gear oil they make and apply a lite coating to all the metal surfaces and then use it.

Another option would be to find a good gun paint like Cera coat, duracoat, KG Kote, etc whatever one you like the best.

Maybe get a clear plastic bag to wrap it in. A

As for high and dry in Washington, don't bother with that unless you want to CC.

thebigsd · Oct 12, 2012

Just place your arm over the top of the gun and walk fast. Most guns manufactured today can withstand a little rain and snow. If it does get a little wet just dry it off. I keep a little hand towel in the car for just that purpose.

Steveboos · Oct 12, 2012

ScottE said:
You will not like my answers, but here we go. 1) carry a Glock, and 2) carry concealed - either of these options, or preferrably both will work well.

Extremely Biased and not what the OP was looking for..

Most Modern Polymer Guns can withstand some rain. Unless your carrying some bottom of the barrel Kel-tec or Taurus, your gonna be fine.

Mainsail · Oct 12, 2012

Citizen · Oct 12, 2012

Nice to see you again, Mainsail.

Say, when did you joint the Mounties?

That RCMP tunic looks really sharp.

SovereignAxe · Oct 12, 2012

The only blued guns I have are long guns and my Ruger Mk I. My Walther P99 has the same nitride (or whatever it's called) finish that Glocks do, so I don't worry about it. If I ever decide to carry my Ruger Blackhawk, it's stainless, so I'm not going to worry about it much either. But I do make sure I keep a comfy allocation of CLP on them just in case.

MSG Laigaie · Oct 12, 2012

I carry steel. Most already know, a CZ82 in kydex. After thirty-five years of Military service I have found that cleaning it when soiled always works. I have carried in almost every kind of weather you can imagine and cleaning always been successful for me. I remember carrying a Remington made 1911A1 when I was a young Navy Diver in Vietnam. I used to swim with that pistol and it always worked. My daily carry is still steel and sometimes I clean it just for fun.

WOD · Oct 12, 2012

Hey MB, just noticed you're in my neck of the woods! As for the weather, either keep a dry cloth handy, or, keep it coated in CLP. The other concern is what type of holster do you use. If you use leather, it is just as important to keep your leather dry/protected as well. Wet leather around metal parts can do harm too! Leave a blued gun in a holster in moist conditions and when you pull it out of the holster you can get a shock at how much surface rust can occur. I've seen it also occur with rifles stored in soft cases in moist climates, when not properly coated... not pretty.

tombrewster421 · Oct 12, 2012

WOD said:
Hey MB, just noticed you're in my neck of the woods! As for the weather, either keep a dry cloth handy, or, keep it coated in CLP. The other concern is what type of holster do you use. If you use leather, it is just as important to keep your leather dry/protected as well. Wet leather around metal parts can do harm too! Leave a blued gun in a holster in moist conditions and when you pull it out of the holster you can get a shock at how much surface rust can occur. I've seen it also occur with rifles stored in soft cases in moist climates, when not properly coated... not pretty.

Yeah, my grandpa had some guns stored in soft cases under the bed in a room that he didn't heat anymore. The S&W 12 gauge was coated in rust and rather pitted. Thankfully the bore was still good. I was able to clean it up and re-blue it. It's not a pretty gun anymore but at least it's functional.

WalkingWolf · Oct 12, 2012

If you are using good quality ammo the firearm will function in the rain. You can seal the primer with nail polish or paint. It really is difficult to get water in ammo. The case and primer are pretty much air tight with a factory crimp. I have had cartridges get washed and I tested them and they still fired.

As far as the firearm, dry it and oil it as soon as you are finished with it.

It is safe to warm the handgun to around 100F to help dry out those places you may have a hard time getting to. If a oven is not around the gun after mostly dried can be put in a bag of white rice to help dry it out more. Flash rust is how guns are slow rust blued, stripping all oils and boiling gun in distilled water for 15 minutes will turn the rust into blue. Then buff with a course cloth, oil with gun oil.

Schlepnier · Oct 12, 2012

Its washington, lived here all my life-when the weather is cold and/or rainy i wear a jacket. my choice to OC or CC is soley based on weather- if it is not raining and its warm enough i OC and if it isn't i have a jacket to keep my sidearm dry, and myself warm and dry as well.

Citizen · Oct 12, 2012

Munkey Butt said:
So what precautions do you folks take to keep your weapon high and dry?

Just like my boots, I rub mink oil all over it.

I tried spar varnish, but it gummed things up. And, besides I don't go out on the ocean that much anyway.

Freedom1Man · Oct 12, 2012

WalkingWolf said:
If you are using good quality ammo the firearm will function in the rain. You can seal the primer with nail polish or paint. It really is difficult to get water in ammo. The case and primer are pretty much air tight with a factory crimp. I have had cartridges get washed and I tested them and they still fired.

All your info was really great for this subject. I just wanted to add one thing to this part. You can paint the crimp line with nail polish too if you're paranoid.

How do you "Weather Proof" your sidearm?

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