If you’ve hunted long enough, you’re likely to have encountered a surprise rainstorm during the hunt. Whether you’re walking to your blind or treestand, set up on a trophy buck, or hauling your harvest back to your vehicle, exposure to rain can do significant damage to your gun. The National Wild Turkey Federation offers tips for hunters who want to treat their firearms with TLC, but are too tough to be deterred by a storm.
“Beautiful walnut grain and lustrous blue steel is no competition to moisture. Moisture maliciously opens the grain of unprotected wood, ravages the fit of wood to metal and deviously erodes even the hardest of blue steel. Left unattended, a $1,000 shotgun or rifle can be degraded in a matter of weeks and require costly repairs. Why would anyone subject firearms to this torture? Because we’re hunters, and hunters are not afraid of getting a little wet or dirty experiencing the hunt to its fullest.”
Check out these helpful tips for gun maintenance before, during, and after your hunt.
Photo by: Danny Snape
