Dear all,

yesterday, I was on a driven boar hunt and had a group of several boar just 5 m in front of me, but ...

... the firing pin and the trigger had frozen up

It is a Surgeon action. could anyone give me advice on what to use to keep things moving?

many thanks

Degrease all bolr and trigger parts and then use any type of dry lube. There are various ones. Don't know what is available to you. They go on wet but the liquid evaporates leaving a slippery film but no oil to slow things down when it gets cold. You could try to find Remington DriLube or you could also use Hornady One Shot case lube. The case lube is designed for resizing cases for reloading but is also a decent dry lubricant. If you cannot find those or something similar you could use powder graphite but it is hard to keep where you want it.

CLP Brakefree

Dryslide, or dry moly.

quote:

Originally posted by McStern:
Dear all,

yesterday, I was on a driven boar hunt and had a group of several boar just 5 m in front of me, but ...

... the firing pin and the trigger had frozen up

It is a Surgeon action. could anyone give me advice on what to use to keep things moving?

many thanks

When you say "frozen up" do you mean like from the cold or did it jam?

Lighter fluid for trigger. Rem oil might work on bolt.

many thanks,

will try break free, as I already have that.

Re frozen: when I put the bolt into my trouser pocket and the shaft with trigger beneath my down jacket for a couple of minutes, things worked again. But after 10 more minutes, nothing moved. I expect that there was some "moisture" within the bolt and trigger...

Will update, as soon as it gets to minus 10 degrees centigrade again...

If it ever warms UP to -10 C here again it would be nice!

I've been using Prolix with good sucess. It goes on wet and dries while providing good lube.

I also use it as the last patch swab through in my barrel after cleaning and I've had no fliers with my first shots from the cleaned barrel.

Good stuff.

Good luck.

De-grease completetly and if -10C is as cold as it gets break free is fine, but after application wipe it down as if you are trying to get it all off. When it is going to be really cold here like for calling at night for predators, I remove all of the lube and everything and then keep the rifle outside until the full moon is over. This stops condensation, and all works well and we've hunted around Bemidji MN on nights that were 35 to 45 below 0 F. Then bring it in and re-lube and hope the next time out it's not so cold.

I agree 100% with Quintus on this.

If as the OP suspects there is moisture inside the bolt, dry lubes will do nothing to help. He needs to keep the bolt dry in cold weather. I've hunted small game in -25F weather and had no gun problems, but rain before the temp dropped to just 20F would stiffen things up.......

In cold weather I run zero lube on the entire firing mechanism.

I also occassionally raise and lower the bolt handle to keep things moving.

A complete degreasing and then good old (available, and cheap) Rem Oil. The oil will work when subjected to -80 F. Use the aerosol version, and do not forget to shake the can. The half micron teflon particles abet lubrication.

McStern,

What you are experiencing is something seen in a lot of very high precision actions from various manufacturers. The tight tolerances don't support dust, ice, etc. as well as an action that is not so precisely engineered with such tight tolerances. Accuracy International had issues with their rifles in Northern Europe where it gets really cold and modified their actions to support use in extreme ice conditions. You may find some lubrication and cleaning advice in those military trials.

What may work best for you is to completely remove all oils, grease, water, etc. and try a completely dry action when it is that cold. With as much precision in manufacturing as the Surgeon action, you should get a smooth bolt throw, trigger, and firing pin strike with NO LUBRICATION. For warmer hunts, use a light weight oil or dry film.

I agree with Sid. If you arent going to have a lot of firings then you can just remove all the lubes and oils. Browning used to recommend this for the A5 shotgun hunting in cold weather.

You can also go the G-96 site and read some tests on lubes - used to be a link there anyway. I think Shooters Choice also did well in these tests and the G96 and SC were used by the Canadian Mounties.

One thing to be careful of that I have seen in very cold weather duck and goose hunting is that keeping the gun inside the house or lodge (as stated above) can get some condensation inside the action which freezes later.

Find out what the military uses and use that
because it would have been tested to the nth degree.

Corrosion Block, a NASA by product. Apply, then wipe dry for a one molecule protective, lubricating layer. Also prevents rust better than any product; and No, I do not own this company.

Try this stuff
http://www.eezox.com/gun-care.html
I use it and it works well - spray or drip can

quote:

Originally posted by airgun1:
In cold weather I run zero lube on the entire firing mechanism.

I also occassionally raise and lower the bolt handle to keep things moving.

+1
I disassemble the entire bolt and degrease all mating parts, then reassemble dry.

I don't hunt in extreme cold. If I did I would do as Sid reccomends. Clean out all lube and leave it dry. If there is no lube it can't stiffen up and freeze up the action.
I would also reccomend leaving the rifle out in the cold. Bringing it in where it's warm leads to condensation that will freeze when it goes back out in the cold. The few shots you take while hunting won't hurt the unlubed parts.
When it gets back up to reasonable temps then lube the rifle.