Every deer season I hunt in the catskills of NY ,where the tempeture can be anywhere from 40 down to zero or below.. But every season its cold enough so that when you get back to the cabin at the end of the day and bring in your rifle it sweats so much you have to wait a while till the steel warms and wipe it down and patch the bore. I worry about the areas i cant get to that might rust. Hear comes the question can i keep the rifle out on the porch all week. We are 2 miles into the back country so theres no problem of theft. What do you guys do.

I have allways kept my rifle outdoors for the entire week at camp for the same reason you mentioned. The only rust that occured was when I managed to put deep scratches in the blueing. I have seen wood stocked rifles crack from going from cold, wet weather to warm, dry wood stove heated cabins.

Wipe it down and lock it in the car trunk, uncased -- if, it is dry.

If wet from a dowsing in the rain, you've got to wipe it down inside and out with a dry and then a lightly oiled rag, and let it dry out overnight indoors in an area with good air circulation -- but not in a overly heated area.

1b

Tanoose,

Here in Kansas we can get large swings in temps during deer season. Like the others post have noted, I keep my rifle outside during the entire hunt. It is in a hard case locked in the cab of the truck at night. Keep a sharp eye out for moisture and deal with it accordingly.

Kind regards
Carl

Thanks guys i think this year i will leave it out all week. good luck this year later Tanoose

Like the other posts have indicated, I always keep my rifle outside during hunting season till my tags are filled locked in my unheated garage in a safe I keep out there just for that purpose. I hate seeing condensation form on a rifle and the optics. Same with the ammo I use. The action and barrel on my rifles are stainless and coated with baked on teflon gun coating so I don't worry so much about rust. But if I am in a soaking rain, I still punch the bore out, wipe it down, and then it goes back to the garage.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight.....RiverRat

Tanoose: You're hunting near some of my old stomping grounds. Gotta admit, I kinda miss the old days of deer hunting the Adirondacks & lateron, the Catskill's. Anyway, to give my opinion. At the start of your season, wrap a couple of layers of electrical tape over your muzzle. This will keep any snow, rain or debris out & won't affect pressures or point of impact. I'd advise leaving the rifle outside at night. Place a heavy duty garbage bag over it and hang it from a tree limb if possible. Normally, this is what I'd do if possible but usually, in our situation, we're in an area where there are 4 legged furry creatures with long claws & large teeth that could cause trouble. In your case, you don't have to worry about that & as you wrote, theft is a very remote possibility. Good luck for the upcoming season. Bear in Fairbanks