I hope I haven't f$)ked up my rifle.

I was at the range, it was snowing. I shot my Ruger #1 .450-4005 times, and put the rifle in a hard case, that had some snow in it when I closed it up.

I then locked my car with it running. A bone head move. I got my truck unlocked the next and came home. It is super warm in my basement and it took me a few hours to get my Guns put back in the safe.

I woke up the next morning to clean everything I shot 12 hours before. My beautiful near mint Ruger number one was covered with rust, particularly the NECG front and rear sights, the Trop safety, grip cap, quarter rib, and the lever. Nothing I could find on the chamber , barrel, or other operating parts.

What do I do? Super fine wool, and then what? I was going to sell this gun, but now it off the market. Thanks in advance,

Colin

Argh, my condolences as I hate it when stuff like this happens!


Since there is money involved here, my suggestion is to wipe it down with an oily rag (3-1, WD40, LPS, pretty much anything at this point) and bring it to a qualified gunsmith for his suggestions. If you feel comfortable removing the forend by all means pull that off and wipe down underneath there as well.

If it were mine, I'd use WD40, an old toothbrush, and plenty of rags and after an hour or so decide what to do, which might still be "bring it to someone who does this for a living".

It should come off easily.One night unprotected is not enough for any long lasting damage.

I feel your pain, Colin. My #1 RSI got a thorough dunking in a raft incident a few years ago. I would suggest:
-Pull the recoil pad and buttstock. Spray the action with WD40 or similar, then with a gun cleaner. Blow out with air. Canned air works.
-Do remove the forend, repeat above.
For rust removal I like Kroil. It is available in aerosol. For rust prevention on exteriors, I've found that ordinary motor oil lasts longer than just about anything else.

A general caution: Beware soft cases that have a hidden waterproof liner. I learned that the hard way, too.

You guys are going to think I am nuts, but years ago I did virtually the same thing with an 870 shotgun. It rusted over night!

I took crumpled newspaper and went over the barrel and receiver. The paper took the rust off and never damaged the remainder of the bluing. Now, some 40 years later that shotgun bluing is somewhat faded but it never required re-bluing.

Worth a shot, in my estimation... And the oiled 4/0 steel wool should take care of the areas you can't get to with newspaper.

I wouldn't advise steel wool on modern salts blues. They are just too delicate. I'd try clean burlap and oil first. If that doesn't do it use the edge of an old nickel (pre-1980) with oil to scrape off the rust. Work gently and wipe away the slurry frequently to prevent scratching. When done the surface should be smooth. Remove the wood and steam the affected areas over a tea kettle for about 10 minutes per area. This should convert the microscopic rust in the metal and prevent a re-occurrence. When done, degrease and wax the metal with two coats of paste wax (no abrasive).

I recently did a BAR that had been put away wet with this method and there was hardly a sign left.

I've used bronze wool and Hoppes in similar situations.

Clenzoil will remove a lot of light rust without scratching the surface...

Regards, Matt.

Steel wool 0000 will not hurt the blue on a Ruger no. 1, or on any hot or rust blue,if that were the case then the cording wheel would eat it up and it doesn't.. use it with oil,WD-40 or whatever, then with a stiff tooth brush, If that doesn't work use cording wheel, or let your gun smith cord it lightly, anything is better than rust and pits..It should be just surface rust at this point and come right off.

If it's pitted your out of luck, and need a re-blue or discount it $150 or $200 and sell it as is. Sometimes ya just have to take a lick and keep on ticking!

The newspaper trick is interesting and Ive heard this before, I'll have to try that if I get a chance..

Light rust like this, called surface oxidation from moisture, will have no lasting effects if removed correctly. Get a clean open weave cloth, oil with your favourite gun oil liberally, but, not dripping, and scrub the entire service until the rust is gone and continue to polish it until no difference in colour is seen.
It should blend away with no lasting marks.
Had the same problem after a buddy handled my custom Kimber 8400, he has very salty hands, there were fingerprints and palm prints aover the entire action, floor plate, grip cap and barrel. I almost died when I put the light in the safe to see that a few days later. It all cleaned off without a skeric of evidence that it ever happened doing the above.

Cheers.

By far the best way I've found to deal with rust is to initially avoid any kind of abrasive or scrubbing. Take off the wood, plastic, anything that doesn't stand up to heat and wetness. Get any oil and grease off with soap and water, finishing with solvent if you need to. Put it in water and boil it for an hour. Now any remaining rust will easily rub off. If there's a scaly buildup of rust, rubbing with a piece of wood is a good way to break it up. Light rust will rub off with a cloth or even a paper towel. Then lightly rub it with 0000 steel wool dampened with kerosene or light oil, wipe it off and give it a final oiling. The rusted areas are now rust blued! This will leave any pitting of the surface, but the rich black rust blued surface looks much better than rust or the results of most abrasive cleaning methods. I'm going to try to post before and after pics of an 1889 Swiss infantry rifle that most likely had been held by the muzzle with a sweaty hand, had a muzzle cover put on and likely stood in a closet that way for decades.

i'm not sure why but we've found that snow affects metal much faster than water. example is we made a copper ornamental dome one day. it had to be trucked to the jobsite in an open truck. it was snowing and the copper had started to turn brown 30 minutes latter. that usually takes a year or 2.

I'll speculate that snow adsorbs corrosive gases from the atmosphere. I've seen that explained as part of the mechanism of the stratospheric ozone hole near the South Pole. UV light broke down CFCs to release active chlorine compounds. During the winter ice crystals formed and adsorbed those compounds holding them in a form that effectively broke down ozone. If that can happen I suspect snow can catch things like oxides of nitrogen, sulfur oxides and chlorine compounds.

I live in a snow area and much of our late hunting and sometimes early hunts are snow hunts, sometimes blizzards....I wax my guns with Johnsons wax, both wood and metal..let dry and rewax a couple of times..This subject makes a case for the SS and plastic stock generation. a solution I abhore, but realize I need one, if I can just last a few more years I can leave this old world clean and never soiled by ss and plastic, the devils solution!

Although Ive never allowed one of my blue and wood guns to rust or warp..I simply take care of them every evening in a warm tent on my cot by a cup of hot coffee while I listen to the yarns being spent and the BS flows.

I've used Johnson's Paste Wax on hunting rifles for years. It works well. If you want the ultimate rust protection, take it out of the stock and rub the hidden parts under the stock with a thin film of Lee Liquid Alox. It is Alox 606, developed to protect things like shipboard equipment exposed to constant salt spray.

I have read 2 test reports in the last 10 years and Eezox is very good for protective coating even with salt spray.