Problem With Guns Rusting

[Keegan Gregory Campbell]

Hello all,
I have had problems with my guns rusting when I campaign. Is there any tips or tricks that you guys use to solve this problem when you guys are campaigning?
Thanks in advance.

[Silas]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

Three tips : oil, oil and oil. My preferred oil is olive.

[calconfederate]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

Synthetic sperm whale oil seems to work pretty good too.

[PMFerringer]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

It's only light surface rust. Just wipe it off and thoroughly clean and oil when you get home. My haversack rag is so greasy and nasty that wiping it down with that usually prevents any rust!

[RSchuda]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

As already stated, oiling is #1 in keeping away surface rust.

Honestly I use modern items when I get home from a rainy event. In my area it's rained at almost every event I've been to this year, and having my musket start to rust every time does indeed get annoying. Take care of small spots with something like steel wool, I've also had much success with "S.O.S." pads in the cleaning isle when it gets more than a spot here and there. Just make sure to oil it up afterwards.

[Craig L Barry]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

Am I the only one wondering is some of the questions posted on here are serious?

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

Hallo!

"Am I the only one wondering is some of the questions posted on here are serious? '

No.

However, "we" will err on the side of "No question is stupid." blended with helping Newcomers and Beginners on the road to "Authentic Campaigning" even when they make be Troll Posts posted for effect or really Newbie type questions.
Unlike the Dark Ages of Times Past when previous incarnations of the AC "were not designed with the Beginner in mind" and some of the AC membership and Mod Staff were well known for keeping things on the "Hardcore/Authentic" end of the continuum to the point of heavy-handedness and ruthlessness.

In the era of the "Kindler, Gentler AC' and the following "Under New Management" postings are now encouraged and supported where previously they would have been hounded or publically and privately ridiculed to other Boards.

Curt

[calconfederate]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

Hallo!

"Am I the only one wondering is some of the questions posted on here are serious? '

No.

However, "we" will err on the side of "No question is stupid." blended with helping Newcomers and Beginners on the road to "Authentic Campaigning" even when they make be Troll Posts posted for effect or really Newbie type questions.
Unlike the Dark Ages of Times Past when previous incarnations of the AC "were not designed with the Beginner in mind" and some of the AC membership and Mod Staff were well known for keeping things on the "Hardcore/Authentic" end of the continuum to the point of heavy-handedness and ruthlessness.

In the era of the "Kindler, Gentler AC' and the following "Under New Management" postings are now encouraged and supported where previously they would have been hounded or publically and privately ridiculed to other Boards.

Curt

I agree, sounds like a legitimate newbie question to me. If a new recruit isn't getting good advise from his unit or clear guidelines from his organization, what better place than this web site to learn something?

[Jimmayo]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

Written by a soldier in the 9th Va. Inf on pickett duty in Suffolk, Va.

"My musket, my only friend, I have to keep dry consequently that gets the largest share of my blanket. "

Are you keeping your musket out of the weather at night?

[calconfederate]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

To keep my 1842 rust free in the field I always carry an emery cloth, steel wool, and plenty of oil.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

To piggyback on Curt's post;
Newbie questions are exactly what the "Camp of Instruction" folder is for. We used to called it "The Awkward Squad"!

;-)

[JLH]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

Rust is necessary to be period correct.

[Pennvolunteer]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

Lots of great answers, some soldiers carried what were known as "burnishing bars", ash and brick dust worked too. As Silas recommended, I carry a small vial of olive oil, and a little piece of steel wool in my cartridge box pouch with my worm and wrench.

[Pvt Schnapps]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

Rust is not necessarily "period correct." Apart from campaigns like Sherman's through the Carolinas, I've seen a lot more references to filthy soldiers than to rusty guns -- "a ragged soldier and a bright musket" was an ideal dating back to the 17th century.

As far as a weekend reenactment, I think one ought to be able to get by with oil, as Silas said, and a wool cloth. Domet flannel is even better, and I certainly prefer using it this way than to wearing it. This method has generally worked for me, including on a long ago six day walk in the woods with friends. Only on the last day, firing in the rain, did my poor Springfield finally develop impetigo...

Curt may have something to add to this, but I remember reading here some time ago that the steel of repro muskets is a bit more conducive to rust than the originals. Still, a little attention can go a long way toward controlling this.

At any rate, I think we would probably do well to leave the modern abrasives till we get home. If nothing else, it's an incentive to explore more period solutions, in keeping with the spirit of a site called "The Authentic Campaigner"... ;)

[Don Dixon]

Re: Problem With Guns Rusting

On the matter of "rust":

In the 1862 edition of his textbook on ordnance and gunnery for U.S. Military Academy cadets, Captain James G. Benton wrote that French Army testing had indicated that small arms barrels could withstand 25,000 discharges without becoming unserviceable. And, that with “good care” the life expectancy for a military firearm should be approximately 50 years. The crucial issue was proper care by the soldier, which, of course, required effective training and supervision by his non-commissioned officers and officers. Benton wrote that “The practice of supporting the barrel at each end, and rubbing it with a strap, buffstick, ramrod, or any other instrument, to burnish it, is pernicious, and should be strictly forbidden.” But, that is exactly what many Civil War NCOs and officers required their troops to do. [emphasis in original] (Benton (Ordnance and Gunnery), p. 334 and 339)

So, if a Civil War soldier was following ordnance standards, his arm should have acquired a somewhat mottled appearance as he used an oily/greased rug to kill active rust, but not a polished appearance. Hell, they weren't even "polished" when they came from the armory.

Regards,
Don Dixon