Barrel Sealing-In Stock

What is the best method to seal the outside of the barrel in the stock to prevent outside rust. :idunno:

xbowman said:

What is the best method to seal the outside of the barrel in the stock to prevent outside rust. :idunno:

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No sealing required, never had any problem with rust. Even with barrels left in-the-white the barrel would gradually arive at a light brown patina like the exposed portion above the wood (it just took a little longer to brown-out in the area protected by the stock.

Toomuch
...........
Shoot Flint

I think your refering to a gun barrel that is pinned to the stock and will not be removed very often - if ever.

That was a concern of mine that I thought about on by first build. What I did was to rub paraffin wax on the lower three flats of the barrel and then using a flat edged piece of rigid pastic, scraped off the excess, thereby leaving a thin film of wax on the metal.

When and if I remove the barrel from the stock years from now I will find out how well it worked.

A ligth coat of Johnson's paste wax will work real nice.

Also the old timers often used beeswax much the same way many modern gun owners use fiberglass bedding. To take up any variations or gaps between the barrel and the wood.

Gun Oil.
I have a piece of cloth, an old t-shirt I think, I keep in a little zip lock bag in the shooting box,,it has oil on it, every so often I add a drop or two, I wipe guns down with it,,no rust.

Thank you. I should have mentioned I was referring to a Flintlock Barrel. It is hard to keep any water from running into the barrel channel.
When I replace the barrel this time, I will use wax like you mentioned. :thumbsup:

I have used beeswax with bear oil or paste wax, one should be cautious about using to much oil as some types will attack the wood,I only remove the barrels every other year or so unless they get soaked and have found very little rust underneath, it comes right off with a steel wool pad, than I goop it up and install the barrel and wipe any excess that might pop out.

If the lock, barrel, and end grain are given a coating or two of stock finish, to seal the wood, then any oil based product will NOT affect the wood adversely. I have a 100 year old rifle where the barrel mortise is full of water pump grease, and its protected the barrel for all those years.

I put a light coat of grease on the underside of the barrel.

I do too - But the PC Nazis will come after you because they say it will rot the wood.

Foster From Flint

If you put oil finish( stock finish) in the barrel mortise, to seal the wood there, any grease you put in the mortise, or on the barrel should not be able to migrate into the wood.

Put enough grease on the barrel and in the mortise that it OOZES out of the top edges of the stock when the barrel is seated in the mortise. Then wipe the excess off. This provides a full Seal from any water getting into the mortise, and rusting your barrel.

Heat the barrel with hot water and apply beeswax. Buff it after it cools. Actually, I have visited the editor of a major black powder magazine who has an original Hawkens half stock. It is interesting that the part of the barrel that does not show, had not been browned at all. It does not hurt as thing.

Before taking any gun into the field to hunt, I give it a coat of spray furniture wax, both inside the barrel and lock mortise- which I have already sealed with stock finish--- to further water proof the wood. It only takes a few minutes, and I do it as part of my usual preparations, which include checking to see that all screws are tight, but Not TOO TIGHT, everything moves smoothly, and gets a fresh drop of oil, and that the barrel is flushed out with alcohol to remove any excess oil, or congealed oil from the breech. The inside of the lockplate gets a fine film of oil, along with all the parts, as a further rust prevention measure. I inspect the flints in the gun closely, and replace any flint I believe has seen its better days, with a new flint. The Gun, empty, is tested for sparking, so that I have no concern that the gun will fire instantly in the field the next day.

When the gun is ready, and back in its case, I then check and put together all the necessities for my hunting pouch, day pack, powder horn, etc. All this gear gets put together near the door, so I don't forget it. I also take my range box, and my range rod, to stay in the car as "back up", in case I need to make some repair in the field. I found its a lot better to have my "stuff" and tools in the car, or SUV, rather than sitting useless back at home- often hours of driving time away. :surrender: :hatsoff:

-----my maker uses vaseline-----

Osayo,
Wax does work really well. You can coat the barrel and the stock channel.
Something else that i have found that works good too is Tru-oil. Apply it to the barrel under the stock. When it dries, its like armor. It works fantastic.

Car wax.