Grizzly Bear Defense

[That Guy]

I will defer to real lever gun SME's but I've read on the Marlin forum (great helpful bunch there) that if you soak a wood stocked levergun you really need to pull the wood off to get proper drying and prevent warping that will wreck accuracy.
Years before I read that there I jacked up a Marlin 336 and never realized it. I'd soaked it hunting in the rain, cleaned it rather conventionally, even used a hair dryer on it which I believe compounded my fuck up. Following year it would group for shit vs the year prior. I chalked it up to my struggling vision and ended up selling it off as poorly as I was shooting it. Have seen since I could still shoot a good lever action with irons just fine. So, long story as a vote against the 94. Seems like a lot of vacation hassle if the gun gets wet.

On the other hand, from the lever gun thread:

Taking apart a Winchester 94 isnt that difficult. The first one i got at age 14 I took apart, mainly curiosity, but it wasnt difficult and was long before youtube nor did I have any good books describing it. I liked that Marlins were easy to take apart, but as I came to like the Winchesters more and use the Marlins less, realized it wasnt really necessary to take a Winchester apart to take care of it, even if using black powder loads. Whatever you can reach in the action with a rag and toothbrush and solvent then oil was enough to flush or clean out whatever may get in it.

The 94 I got in the 1980s was made in 1927, it had come from a ranch in Az and looked like it had never been cared for in any way, the blue was mostly gone, the action felt like it was full of mud or sludge but still worked, the bore was pitted noticeably. I deep cleaned it, probably for the first time in its life and kept using it. Ive had it apart several times, but none specifically because it required it to clean it. One thing occurred to me over time, if you dont take it apart you cant lose parts. It gets used in rain and snow, in and out in cold weather, often with condensation freezing on the outside and wherever it may find on the gun, it usually only gets a paper towel or shirt sleeve wipe off then back in the wall rack or leaned against the door frame. It always works.

This gun had been used so much the magazine spring had worn through in a couple places, then repaired by overlapping the worn ends and wrapped with some sewing thread. Mag tube damaged, cut shorter and reattached, butt stock looked like it had been used to play baseball with rocks, it was so bad I threw it in the fireplace and used one that someone else had thrown away, it was better than mine by a long shot.

Moral of the story, yes, you can adequately clean and care for a Winchester 94 without taking it apart, and it doesnt take much care to keep one going.

'Tis an interesting juxtaposition.

[Malamute]

Canadian Border Crossings

Handguns arent easy but non-military type long guns arent that difficult.

ive taken some of mine through both ways several times in the dark and distant past, today theres more paperwork but all reports ive seen it seems not particularly difficult so long as you do the homework and paperwork.

[Lester Polfus]

Over on the Hill People Gear Forum, Evan Hill posted a travelogue of a trip he took with his girls up the Alcan with their travel trailer. IIRC he took a magazine fed Ruger American in .300 Blk and didn't have any particular issues.

[Malamute]

Something to keep in mind going into Canada, they will ask WHY you want to bring a gun in. Self defense from humans is NOT an approved reason to have a gun in Canada, defense from wild animals is, as is hunting and target shooting, though in the latter two cases if you claim those reasons you may be asked to show hunting licences for game appropriate to the arms in question, and target shooting you may be asked to show registration for specific events and required ammo amount needed etc. Dont even joke about it or be drawn into a "good guys" conversation about it as regards self defense from people.

They also asked if I OWNED any handguns, then "where are they?". I had shipping paperwork showing Id shipped them ahead, this was satisfactory to all that asked.

Its also suggested to register items taken abroad on the US side before crossing so you can prove you owned them prior to leaving and wont have to pay duty on them to bring back into the US. Same for expensive cameras and such as well as firearms.

[JHC]

In Alaska, a LE guy would be more likely to say that is cool, show me what you have as I want an AR pistol for my personal use.

Even my short sample found AK to be the gunniest place I've ever been including years in Texas. I'd strike up conversations with every Alaskan I could and it was guns, bears, moose talk. Almost utopia.

[JHC]

On the other hand, from the lever gun thread:



'Tis an interesting juxtaposition.

My hunch is water under the wood would be a different use case. @Malamute

[JHC]

Something to keep in mind going into Canada, they will ask WHY you want to bring a gun in. Self defense from humans is NOT an approved reason to have a gun in Canada, defense from wild animals is, as is hunting and target shooting, though in the latter two cases if you claim those reasons you may be asked to show hunting licences for game appropriate to the arms in question, and target shooting you may be asked to show registration for specific events and required ammo amount needed etc. Dont even joke about it or be drawn into a "good guys" conversation about it as regards self defense from people.

They also asked if I OWNED any handguns, then "where are they?". I had shipping paperwork showing Id shipped them ahead, this was satisfactory to all that asked.

Its also suggested to register items taken abroad on the US side before crossing so you can prove you owned them prior to leaving and wont have to pay duty on them to bring back into the US. Same for expensive cameras and such as well as firearms.

I've read on knife forums Canadians make the same warning about any pocket knife regardless how small and innocuous.

[Malamute]

My hunch is water under the wood would be a different use case. @Malamute

I thought about what was mentioned about taking the wood off to dry, I think that may have promoted warping. Buy a stack of straight 2xs for framing, use them right away, nailed in place, they are fine, let them sit around a while and some twist and warp, they had nothing to hold them straight. Ive not had a gun get completely soaked under water, just walking and hunting in rain and snow, and in a pretty dry climate. Ive found minor rust glazing under the wood at some point later, but never taken one apart wet. They dried straight, at least ive not detected any tightness from warpage when taking them apart later, so Im assuming they dried straight.

Ive heard of people putting finish or sealer on their wood gunstocks in all the places they arent exposed so they cant absorb moisture or water, it sounds like a good idea, but I havent detected any serious zero changes or accuracy degradation in my levers, so just havent worried about it.

I understand the reasoning for synthetic stocks, but I havent had problems or just dont care if my guns get wet, snowed and rained on and the wood gets nicked and dinged up when using them, the enjoyment of the wood is greater than perceived benefit. Obviously the scales tip the other direction for many, but Im satisfied.

[JHC]

I thought about what was mentioned about taking the wood off to dry, I think that may have promoted warping. Buy a stack of straight 2xs for framing, use them right away, nailed in place, they are fine, let them sit around a while and some twist and warp, they had nothing to hold them straight. Ive not had a gun get completely soaked under water, just walking and hunting in rain and snow, and in a pretty dry climate. Ive found minor rust glazing under the wood at some point later, but never taken one apart wet. They dried straight, at least ive not detected any tightness from warpage when taking them apart later, so Im assuming they dried straight.

Ive heard of people putting finish or sealer on their wood gunstocks in all the places they arent exposed so they cant absorb moisture or water, it sounds like a good idea, but I havent detected any serious zero changes or accuracy degradation in my levers, so just havent worried about it.

I understand the reasoning for synthetic stocks, but I havent had problems or just dont care if my guns get wet, snowed and rained on and the wood gets nicked and dinged up when using them, the enjoyment of the wood is greater than perceived benefit. Obviously the scales tip the other direction for many, but Im satisfied.

That's pretty comforting!

The advice I got was to remove wood to dry the metal under it, but not really leave the wood off to dry. Just dry it and re-assemble. Preferably after "waxing" the inside wood surfaces to repell moisture. Great report from experience as always!

[MickAK]

@Clusterfrack I meant to reply about the wet shotgun shell thing as well. I've seen people use wax and nail polish but I wouldn't be that concerned about fresh quality shells in the tube for a few days. This guy did an interesting test. https://www.duckhuntingchat.com/foru...43633#p5643705