Going on my first cast and blast on the coast this weekend, any tips on keeping my shotgun from becoming a rust bucket???

Is this the hunt to leave the nicer guns at home or will I be able to keep a gun from rusting with proper cleaning??

What are your best practices after a coastal hunt???

TIA

A good cleaning beforehand and right after and you'll be fine. I'd be sure to just give everything a nice sheen of oil and you'll be good.

CS78 said:

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If you want to give it a full effort and you really care about the gun, this is what I'd do. Disassemble and gun scrubber all the parts. Coat everything in crc 656 spray. Stuff is awesome in preventing salt water rust and corrosion. It's safe with all rubber and plastics. Let it dry overnight. Re-oil everything and go hunt. When you're done, just do a normal cleaning as long as it didn't get wet. You could dunk the gun in salt with the 656 on it and it wouldn't hurt it.

Or just hunt like normal and make sure to clean it as soon as the hunt is over. Be cautious of sticking a damp gun back in an enclosed case.

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this right here!!

My 870 lived in Sargent for many seasons back in the day - it still isn't a rust bucket.

I'd disassemble and clean it well before duck season started and hosed everything down with Remoil. After every hunt I dried it off and hosed everything down with Remoil. I also didn't dunk it in the bay and we kept them on a standing gun rack in the cabin so they dried off and didn't put them in a safe or anything that had limited air movement.

Salt water isn't good for guns, but simply because you are a round it doesn't mean your gun is turning into red iron overnight either.

Thank you all, I just got a can of crc 656 spray.

2nd on the Corrosion X. Use it for saltwater marine rust prevention and it's the best I've used on firearms that get stored for long periods.

I guide duck hunts on the coast. I carry a camo dipped 870. I rent Duracoated 870s to my customers that need a gun. Several of my guns have ended up on the bay floor a time or three for whatever reason. Whatever happens to your gun on the saltwater bay needs to happen to your gun at home in freshwater. If it gets splashed then rinse with hose. If it gets dunked then fill bath tub and dunk it.

Oil before and after and you will be good. Grease choke before and after.

Im often walking in water up to waste deep setting decoys or working on blind or retrieving birds and empty hulls etc. My gun is often on my shoulder on a sling which puts my plastic butt stock down in the saltwater a lot. My floating case will get some saltwater in it as this butt stock will slow drain some water into the case. So I use a case that velcros full length. That way I can open case fully to clean to de salt it then full open to dry it.

Just coat everything in cosmoline. It'll last forever

Your gun isn't just going to instantly start rusting before your eyes, unless you have an 870 express. A simple cleaning is all you should need once you're finished unless your gun goes for a swim or a wet dog shakes off on it. I think the most important thing to remind every of, is to go pull your choke tube and make sure its greased/lubed.