Steel plus cerakote okay for coastal hunting?

[donrleonard]

I’m planning a Sitka Blacktail hunt in coastal Alaska for August. My current rifle is a factory-cerakoted Browning X-Bolt with a regular steel (CM?) barrel and action. I’m wondering if it is foolish to bring this on the hunt, or if I should consider trading it in for something stainless like a Tikka T3.

I know cerakote finishes can outperform stainless on the exterior of the barrel, but I’m wondering how much I need to be worried about the interior rifling.

Assuming I keep the muzzle covered and don’t let the rifle go in the drink, am I going to be doing irreversible damage to my rifling? I know I could run a bore snake with CLP through it once a day. But I’m worried that would impact my zero for longer range shots above the treeline.

Forgive me if there’s a thread that deals with this. I’ve been searching everywhere and can’t find a definitive answer.

 

[j3h8]

Seems like you're looking too far down the rabbit hole. People have taken all manner of firearms to coastal Alaska and not had issues. Keep your rifle covered, dry it off at the end of the day, you'll be fine.

I would not take a wood stocked rifle due to wood absorbing moisture in that environment and possibly throwing your zero off.

 

[donrleonard]

Seems like you're looking too far down the rabbit hole. People have taken all manner of firearms to coastal Alaska and not had issues. Keep your rifle covered, dry it off at the end of the day, you'll be fine.

I would not take a wood stocked rifle due to wood absorbing moisture in that environment and possibly throwing your zero off.

Haha…I’m a teacher. Overthinking it is an occupational hazard.

Thanks for the reassuring note. My stock is indeed synthetic.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

No coastal Alaska but coastal Texas, we always run a patch with oil inside after a shot. This is a stainless suppressor, the nitride coating rusted.

 

[donrleonard]

No coastal Alaska but coastal Texas, we always run a patch with oil inside after a shot. This is a stainless suppressor, the nitride coating rusted.

Good to know. Do you also take the rifle into the field with a fresh coat of oil down the barrel? Or do you find is it more critical after the shot?

 

[Banana_Horn]

I took an uncerakoted non-stainless rifle to kodiak a few years ago. It was fine. Id be more worried about moisture in the barrel. Use electrical tape, and pack some oily gun wipes.

 

[SDHNTR]

Just wipe down the exterior. Use two bore snakes. One with some oil on it and one dry. Pull the CLP one thru first, then the dry one. It won’t change your zero enough to matter, if at all.

 

[donrleonard]

Just wipe down the exterior. Use two bore snakes. One with some oil on it and one dry. Pull the CLP one thru first, then the dry one. It won’t change your zero enough to matter, if at all.

Thanks SDHNTR. I hadn’t thought of that possibility. That seems like a logical compromise. Would you feel the need to do that daily?

 

[ScreamingPotato]

on

Good to know. Do you also take the rifle into the field with a fresh coat of oil down the barrel? Or do you find is it more critical after the shot?

Just wipe down the exterior. Use two bore snakes. One with some oil on it and one dry. Pull the CLP one thru first, then the dry one. It won’t change your zero enough to matter, if at all.

Thanks SDHNTR. I hadn’t thought of that possibility. That seems like a logical compromise. Would you feel the need to do that daily?

^that's exactly what I do. To answer your question yes I do that prior to going down there or immediately when I arrive. The boat ride can be tough so sometimes I'll check zero just for peace of mind in which case I'll oil and dry like SDHNTR said. I don't do it daily if the muzzle is covered I feel like the film in the barrel is enough unless it gets a lot of weather in the barrel. I know it's not the best for long range accuracy but neither is surface rust inside the barrel. Like others have said I'd keep a balloon or tape or something covering the muzzle as well.

 

[Snowwolfe]

Enjoy the hunt. A spec of rust or two will add some character to your rifle.

 

[donrleonard]

^that's exactly what I do. To answer your question yes I do that prior to going down there or immediately when I arrive. The boat ride can be tough so sometimes I'll check zero just for peace of mind in which case I'll oil and dry like SDHNTR said. I don't do it daily if the muzzle is covered I feel like the film in the barrel is enough unless it gets a lot of weather in the barrel. I know it's not the best for long range accuracy but neither is surface rust inside the barrel. Like others have said I'd keep a balloon or tape or something covering the muzzle as well.

Good to know! Just out of curiosity, what kind of game are you going after in coastal Texas? My wife just had an interview at LSU in Baton Rouge, so we might be spending more time on the gulf pretty soon.

 

[SDHNTR]

Thanks SDHNTR. I hadn’t thought of that possibility. That seems like a logical compromise. Would you feel the need to do that daily?

If raining yes. I would also be using a Solo Hunter rifle cover or at least a finger cot or tape over the barrel.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Good to know! Just out of curiosity, what kind of game are you going after in coastal Texas? My wife just had an interview at LSU in Baton Rouge, so we might be spending more time on the gulf pretty soon.

Down there it's mostly fun plinking (we have a camp) but hogs are the primary target. We have quite a few hogs and I take a couple every year for various recipes that I like hog better than other game meat. I'm going to start taking some for the dog's food as well this year. We have deer but there's just not very many and I have other places to hunt deer so I don't need to dent the population there. If you end up in BR you're going to enjoy the coastal fishing probably, and duck hunting will be pretty legit on public. Here in Texas all the bays and coast is public with some exceptions, Redhead and Pintail capital of the world!