What a shame

[Wild Skies]

Originally Posted by Robin Lewis

I asked how this happened, suggesting it looked like it was a boat gun kept at sea. He said the customer that dropped it off told him it was his mothers and she used it regularly but when she died they put it away for 7 or 8 years without looking at it. When the did, it was in the condition I described.

It was stored in a leather gun slip that was lined with lambs wool and by sitting in it for a long period had ruined the Parker. I had been told since I was a kid, never to store a gun in an air tight gun case or in a wool lined gun slip because it will rust the gun; this is the first time I have seen the results firsthand.

I can attest to this, too---and it doesn't take 7 or 8 years for it to happen. I had an English damascus barreled hammergun in a leather leg-o-mutton case lined with lamb's wool for only about 4-5 HOURS on a hot humid day and surface rust developed on the barrels. I was able to wipe the rust off with an oily rag, but marks were left on the barrels which required rebrowning to remove. We live and we learn.

[Jim Kucaba]

I bought the Charles Parker Maker #71 back action gun from a guy in Florida. The barrels have an even coating of rust except for where the forend covers them but the receiver is a little less rusty ... I'm guessing the gun was left exposed to Florida's humid climate for quite a while ... So the barrels will go to Dale Edmonds for refinishing soon.

Jim Kucaba ... AriZOOna Cactus Patch ... Email: JimKucaba@aol.com

[Greg Miller]

I do wonder whether the problem is that once lambs wool gets wet, it stays wet for a long time.

I am skeptical that dry lambs wool is a problem with a well oiled firearm.