Gun left in rain for 3 weeks

[luke6417]

Let me start by saying that this gun along with 6 more of my guns was stolen.  The police were able to recover my ruger m77 mkII.  It had alot of rust, but I was able to get it removed before it started pitting.  My problem is the stock.  It seems to have swollen.  The mag floor plate won't close anymore.  Any ideas on how to fix this?

[Frank46]

I've seen this happen to a rem 870 express shotgun stock. The wood swelled up so much the rubber butt pad had wood sticking out around all the way around the butt pad. Actually nothing was done to the wood as it was kept inside and dried out naturally. It did have one other feature that it didn't have when it left remington. A nice goose egg bulge in the barrel. I would suggest removing all the metal and keep the stock where it is nice a warm and let it dry out by itself. It may warp though so keep that in mind. Frank

[gunnut69]

Wood as a natural material moves when moisture enters and leaves. When the wood is swollen very badly it most times won't return completely to its original size.. This is why steaming is used to fill dents.. After the stock has reached it's new norm you may have a bit of inletting to do. Just remember to wait as long as needed for the wood to stabilize its size. Also don't used heat to accelerate the process as warping will be almost certain. I would hang the stock in a cool dry area from the butt stock and allow it to dry naturally..

[mannyrock]

 
  I would remove the stock, and hang it up in the doorway of the laundry room, so that that the hot dry air produced by the dryer every couple of days aids the process.

[gunnut69]

Actually the hot moist air created by a drier drying cloths is not a good idea. With most homes with air conditioning or forced air heating the air is plenty dry enough and most people run humidifiers to keep the airs more comfortable. Just turn of the humidifier and hang the stock where it is in the open and out of drafts. You don't wwant one side to dry faster than the other, a certain path to warpage.. The basement or an unused room would be great if the space is heated/cooled.  Be aware that in all likelyhood some of the swelling will not go away and will have to be removed and the stock refinished at some point..

[SHOOTALL]

Good excuse to up grade stock 

[luke6417]

The way it is right now, their is about 1/16 th of an inch sticking out around the recoil pad, the pistol grip feels bigger, and the floor plate for the magazine won't shut.

[gunnut69]

If at all possible allow the stock normalize before altering it. It will most likely stay a bit larger in some aspects as the wood was expanded by the moisture and will likely stay there.. The floorplate not closing is a sign the wood around the mag well at the bottom of the stock has moved down.. The larger grip wouldn't bother me too much but the /16 inch around the butt pad may need trimming. That's a very small amount and can be removed when sanding for the refinish. Shootall has a good idea. If ever you had thoughts of high grading the stock on this rifle, not would certainly be the time.. Hope you get'em all back,., Never got any of mine back.. Partly thanks to good ole MIDWAY USA>>

[jammer308]

Sorry i didnt read everything above so if i'm repeating anything forgive me, in a hurry tonight. Best thing i'd do is to first get a bottle of zinsser magic strip with the citrus action. It is environmentally friendly and can be used indoors. i just used it to completely strip an ar15 that someone went crazy on with a can of spray paint. It worked beautifully and the gun came out looking pretty much like new. I did it in the house and never heard one word of grief from the kids or the wife.
You need to strip it down to raw wood so it can thoroughly dry out. If there are any wood supply companies close who operate a kiln you might get lucky and have it kiln dried. Another way is to just place it in cardboard box filled with raw rice for a few days, then place it in the oven at a fairly low temp for 12-24 hours but watch for it to start blackening if your temp is too high or you leave in too long. blackening wont hurt it so long as you dont let it actually start to char and/or burn.
After this you need a router and proper bit and jig set up to open up the mag well opening back to normal size,  and also the trigger guard. Anywhere the wood surrounds metal parts is going to be tight and this has to be done so they fit back normally. even though they're tight and you might "think" they fit and are ok, but in the future the wood will absorb more moisture somehow even if refinished. This will lead to cracking and splitting in the tight spots, trust me. uhhmm a lot of "creative sanding" that might just be futile. you'll likely end up losing checkering and overall appearance/contour. if you can live with swollen butt a new pad could easily be fit to the larger diameter but you'll need to deal with the barrel/reciever channel and really that would be best "bedded" somehow.
Before the economy went south i was a cabinet maker for 18 years. I've re finished a lot of antiques at my families' antique shop as well as my own personal stuff and guns alike. honestly, even though it can be done, i'd just toss that stock and start looking for a new or used one that suits you. Unless it was dad's gun and it really means a lot to try and save it or something. In that case, the best of luck to ya friend. Let us know how it turns out. I'd be happy to see the results.
Thieves are just great aint they? :/

[jammer308]

just read it. sorry. I know about warping and that usually happens with uneven heat or excessive prolonged heat. Done right you can keep warping to a minimum, but no matter what you do it will warp to some degree. it is wood. one trick we used  to keep it under control is to make a jig of at least 2 pieces that fits the contour of the wood piece you're working on, and sandwich it between them using clamps to hold everything in place firmly while it dries.
 
this will help to keep it somewhat under control, but like i said i my honest opinion, toss it. your effort may just lead to nothing more than a crappy looking gun.

[hillbill]

i once found found two guns in a road ditch much in the same condition.they had been out in the wet weather for several months from the look of them.after takeing them apart i just let the stocks dry in a warm room.they returned to normal size and the guns went back together fine.

[tatonka]

A couple years ago, I was given 23 firearms that had been under water for a week in a gun safe (flood). When I received them, they were a muddy rusted mess. I immediately took them home and laid them on a tarp and sprayed them down thoroughly with water from the hose to remove the mud and residual chemicals (the guy had several gallons of chlorine bleach stored in the same room that had bursted open). Since I didn't have the time that day to completely disassemble the guns, I then dried all the weapons with an air hose and then sprayed them all with CLP Breakfree. Good thing I had just purchased a gallon of CLP as I used about a half gallon in the process. Over the next few days, I completely disassembled the guns and began the process of removing the rust from the metal parts.  The stocks were all swollen. I simply removed all parts from the stock and let them air dry in a low humidity room for about 6 weeks. Surprisingly, most of the swelling subsided. Another problem encountered was that on 3 shotguns and two muzzleloaders, the wood actually shrunk away from the metal parts. I first thought it was warpage but the wood around the muzzleloader patch boxes had withdrawn about .020" all the way around. All the guns but three were salvaged. The three were pitted so badly by the time I received them that I assumed that there was some chemical action responsible not just moisture damage. Several of the stocks were stained so deeply that they needed repalcement. Wow! and to think that was a charity job and all my labor was free. So much for volunteering. Good shooting!