The State Of Your Carry Gun
BY Herschel Smith
5 years ago
ZCQOTD: “A carry gun without a reasonable amount of wear on it should be a source of shame, not pride.”
I’ve blogged before about how I feel that a gun with a bellicose name like the “Wilson Combat CQB” or “Springfield Armory Professional” that looks like it never gets used deserves the epithet “Minnie Pearl gun”.
An inanimate object isn’t deserving of anything. It just is.
I’ve put thousands upon thousands of rounds through pistols, and I try to take good care of them, inside and out. I don’t always pull that off, and there are scratches, normal wear and usage marks, dulling of the finish, etc., but generally I try.
I’ve explained before why I try. When a smartass salesman at a gun store once told me that he shouldn’t have to spray any gun with aluminum parts down with Rem oil or any other kind of protectant because aluminum doesn’t rust, I replied, “Aluminum doesn’t rust, but it does corrode in the presence of salt, and your body has numerous salts. Corrosion and rust are different chemical processes in that rust only oxidizes iron and its alloys, whereas corrosion occurs with other metals. Rust is a subset of corrosion.” High pressures (such as would be experienced in the chamber / barrel) can also lead to IGSSC (intergranular stress corrosion cracking) due to the stretching of grain boundaries and crystalline structures.
So rather than be a fashion Nazi and assume that the appearance of your firearms says something about your soul, I prefer to let you decide how clean, scratch-free and pristine you keep your firearms. If you do better than I do, then more power to you. The better you take care of your machines, the better they take care of you. I hate machines that don’t work, almost as much as I hate it when people abuse machines. We are in a continual fight against the second law of thermodynamics, whether with your automobile, your HVAC or your firearms. I don’t consider it an article of shame to take care of yours. Entropy always increases. Why help it along? Why not slow it down when we can?
On November 1, 2019 at 8:32 am, Scott said:
“Aluminum doesn’t rust, but it does corrode in the presence of salt…” Which is why we don’t use it in our Scuba regulators. Not even if it’s anodized.
On November 1, 2019 at 8:43 am, Fred said:
Herschel,
What did the smart alek salesman say back to you after he picked his jaw up off the floor?
This brought back to mind an amicable discussion I had here with another Christian about whether guns were inherently evil. He said yes. I said no, guns are inherently rusty in a dead and dying world. To which we both concluded that the Glock 7 was the way to go, but even a Glock 7 will begin break down eventually.
On November 1, 2019 at 10:50 am, TRX said:
I usually carry an aluminum-frame .38. Since my work frequently has me outside in 100+F humid weather, I sweat buckets.
Not even daily wipedowns kept the aluminum from corroding. And now even the stainless steel cylinder and trigger have patches. Probably 4xx-series stainless. And the cylinder latch appears to be plain carbon steel; it has actual pits in it.
It still shoots. I’ve never had the side plate off to examine its naughy bits, but I’m sort of scared to look…
On November 1, 2019 at 1:02 pm, Jack said:
It’s pure pleasure to read commentary from a knowledgeable engineer rather than from Joe Internet Rambo who thinks tactical means spray it black and cover it in velcro.
Once again, thanks Herschel. Keep up the good work.
On November 1, 2019 at 2:30 pm, B_Rad said:
Pretty Blued expensive 1911’s do not belong in KIDEX holsters. Ask me how I know. My carry gun takes a beating during the work week. Tupperware has it’s place. Saturday and Sunday I’ll wear a 1911. In a leather holster.
On November 1, 2019 at 2:36 pm, Sanders said:
It all depends on what the finish is. My 1911A1, which I got brand new in 2001, has almost no bluing left on it. This is due to holster wear, shooting it, and hours upon hours of dry fire practice. No rust, either, as I take care of it. I really want to send it off to be NP3 coated, though.
Then, look at the 1911 in the video at the link, which belongs to Bill Wilson. I don’t think I have the same amount of rounds through mine as he has through his, but his looks pristine. https://youtu.be/fW1pJvi5yIw
Whatever finish he has on that pistol keeps it looking good, in spite of how much it has been shot.
But, I will let my targets do my talking for me. How my gun looks isn’t part of that conversation.
On November 1, 2019 at 5:33 pm, BCE56 said:
Coupla things-
Holsters can cause wear. Some, i.e. Kydex and Cordura, are abrasive; and some tanned leather products can harm blued steel.
As mentioned above, aluminum does not rust but it will corrode. Some types of Al. Alloy (7075 for instance) corrode more than others. Type III hard anodize will keep corrosion and wear to a minimum.
“Stainless” steels are not actually stainless, they are corrosion resistant. Passivation will enhance corrosion resistance of these steels.
Standard finishes on steel- bluing and Parkerizing- require coating with oil or other rust preventive.
Nickel and hard chrome on steel are very tough and wear-resistant, and both provide good protection against rust with little maintenance.
Modern finishes such as DLC, nitrocarburizing etc may fall into this category as well. Probably wouldn’t hurt to keep these oiled. I do.
Applied finishes- ceramics, polymers, Teflon, NP3 etc should provide excellent corrosion protection and lubricity. Impact and wear resistance perhaps not as good as plating or anodize. Adequate surface prep is vital.
On November 1, 2019 at 6:11 pm, B_Rad said:
Hard Chrome normally requires 190C post bake for Embrittlement Relief. It also promotes surface cracks. There’s a process out there called Thin Dense Hard Chrome that avoids those pitfalls. But it ain’t cheap, and it’s not very attractive. There are some relatively new Black Oxide processes that yield pretty good results and a very attractive finish. I’m surprised the gun industry hasn’t headed a little more in that direction rather than Cerakoting everything that goes bang.
On November 1, 2019 at 9:58 pm, GomeznSA said:
How does that old saying go, something like – be wary of the old man with a well worn but still serviceable pistol – he knows what he is doing. ‘Nuff said.