Stainless PCP?

[akairgunner]

Well... I guess I'm gonna get something affordable like a qb78 repeater conversion from archer (with that nice big air bottle), and coat all the steel parts.  With the bottle I can get 125 shots at 660 fps and a TKO should keep me under $500.   I'll probably get the velocity bumped up to 750 ish and carry an extra bottle.

Thanks for all the input guys. There were a few good points that deserve addressing.

1) Just get a stainless 22.  The rimfire shortage is still strong in AK, and again, it can't be flown in  so it has to go by barge. Pellets are less than 1/3 the price and the only viable option for high-volume shooting.  I have a 5k round stockpile of LR for small game hunting, but I'm not interested in depleting it.

2) You're making too much of it.  It rains 220 days a year out there, and the bering sea is relatively shallow with lots of conflicting winds. Thus, much more wave action and therefore salt in the air than pretty much anywhere in the world. Also I'll be hunting primarily right on the beach (as that's where the rats are), with sea spray getting tossed around. I am sure I'm being overly-cautious, but that's how I roll.

3) Lots of "almost viable" models. Shot count is paramount. Repeaters are necessary because it's pretty much always 45 degrees, rainy, misty, and blowing. So I'd like to only de-glove to reload 3-4 mags and get back to shooting.

I love it out there, but the winters are long and having diverse hobbies is the only way to maintain sanity.

Cheers!

Justin.

[Myanarchy]

Grab a .22 mrod, spend about $60 duracoating it, spend the rest on mods and optics. That or look into having someone hydro dipping it for a custom pattern and stronger finish. A good hydrocoat wrap is in the same ballpark as cerakote around here.

[moorepower]

Buy cheap and buy often! Actually making a real suggestion not a wise crack.

[Myanarchy]

Probably missed it, but how far you gonna be shooting? Around 50 yards why not a Hatsan qe style magnum springer? You'll get a great shoulder workout and wouldn't have to carry a bottle or worry about a pump

[Ribbonstone]

  Just going to mention this as first hand experience for the "worst case".

Pictue a 14 foot barrel of water. Dump in 2 pounds of salt (bor brakish water). Add in every chemical in an urban enviroment, from both retail/industrial uses to all the various cans/tins, bottles,kept in a typical house.  Toss in a dead cat. Toss in five or six shovels of dirt. Go to the bathroom in the barrel (yes..both).  Now toss in ALL your firearms and airguns  and violently stir the barrel. Let it sit in +90F heat.  Dill a tiny hole in the barrel (small enough for it to take weeks to drain).  Even after it drains, let it sit for another three weeks.

What survived well enough to just need a detail cleaning?

Well...nothing wood survived no matter what the finish (oil, varnish, poly, or even the laminates). With enough time became dry...but warped/split or had the color and texture of petrafied peanut butter.  Some plastics didn't survive either, but athe highest survival/recoverable rate does to plastic.

Anything steel running through the wood (stock bolts, bi pod mounts, etc) rusted/swelled. cracked the stock.  Same with Al. parts, except they corroded rather than rusted..still swelled and split the stock.

Many stainless of several brands were in there, but only 2 really survived un-pitted and both of them were older Rugers.  Really hard to believe just how badly typical fiearm stainless will pit with enough neglect.

Three military semi-autos, with some kind of baked paint over parkerizing, survived in pretty good shape.  HAd a little problem where the factory finish had worn and let the corrosive water eat at the edges, but they cleaned up pretty well.

Two blued handguns survived becasue they were in long-term storage and were well coated in RIG grease inside and out. They got some surface rust, but the well grease packed (and so not in "ready to shoot" condition) action parts survived.

NOTHING Al. survived (some parts you could just crumble with your fingers)...no blued steel guns survived...no airgun survived....no wood stock survived...a couple of plated guns, without any scratches, LOOKED good, but the internal parts/bore didn't survive.  The plated stuff with wear/scratches all "bubbled" as the liquid invaded and ate away under the plating and the action parts were not plated.

In short, the "winners" of that were one maker's (and these were from back in the day, so likely not the same alloy used today) Stainless, parkerize steel and a baked on over coat,  and the few things totally packed in grease (inside and out,so were NOT ready to shoot with all that gunk inside).

So in your case, I'd not worry about it...just keep a greasy rag handy (stuff a small greeasy rag in a pill bottle or plastic bag and put it in your pocket....likely find time every couple of hours to use it to refresh the metal where it wears off).

When I know I'm going out in the rain or salt marsh-splatter, will often Johnson's past floor wax ALL the rifle  and  the stock (does including taking it out the stock to get to the hidden metal). Won't even bother to buff the wax, just leave it that dead non-reflective dull dry wax color.

[Myanarchy]

It sounds like a personal experience story so I hate to ask....but I gotta. What happened? Doesn't sound like this was an intentional "test"

[Ribbonstone]

Hurricane in 2005...14 feet and fast moving brakish water and 6 weeks of sitting in that chemical/salt/sewage mix before allwed back in the city.

[MDStroup]

Hurricane in 2005...14 feet and fast moving brakish water and 6 weeks of sitting in that chemical/salt/sewage mix before allwed back in the city.

Wow! That is horrible.

That brings up a question. In a situation like that, would your insurance pay to replace the guns?

[MDStroup]

Well... I guess I'm gonna get something affordable like a qb78 repeater conversion from @=S+S%^$# (with that nice big air bottle), and coat all the steel parts.  With the bottle I can get 125 shots at 660 fps and a TKO should keep me under $500.   I'll probably get the velocity bumped up to 750 ish and carry an extra bottle.

Thanks for all the input guys. There were a few good points that deserve addressing.

1) Just get a stainless 22.  The rimfire shortage is still strong in AK, and again, it can't be flown in  so it has to go by barge. Pellets are less than 1/3 the price and the only viable option for high-volume shooting.  I have a 5k round stockpile of LR for small game hunting, but I'm not interested in depleting it.

2) You're making too much of it.  It rains 220 days a year out there, and the bering sea is relatively shallow with lots of
conflicting winds. Thus, much more wave action and therefore salt in the air than pretty much anywhere in the world. Also I'll be hunting primarily right on the beach (as that's where the rats are), with sea spray getting tossed around. I am sure I'm being overly-cautious, but that's how I roll.

3) Lots of "almost viable" models. Shot count is paramount. Repeaters are necessary because it's pretty much always 45 degrees, rainy, misty, and blowing. So I'd like to only de-glove to reload 3-4 mags and get back to shooting.

I love it out there, but the winters are long and having diverse hobbies is the only way to maintain sanity.

Cheers!

Justin.

Since you want to go the QB78/79 bottle pcp route talk to nervoustrigger and Rocker1 about the slip on LDC.

But you may not have to go through building one as someone is selling a qb79 bottle pcp in 22cal that is well proven in the Classifieds on this forum.