I fell in the river while carrying....

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quietsage

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So I was fishing the Colorado river yesterday and I was trying to climb on to a large boulder that was a few steps from shore. I had hip waders on and had sloshed out and just got my first step on the moss covered stone. As soon as I put my weight on that step up..Boom..slick as oil and in went I into that wonderful 42 degree water.:cuss:

I dragged myself to shore and began the dismal process of getting the water filled waders off, wringing out soaked clothing and saying some choice words. Luckily I had brought a drybag stuffed with towels and clothing on the boat. Girlfriend brought over a towel and I spread it out, then I began the takedown on my Glock 26 that I had had IWB. It was thoroughly soaked..totally submerged. I tried to dry as much of it as possible; slide, spring, innards, magazine. I pulled all the bullets and dried those. Didn't have anything to stuff thru the barrel so I just tried to blow the water out of it. After that, I let the Glock sit and 'air out' while I changed and got myself together.

After I was sorted (about 30 or so minutes), I inspected the Glock and it seemed fine though still some water beads in the barrel but no 'solid' residue. Put it back together and racked the slide a few times, dry fired it a few times. All good. Charged it up, holstered it and put it back IWB. Went on fishing and slayed the trout and my girlfriend sure had a great laugh at my expense.

Just got back and cleaned the Glock up proper, seems all is well. The experience got me thinking though. For instance, I was wondering what would happen if I would have had to fire the pistol after I had just had it submerged? I'm not talking about shooting underwater. Have any of you fired a pistol that had just been underwater? Will water beads inside a barrel cause any type of failure? Dangerous? Just curious......

Thanks for any replies.
 
I'm pretty sure it's extremely common for SEALs to be in this situation. Although I'm pretty sure they usually plan on it, and not sure what special equipment they use (if any).
 
I remember the 1982 SOF convention at the Sarah Casino in Las Vegas where some inebriated guys were firing a 1911A1 underwater in the swimming pool. Made a slight jarring sound and lots of gas bubbles as they fired a full 7 round magazine. Didn't bother the pistol at all, he was using it on the range next day.
 
Glock, no problem. granted you should dry it and clean it when you get home (especially the inside of the barrel) but it is a tool made to be used in rough situations. I would say the same about Colt, Springfield, Kimber, Ruger, etc... they should all fire after a bath.

Side note: if it doesn't you shouldn't be trusting your life with it.
 
Generally it isn't going to be the pistol bothered by the water but the ammo. Even then, a short dip probably wouldn't hurt them.
 
If you're extra worried about moisture, put it in an airtight container with dessicant beads or a freshly opened pack of saltine crackers. It'll absorb any moisture you don't dab out. You can also hose it with WD40 but what a mess!
 
You don't seem to understand the tradition: after a tragic accident involving water, you are supposed to emerge with all your firearms lost.

Oh well: opportunity wasted! ;)

People here have said they clean their Glocks by putting them in the dishwasher, and then oiling. I'm not sure they were joking.
 
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I have a friend that lost his deer hunting in Oregon. It was turned in the next fall by another hunter with only 2 small spots of rust on the barrel and the mag spring had lost all its spring. Other than that, it was fine. A short dunk in the river will do more harm to your ego than that Glock.
 
Any gun I am aware of will still fire after being submerged. A gun is a mechanical device that drops a hammer through moving parts (as you already know), so unless those parts break or move the physical momentum of a spring will always force the firing pin down. You only have to worry about water getting into the bullet casing which I believe is very rare and draining water from the barrel by tilting the gun forward.
 
Your Glock got wet?
Shirley you jest?

It won't hurt it to get wet.
And a won't hurt it to fire a 9mm Glock under water if you want too.

Had you been carrying one of those obsolete Colt 1911's?
First, you would have drowned from the extra few ounces of weight.

And second, one of the rescuers who recovered your body would have had to clean the 1911 within 10 minutes with refined whale oil, or it would have been rusted beyond professional recovery & restoration, and ruined forever!

rc
 
rcmodel said:
Your Glock got wet?
Shirley you jest?

It won't hurt it to get wet.
And a won't hurt it to fire a 9mm Glock under water if you want too.

Had you been carrying one of those obsolete Colt 1911's?
First, you would have drowned from the extra few ounces of weight.

And second, one of the rescuers who recovered your body would have had to clean the 1911 within 10 minutes with refined whale oil, or it would have been rusted beyond professional recovery & restoration, and ruined forever!

rc
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Only thing this post shows is pure ignorance. I am not sure why people put down one firearm platform over another.
 
Ah hell I bet that was a chilling experience, good to hear it all turned out fine, just towel off the Glock it will be fine.............
 
Only thing this post shows is pure ignorance. I am not sure why people put down one firearm platform over another.
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Solidgun, We have to apologize for rcmodel. His deep and subtle sarcasm has just shown itself capable of tricking our newer members into missing his point. Rest assured, there are few people with as abiding an affection for the old 1911 than he has, and that the entire purpose of his point was to deliver a sidelong jab at the idea that ANY service sidearm would not have withstood this, most superficial of "torture tests."

Heck, even a SIG would have lived through that! :eek:
 
Solid: I'm pretty sure rc's comments were fairly dripping with good natured sarcasm. I don't lurk here often, but "ignorant" is NOT used lightly here.
 
Sam, at 1 post average per year (join date 2008 and 4 posts) I wouldn't think anyone here would take much care in his insults to our beloved RC!
 
hell, quick shake and it's ready to go.no need to worry bout a glock

or if your in the field and have a ziplock of rice,it will draw the moisture out.save the crackers for soup.bag of rice is also good for dring out cell phones.pull the battery and card out.dropem into a ziplock bag fulla rice for 24 hours.
 
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I dropped my 1911 in the mud on a camp out one time. The first thing I did was swish it out in the creek to wash out all the sand and debris. Then I sprayed it down with an entire can of WD 40 to displace moisture. As soon as I got home I blew it out with the air compressor and gave it a thorough cleaning. No damage at all.
 
put it in an airtight container with dessicant beads or a freshly opened pack of saltine crackers.
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lol, ya, stick your pistol in a bag with some salty crackers!!
Solidgun, We have to apologize for rcmodel. His deep and subtle sarcasm has just shown itself capable of tricking our newer members into missing his point. Rest assured, there are few people with as abiding an affection for the old 1911 than he has, and that the entire purpose of his point was to deliver a sidelong jab at the idea that ANY service sidearm would not have withstood this,
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i didnt percieve it as quite that generic, but agree, it was classic rc sarc (which i enjoyed)
 
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