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HellCat verses Sweat! Words of Warning

BooVuc

BooVuc

Operator
It's been awhile since I've been on. I'm moving into the Northwest Cincinnati area and I've been very busy between here and Central Pennsylvania.
To that point, with my move, I settled on carrying my HellCat on an everyday basis since late August while I broke down my reloading bench and cleaning supplies. Last week, I finally had a chance to go over the gun top to bottom and had a bit of trouble releasing the slide with the slide release. I had the slide locked open and it took a little oomph to throw the release upward to remove the slide. The culprit was rust. Not on the outside of the release but between the frame and back of the release. I cleaned it up and oiled it well but it does return in a week to some degree. It's sweat/moisture since my EDC holster has nothing between me and my gun from the waistline up.
No rust anywhere else! Just the area facing the frame on the slide release itself.
I love this gun.....period. Just a heads up for those of you who may not do much maintenance.
Take a look at the release and check for any rusting. If you have none, great! Just make sure you get oil behind the lever so you never do.

Thanks,
 
BooVuc said:
It's been awhile since I've been on. I'm moving into the Northwest Cincinnati area and I've been very busy between here and Central Pennsylvania.
To that point, with my move, I settled on carrying my HellCat on an everyday basis since late August while I broke down my reloading bench and cleaning supplies. Last week, I finally had a chance to go over the gun top to bottom and had a bit of trouble releasing the slide with the slide release. I had the slide locked open and it took a little oomph to throw the release upward to remove the slide. The culprit was rust. Not on the outside of the release but between the frame and back of the release. I cleaned it up and oiled it well but it does return in a week to some degree. It's sweat/moisture since my EDC holster has nothing between me and my gun from the waistline up.
No rust anywhere else! Just the area facing the frame on the slide release itself.
I love this gun.....period. Just a heads up for those of you who may not do much maintenance.
Take a look at the release and check for any rusting. If you have none, great! Just make sure you get oil behind the lever so you never do.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
I would try a different manufacturer of oil and put a little more in that area then you normally would. You could also try a small amount red synthetic grease in that area, I’ve been using that more on my guns since it doesn’t dry out like oil does over time and just requires a little more work after shooting the gun.
Don’t use paste wax.
 
I have used Birchwood Casey's gunstock wax on the outside of blued and stainless firearms for probably close to 30 years or so. Works great, they look great. My 60s east German Makarov I carried daily for almost 20 years looks basically new. I wiped them down with the cloth I remove the wax down every night when I take them off.

I use oil on the internals though. The past number of years I have used Ballistol.

I will say that I mostly carry OWB, I just never cared for IWB.
 
Last edited:
BooVuc said:
It's been awhile since I've been on. I'm moving into the Northwest Cincinnati area and I've been very busy between here and Central Pennsylvania.
To that point, with my move, I settled on carrying my HellCat on an everyday basis since late August while I broke down my reloading bench and cleaning supplies. Last week, I finally had a chance to go over the gun top to bottom and had a bit of trouble releasing the slide with the slide release. I had the slide locked open and it took a little oomph to throw the release upward to remove the slide. The culprit was rust. Not on the outside of the release but between the frame and back of the release. I cleaned it up and oiled it well but it does return in a week to some degree. It's sweat/moisture since my EDC holster has nothing between me and my gun from the waistline up.
No rust anywhere else! Just the area facing the frame on the slide release itself.
I love this gun.....period. Just a heads up for those of you who may not do much maintenance.
Take a look at the release and check for any rusting. If you have none, great! Just make sure you get oil behind the lever so you never do.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
i have been using an Alien Gear holster, and it has a ventilated/padded backing, and i can assure you that i do not have this problem with sweating and the gun getting wet from it..

and as a matter of regular maintenance of my carry gun, also a Hellcat, i field strip it once a month for a quick clean and lube..

 
Sld1959 said:
I have used Birchwood Casey's gunstock wax on the outside of blued and stainless firearms for probably close to 30 years or so. Works great, they look great. My 60s east German Makarov I carried daily for almost 20 years looks basically new. I wiped them down with the cloth I remove the wax down every night when I take them off.

I use oil on the internals though.

I will say that I mostly carry OWB, I just never cared for IWB.
Click to expand...

Thanks Sid1959,
Good to know. Looked deeper into Birchwood Casey's gunstock wax, thought was just for gunstocks before. Apparently, is also good for wood, metal and leather. Oils can cut some waxes, hopefully not this wax being formulated for firearms. A person would think this brand would apparently be okay. And, if you've used it for that long with good results, it likely is. All their products have tried before came with good results.

www.birchwoodcasey.com

Gun Stock Wax, 3 fl.oz. Bottle

www.birchwoodcasey.com www.birchwoodcasey.com
 
We can all agree rust is a cancer to metal and once it’s there it starts to change the metal on a molecular level, the only thing you can do is remove what you see and apply a product that will refuse to attract moisture and then hold or trap that moisture against the metal. On the wax issue I can see using wax on the outside of a gun to help with wearing off the finish and as much as I also enjoy having a beautiful looking firearm I would much rather have a gun that performs when needed instead of a gun that looks like new forever but fails in any way when needed in an emergency.
In regards to the OP of the thread I would suggest wearing a garment between you and your holster to prevent sweat/moisture to get through your holster to the gun and oil your gun more often.
 
I take my carry guns down once a month or more if I'm shooting weekly but as I stated, I had NO bench or cleaning supplies to do maintenance on the gun for almost two months due to my move and packing. And I had no time to shoot in that span.
I'll have a tee shirt on with an outer garment now that the weather is getting cooler. Just posted to advise. I found it very curious that ONLY the inside of the release showed rust and nothing else inside or outside the frame.
 
Follow-up on my post!
I bought a new OWB holster for the Hellcat. Its a Versacarry Rebel. Leather belt portion with Kydex outer. Adjustable tension. Has a high back to keep the gun from contacting skin. (the issue with my original Kydex holster). It doesn't interfere with the mounted Romeo Zero sight. I really like it. Very comfortable and holds the gun high and canted forward better than my old one. Found it at a Vance's location near Lebanon, Ohio for 52 bucks. This fixes future perspiration issues against the side of the gun. So far, some plain old Universal Gun Grease behind the take-down lever is holding any further rusting at bay. Link for the holster from their website below. They have IWB versions and I believe they have them for the XDs too.

versacarry.com

Rebel (OWB) Holster

Versacarry® is one of the world's smallest concealed carry holsters. Our ZeroBulk Holster® design fits most guns and is ideal for deep concealment and comfort.
versacarry.com versacarry.com
 
BooVuc said:
Follow-up on my post!
I bought a new OWB holster for the Hellcat. Its a Versacarry Rebel. Leather belt portion with Kydex outer. Adjustable tension. Has a high back to keep the gun from contacting skin. (the issue with my original Kydex holster). It doesn't interfere with the mounted Romeo Zero sight. I really like it. Very comfortable and holds the gun high and canted forward better than my old one. Found it at a Vance's location near Lebanon, Ohio for 52 bucks. This fixes future perspiration issues against the side of the gun. So far, some plain old Universal Gun Grease behind the take-down lever is holding any further rusting at bay. Link for the holster from their website below. They have IWB versions and I believe they have them for the XDs too.

versacarry.com

Rebel (OWB) Holster

Versacarry® is one of the world's smallest concealed carry holsters. Our ZeroBulk Holster® design fits most guns and is ideal for deep concealment and comfort.
versacarry.com versacarry.com
Click to expand...
Glad to hear that different holster worked for you. Keep putting that grease in that area.
 
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