I'm working on an article for our newsletter and thought I'd share some of what I've found out about damp leather care.
Leather can get very damp from your sweat--doesn't have to rain on you at all.
Take everything apart as much as possible (whatever you do, don't leave your cartridges or guns(!) in the belt or holsters.
Then put the leather in a cool place with a fan. Our bathroom has a ceiling fan (wife's idea and a pretty good one, too) and let it air dry. You don't want to put it in the Sun or use a hair dryer. Cool dry air with good circulation is the best. Move it around now and then so all sides get to dry out.
Usually that's all that's needed. After some of ours I leave mine out a couple of days just so I can grin when I go into the john--me being a cowboy and all.
Along the same lines be sure to clean and oil your firearms--you need to get rid of the salts that you sweat out. I have removable leather on the lever of my rifle so I can be sure to get that clean and oiled. Some don't care--figuring the leather wrap will hide the rust anyway. Somewhere is the an Army drill sergeant who would turn over in his grave if I let mine get rusty--old skills sometimes are the best.
Be careful with your cartridges as some of the more aggressive oils and such (WD-40 comes to mind) can actually migrate inside the cases and oil and powder usually make a "click" sound.
ÇR
