Long term storage in gun cases

[crabo]

I have a friend who does not have a gun safe. His dad had some nice rifles, wrapped them in blankets and left them for 20 years. You know what happened. Every gun is rusted. He will not get a gun safe, not in the budget right now, and is storing them in cloth gun cases.

I was given some plastic gun cases and am going to give them to him. I was thinking about having him spray them down with rig and put them in the cases.

Any suggestions? Other than buying a safe and storing them out of the cases?

Please don't tell me that he doesn't deserve the guns. I'm just looking for a way to keep the damage from getting worse.

Thanks,

[Ickisrulz]

Cabinet ($120) and Eezox ($10).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W1QKUG/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001G7WAZ4&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=05DW1CM5ET6QH665E83H

[Jim]

Before I had a gun safe, I just put a light coat of oil on the gun and stuck it in the corner of the closet.

[shooter93]

I use gun cases a lot but 2 or 3 times a year I take them all out, inspect and re-oil them with sheath. I've been doing this for many years with no problems.

[Kraschenbirn]

A lot will depend upon range of temperature/humidity in your friend's storage area but my experience has been that long-term storage in gun cases - of any kind - is just an invitation for rust/corrosion. Wipe 'em down with Ed's Red (or something similar) and store 'em in the back of a closet, making certain there's no contact with any hangered clothing. (Once upon a time, I bought a lovely 12 ga. Mag Browning A-5 for $125 because the previous owned had stood it in a closet for couple years with an old wool overcoat hung against it...4" of the barrel, just behind the muzzle, had a perfect impression of the weave of that wool coat rusted into the finish.)

Bill

[Le Loup Solitaire]

In the absence of a good safe, what happens to guns depends a lot on the climate; high humidity can and will take its toll. Guns stored in a gun case have a better chance of survival, but either they have to be constantly/periodically checked and re-oiled or else there will be rust problems. Coating the metal with RIG is a good way to fight the problem. You can also use vaseline/petroleum jelly....it is messy but works. Midsouth sells gun socks that are supposedly impregnated with some kind of rust inhibitor. I have had some of my rifles in them, but clean and oil them anyway and have not had any problems. Old saying goes, "oil is cheaper than metal". Cosmolene is good stuff if you can get/find it and so is GI surplus rifle grease if you can locate that as well. Those kind of preventatives are messy and a nuisance to clean off, but they are the best for long term storage. Any point in/on any gun that air can get to is important for air brings moisture with it and "rust never sleeps". On my lever guns I pull the magazine plug, swab the inside of the tubes with either oil or RIG, oil the springs and reset the plug. On pistols and revolvers I make it a point to remove the stocks and coat the frames underneath them with rig or oil before storing them. It doesn't take much time to do this kind of preventative maintenance, and it certainly is worth it if you care about your guns. LLS

[Spartacus]

Before I had a gun safe, I just put a light coat of oil on the gun and stuck it in the corner of the closet.

Thats what I do...

[Wayne Smith]

Gun socs and store in air conditioned/heated home. Oil as needed. Check each at least every year. Works for me.

[fishnbob]

Years ago when my gunsmith, Frank Harvey Miles, was still in business, he gave me a can of ANDEROL, rust preventive for gunsmiths & collectors. It is or was made by Birchwood Casey and it is the best stuff I have ever found to keep firearms like new. It has a waxy feel after it dries and if you touch the metal, you can just take your finger and rub the fingerprint off and I never have a problem with rust, but I clean and respray them at least once a year. In his final years, as he was closing his business, I visited him and he gave me another can and I still have that one. It lasts forever, if the aerosol doesn't give out. Great stuff! I haven't seen it anywhere else. Maybe Brownells?

[old turtle]

I have found that Marvel Mystery Oil works well. Industrial supply firms sell products which sound like Anderol. They come in spray cans and leave a waxy film on the metal. These products work very well for long term storage

[P.K.]

Being from Maine, didn't really worry too much about humidity. Winter was another story when bringing weapons in out of the cold. Now it is an issue and I use this:http://www.drizair.com/faqs.html because my long guns are in the cabinet out in the garage. I know when we PCS someone will be scraching their heads over the bolts in the floor. ;-)

[alamogunr]

My safe is in a heated and air conditioned shop. About a third of my long guns are in "Sack-Ups" that I buy from Midway when they are on sale. Prior to sacking up, I wipe down with RIG. The suggestion to coat the inside of magazine tubes of lever rifles is one I never thought of. Out come the lever guns for more maintenance.

[mtnman31]

For long term storage get some of the plastic gun bags that are VCI impregnated. I started using these and they seem to work great.
http://www.polygunbag.com/gunbags.html
http://green-vci.com/products
If you have or can get some VCI paper you can do the same thing. Just put some of the VCI paper or an emitter into a thicker plastic bag and seal it up. Once the gun is bagged you can put it in a gun sock, gun case or cardboard box to protect it from dings. I don't recommend trash bags as they rip or puncutre to easy. You need a good thick plastic that can conform to the the gun with out a front sight tearing through the plastic. Technically you should be able to store your weapons completely dry in the bags and they shouldn't rust. I prefer to keep them lightly oiled. Don't go overboard on the oil as it will end up just running off and pooling somewhere in the bag or on the gun.

BTW - VCI is vapor corrosion inhibitor. It is a rust inhibiting vapor that coats/protects objects within a confined area. There are tons of commercial uses for it such as tools, parts and electronics. When you buy new dies or tools they sometimes come wrapped in VCI paper or with little disks that contain VCI. It is harmless to plastic, wood and optics.

[alamogunr]

For long term storage get some of the plastic gun bags that are VCI impregnated. I started using these and they seem to work great.
http://http://www.polygunbag.com/gunbags.html
http://http://green-vci.com/products


Links don't work!

In my previous post I should have mentioned that the primary reason I use the "Sack-Ups" is to protect those guns that are in better condition from dings in the safe. I will sack up more as the sacks are put on sale. VCI chips/bags/wrap is a good idea.

[kshock]

I use silicone treated sack ups. You can get them from Midway, Cabela's, Bass Pro, etc. If you buy the bulk packs (5-6 in a pack)they run around $5-$6 apiece. I wipe them down with oil prior to going into the sack up.

[10 ga]

Dittos "" for the gun socks and sack ups. Have a gun cabinet but it don't hold 1/4 of my cache. Midway, Natchez, Midsouth often have the sack ups on sale. Do not, repeat, do not store guns in plastic gun cases or boxes, they will sweat at times and then you have trouble. 10 ga

[Jamesconn]

for pistols like revolvers if you take off the grips can you just store in a jar of oil? submerged?