Storing a Rifle

[Norstrog]

Anybody got any suggestions for how to go about prepping a rifle for long term storage? I've got a Marlin Model 99 that's not firing consistently. At this point I don't want to continue to shoot it because I've got to clear a misfire too often to make it fun. Originally, I thought it was the cheap Wal-Mart ammo so I got some better ammo and am still having the same problem. I've disassembled, cleaned, oiled, reassembled and tried again and no luck. I think it's going to need a little work and don't have to bucks to invest in that work currently so am going to stick it in the closet until I do. I use Break Free CLP for all my other guns and have read that it works well to add a coat to prevent rusting. Other than that I'm not sure what all needs to be done to prep. a gun that you're not going to use for awhile. The rifle was my grandfathers so has a fair amount of sentimental value (made b/n 1960-1970 I believe) but is also quite accurate. It's a great .22 LR and I want to take the best care possible. Thanks in advance for your help/advice I appreciate it.

[taylorce1]

For rifles that I'm going to store for a long time I do pretty much what you did. When I first joined the Army I stored my rifles for 4 years I used silicone impregnated sackups. I then put them in hard side gun cases and stored them in my parents basement. When I came home from the Army and got them out no rust what so ever. I cleaned them up again before firing and the only problem I had was my .243 wouldn't fire, I guess leaving it cocked for 4 years the firing pin spring broke. I don't know if the sackups helped or not but they sure didn't hurt.

[bennnn]

I've put a few rifles up in the past, what I do is buy a can of cosmoline, clean the heck out of everything, and then just basically pack it in the grease..
I had an idea a few years ago that has worked out great, my wife has one of those vacuum sealer machines for food, the bags come in one long roll.. After I put the cosmoline on I just seal the gun up nice and tight with the vacuum machine. After that you could just about store it at the bottom of a pond....

But I'm talking about LONG term storage... For GP a good gunsock and a lot of whichever oil you like would be just fine...

My $.02,,, or is that $.03??

[tINY]

If you can get an tight plastic box, put it in there after the oiling along with a couple of dessicant packs. Make sure the dessicant can't touch the rifle.



-tINY

[UniversalFrost]

I like the long term TRIPLE TOUGH RUST-BLOX STORAGE KIT (http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=1116&title=TRIPLE+TOUGH+RUST-BLOX+STORAGE+KIT)from Brownells.

First I clean and lube the weapon with CLP and I make sure to put a fine coat over the entire gun before putting into the storage bags. Sometimes I use gunwrap paper or a gun sak up as well. I also relieve the tension on the springs by decocking either manually or using snap caps or just pull the bolt, slide, etc... off.

Here is a link to the gun storage section of brownells (http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/catSearch.aspx?c=1174)

[trooper3385]

Something that I've always heard that is good to do is store them with the barrel facing down. With the barrel facing up, all the oil and whatever else runs down over time and soaks up in the stock. Which after awhile, can deteriorate the stock. I don't know if this is true, but it sounds good. This is the way I've stored my guns in the past if there not going to be used for several months.

[T. O'Heir]

Give it a really good bath, try some different ammo(the price of said ammo means nothing.) .22's are like that. Then if you want to put it away, grease the bore and store it in a cool dry place.

[mrawesome22]

Put lots of oil on them. If they are black powder, put LOTS of oil on them. If it's something like a firing pin spring which never gets any attention, I'd put some grease on it.

[TABING]

Depends where you live. In AZ,I store all my guns in a safe(for 10 months at a time) with just a light coating of Hoppe#9 or some other gun oil. Never had a problem, (but the interiorr of the safe with nearly 75 oiled guns in it is so impregnated with petroleum mist, rust wouldn't have a chance).

Lately been using MadDog XF7 which is only available at MDtactical.com
it's absolutely the best lube and protector on the market.

[Hello123]

Some of this advice makes me think that you are just creating a mess that will be unneccessary and hard on the wood. First thing I would do would be to give it a good cleaning and wipe all metal parts with a decent preservative/oil. Then I would slip the gun into a silicone cloth sleeve. Probably most importantly is then storing it in a dry place and a place that is not sealed up, like a gun case.

[skeeter1]

...Get a couple of these.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0007LOXYQ/ref=dp_image_0/002-0413583-7636021?ie=UTF8&n=3375251&s=sporting-goods

Goldenrods are good, too, but I didn't want to drill a hole in my safe for an electrical cord. So far, no rust, and I check them every month-or-so, and plug them in overnight to "recharge." No reason to go with cosmoline -- that stuff is really messy and hard to clean off.

[Horseman]

It is important to remember that the wood on guns needs some moisture in the air or it could crack. Museums like to see guns and most other wood items at 50% humidity and 70deg. F. This isn't always possible to acheive but goes to show that some moisture is good. If you go to any of the box stores you can get a digital thermometer/ humidistat for $10.00. I keep mine in the same room I keep my guns.
As to the oil. I have done two different corrosion tests both using 10 penny nails, stripped with a wire wheel and degreased in alcohol. I tried oils and greases. Here are the ones tested. B-C Barricade(formerly Sheath), Rem-Oil, Ed's Red(Home made cleaner similar to Hoppes 9), Hoppes No. 9, Hoppes Lubricating Oil, Outers Oil, WD-40, ATF, Breakfree CLP, Hoppes Gun Grease, Outers Gun Grease, Lubriplate White Lithium Grease. Most of the oils gave me the same results when the nails were spritzed with saltwater. The ones that really stood out were Breakfree CLP and B-C Barricade. I had a hard time getting the CLP to rust. Aside from those two oils, all others showed signs of rust after the second application of saltwater and most showed rust after the first application. Rem-oil being one of the worst. W-D 40 was the 3rd best performer as far as rust.(But I still don't recommed it on guns). That being said, none of the oils came close to protecting as well as a thin coating of the greases. The Hoppes Grease and Outers Grease out- performed the Lubriplate White Lithium Grease as expected. The first test was run over a year ago and the Hoppes and Outers grease nails are still out in my garage rust free. Thats's what I use. Wipe most of it off and it's not any messier than oil. You should only be able to tell it's there by touching it . That's how much I put on the test nails too. The other nice thing is you don't have to worry about it migrating like oils. No evaporation like most oils either. Hope this helped. End of novel.
Joel

[USMCG_HMX1]

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/23690-16997-2143.html


Kleen Bore makes these storage bags and they work very well. I have a Norinco SKS that I put inside one of these for over a year (after a good cleaning of course) and it came out the same way I put it in.





Kris