Storage for the guns you want to last

[SwwPlayboy]

I've started looking into collecting guns that I wish to last for quite a few decades.

I have a gun storage area that consist of a rack with doors. This has been fine for the time being, but hear lately I have been looking into finding that rare gun that very few people have. The purpose is to store and pass along to my children. I guess if you need to put it into words, starting a family firearm legacy. This guns would not be purchased for recreational shooting, at the most, test fire it to make sure it works, cleaned and placed back into storage. On the occasion, pull it out for a special moment.

As I said before, I do have a storage for my everyday guns, but I'd like something a bit more special for the ones I wish to keep their factory new integrity.

So my question is, what is the best way to store these kinds of guns? Price is going to be a concern, but I would like to hear the options going from the High end to the Low.

At lot of my buddies have suggested buying a nice safe and wrapping them in some type of gun sock. Although this sounds good, I have no experience on gun preservation and nor do they. I am open to all opinions. Thank you

[Snyper]

At lot of my buddies have suggested buying a nice safe and wrapping them in some type of gun sock

Your buddies already gave you a good suggestion, although you can get by without the "socks" if the guns don't touch each other.

I use G96 Gun Treatment and it leaves a good coat of protection against rust

[Buzzard Bait]

Look at VCI Vapor corrosion inhibitors look at the vci bags
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[kilimanjaro]

Whatever you choose, add a calendar to your plan. Mark the day to renew your insurance, and the day every six months to remove them, inspect, clean, and oil.

[markm_04]

I would suggest a nice safe (maybe more than one) since it sounds like you are wanting to collect quite a few over the years. Although a safe is not a complete end to all worry about security it does give a nice peace of mind against theft and fire. If you are seeking rare firearms, your investment will not be pocket change by any means so why not keep those rare firearms safe.

I don't believe gun socks would be necessary as stated above, however a thorough inspection and cleaning every now and then should keep everything in good working order. I always have a dehumidifying rod on in my safe in order to prevent unnecessary moisture accumulation, especially since it is downstairs.

[Mr.RevolverGuy]

wrong thread

[longspurr]

Here is a completely different approach to keeping metal (guns) rust free. Rust is oxidation – it takes oxygen to make rust. Water is H2O the O being oxygen.

Buy or make an enclosure that you can Seal air tight. Purge the enclosure with Nitrogen to push out the Oxygen. With a pressure gauge mounted on the enclosure to verify the seals are holding you can verify all is well without opening the enclosure. You want to pressurize to approximately 2 ounces of pressure. Nitrogen makes up approximately 70 % of what we are breathing so handling it is safe – with some common sense ventilation when venting it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_blanketing

Common practices

The most common gas used in blanketing is nitrogen. Nitrogen is widely used due to its inert properties, as well as its availability and relatively low cost. Tank blanketing is used for a variety of products including cooking oils, volatile combustible products, and purified water. These applications also cover a wide variety of storage containers, ranging from as large as a tank containing millions of gallons of vegetable oil down to a quart-size container or smaller. Nitrogen is appropriate for use at any of these scales.
The use of an inert blanketing gas for food products helps to keep oxygen levels low in and around the product. Low levels of oxygen surrounding the product help to reduce the amount of oxidation that may occur, and increases shelf life.

[5thShock]

Keep them where you can get at them, unmummified, and inspect them often and keep them lightly oiled, or Rigged or whatevered. Pretty much like what you do with the guns you are using. No nasty surprises when the tomb is opened.

[JohnFLand]

1. Dry, warm gun safe
2. Clean gun
3. oxidation resistant gun coating like Eezox or WD40 Corrosion Inhibitor (not regular WD40)
4. Gun sock for padding
5. VCI bag for sealing padded gun

[Buzzard Bait]

Interesting do you put the sock over the vci bag or the other way around?
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[JohnFLand]

I put a sock over the gun first.

[Buzzard Bait]

Any real reason? I have been putting the vci bag next to the gun and the sock over the bag my thinking was that the bag squeezed most of the air out of the bag.

[JohnFLand]

The VCI bag I used for my Dad's Arisaka Type I (made by Beretta) WW2 bring-back was a bit stiff. The gun sock was pretty form fitting. It just seemed to work better to put the bag around the sock.

[Snyper]

I've started looking into collecting guns that I wish to last for quite a few decades.

They don't require any "special" care to last indefinitely.

I wouldn't want to own them if I couldn't get them out an handle and admire them once in a while.

Simply wiping them with oil and storing in a safe is all you need to do

[Fatal Wound]

I have kept mine in gun safes for the past several years. I go through 1 safe every 2 months and inspect, lightly oil and return. I also bought mine to pass down to the kids.