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Old July 16, 2017, 08:11 PM   #26
osbornk
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I think most of you are overthinking it and doing much more than is necessary. If a gun is kept clean and very dry, you don't need to do any more than put a light coating of whatever oil is handy on it. My oldest shotgun is 70 years old and spent most of its life sitting in a closet. I had a military gun from the 1870s and an army rifle from World War I that simply sat in my uncle's closet along with 2 40s era shotguns. They sat for decades undisturbed in a before I inherited them. They were all fine and looked like they did when they were put there. I have several rifles that have been sitting in my wormy chestnut gun cabinet since around 2000 and they still look new. My handguns from the 60s and 70s sat in my uncle and my neighbor's drawer for 20-30 years undisturbed and they still look almost new. The secret is clean and dry, especially dry.
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Old July 17, 2017, 02:16 PM   #27
reynolds357
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Different methods for different weapons and conditions. I don't store my safe queens the same way I store my Cerakoted black guns. Some on here say "cool" place. I disagree. Heat, not cold, drives out humidity. Open a good fire rated gun safe with a good anti humidity system in it and the heat will blast you in the face. My best safe is a real safe. Its not a gun "safe." I bought it used. In its last life, It stored money. It has something like a 16 to 20 hr burn time. It is in my shop which is not climate controlled. The air inside the safe is always way hotter than the outside air, regardless of outside temperature.
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Old July 26, 2017, 11:25 AM   #28
V-fib
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I store all mine in a safe now, but prior to my safe I stored guns and ammo in an old refrigerator and freezer which I put locks on. just make sure you put a desiccant of some type in the fridge/freezer. I got the big ones from cabelas and then every few months depending on humidity you place them in the oven to dry them out then back into the freezer. I still use the old fridge and chest freezer to store reloading components and ammo. they are outside in an outbuilding and I've never had a problem with moisture.

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Old July 28, 2017, 04:31 AM   #29
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ALL guns including handguns have to be in a safe at all times when not used.
If you add "at a licensed gun club" or "at the police station", then you are very "British".

There is a difference between prudent advice and what comes off as making demands.

Unloaded firearms, with the ammunition stored separately is about the least likely "accident waiting to happen" that I can think of.

I don't want to come off sounding like I am arguing against the use of a safe, or lock box, or other secure storage. I'm not. What I'm against is other people, who aren't me, don't know me, or my situation demanding I meet their requirements because other people, who aren't me, and aren't in my situation have done the wrong thing, in their situation.

Living in town with your kids & teens and half the neighborhood's kids and teens rampaging through your house (mostly unsupervised) on a regular basis, is one situation.

Living miles from town, with your youngest child a staff sgt in the air force, thousands of miles away, and not even having had an adult visitor in several years is quite a different situation.

Living in town, single, in your late 50s, with the only other "people" in your house being your late mother's two cats is still another situation.

I know people in all these situations and many other different ones, as well.
Some of them have gun safes, some don't.

These people take what they believe are prudent precautions. They aren't the ones you need to worry about. The ones we need to worry about are the ones that won't listen to advice, or demands or even the law.

back on topic, there is another way to store guns long term, that absolutely protects them from rust, and that is wax. A proper application of a paste wax will seal all surfaces from contact with the air, and doesn't evaporate.

One "long term" storage I heard about was found in NY back in the 70s. A couple bought an old house to restore, and in the attic was an old trunk, which contained some Civil War era letters and the remnants of a uniform. also a rather large, and unusually heavy block of paraffin wax.

The wax block contained a pristine 1860 Colt revolver.

Maybe not the right method for your situation, but it absolutely did preserve that gun, for over a century!
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Old November 29, 2017, 01:03 PM   #30
chrisintexas
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good thread
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Old November 29, 2017, 01:17 PM   #31
muzzleblast...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brancasterr View Post
Hey All!

Some of you may have seen me around these forums the last few days. I just inherited a few guns from my grandfather. All much older than I am. And I'm wondering what the best method of storing them for longer intervals might be.
Get some Johnson's Past Wax and coat the outside, oil the internals, and bore and stuff 'em in silicone treated storage socks. A dehumidified safe would be nice too. Good luck.
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Old November 29, 2017, 05:50 PM   #32
johnwilliamson062
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I can see owning one firearm and not having secure storage.
If you own more than one, especially high value in theft items like handguns, and no storage I disagree with your priorities.

It doesn't need to be a $5000 100 pound safe, but something that will require a few moments and making some noise instead of just walking off with it.
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