Big Love (or my new Bobwhite 16ga)

[Neverfox]

I just snagged a brand new CZ Bobwhite 16 Gauge 26" Side-By-Side shotgun, completing my "ultimate CZ three-gun set", along with my CZ 75 SP-01 & CZ 527 Carbine. My three Czech beauties. You can keep your Glocks, your AR-15s and your tactical Remington 870s. This is pretty much the perfect shotgun for me and I can't wait to carry the 16ga torch.

[Neverfox]

Quick question for the experts: I plan to put the gun away for long term storage as soon as I get it. As crazy as it sounds, it's basically going to be a birthday gift next year (We bought it now because of the great price). So my question is can a NIB gun be stored long-term by simply keeping it in the unopened box or would it be better to open it, clean and protect the gun as you normally would for storage and then put it away? It seems obvious to me that the former would be fine since that is how it's stored in the warehouse for who knows how long. But I'm worried mostly about sea air, living as I do about 2 miles from the ocean and knowing that it will likely be stored in less than a perfectly controlled environment.