Storing your guns?

[tomboyjr]

 A comment on another post got me thinking about this. How is everyone storing their guns?
I recently bought a 'real' safe, and I have my handguns in the factory cases or boxes stacked inside. I always wipe them down before putting them away. It was mentioned that storing them in that way could case some rusting from moisture being trapped.

So whats everyone here doing about keeping their guns rust free in storage?

[SI VIS PACEM PARRABELLUM]

I don't think storing them in their cases causes an issue if they are cleaned and lubed but I think it's just something some people over worry about. I do not however store my guns in my safe in any other type of vessel simply because it just takes up too much space.
I store my guns cleaned and lubed and wiped down with a slightly oily rag and I have no corrosion issues at all. Where your safe is located and the humidity in that area is what you have to watch for. If the humidity is high or the temp fluctuates considerably then I'd consider a dehumidifier for the safe or maybe even a stand alone unit to normalize the entire room. If possible don't have the safe against an outside wall as that can affect temp.
Mine is located in the center of a room that maintains a nice dry 70 deg. temp year round.
Most guns are pretty robust though and unless they're subjected to some really bad neglect they tend to hold up really well. I have several old blued S&W revolvers that My dad carried on duty for decades and they were out in pretty nasty weather quite often yet they still look real good all these years later.

[CCWLearner]

I have a steel gun safe in an indoor temperature-controlled room.  It isn't the thick-walled kind to withstand a fire, so it isn't airtight, and not as susceptible to condensation issues as a fire safe.  I also have a couple of smaller fire safes but they are mainly for documents and so forth, not firearms.  I keep a big desiccant pack in each of those.  My "gun collection" isn't extensive or made up of collectible guns... so I see my gun safe as more of a big toolbox.

Long guns and handguns are in there uncased and not in a gun sock or anything, in the open air.  If a handgun is in there loaded, it's in some kind of synthetic holster.

Inside that safe, I also have some plastic ammo boxes for storing ammo.  I have a desiccant pack in each plastic ammo box.

I also have a quick-open pistol safe of similar construction, with a couple of holstered handguns I use for carry and home defense.

I use a combination of rust protectants on my guns, with Eezox being the primary one used on barrels and pistol slides, and Hornady Oneshot being the one used in polymer pistol frames, rifle trigger assemblies, etc.

[M1A4ME]

Believe this or not.

I once kept several WW1/WW2 03/03A3/03A4/M1917 rifles in their soft zipper cases for 8 years without dragging them out of the attic.  Attic = hot and humid as hell in the summer and cold/damp in the winter.  When I got them out and removed them from the cases many of them still had wet looking surfaces (oil from the wipe down 8 years before) on portions of the metal.  No rust, anywhere inside or outside.  I took them out of the stocks/for ends and wiped everything down again before putting them back in the cases and back in the attic.

My M29 S&W got wiped down in the mid 80's and put on a shelf in the attic.  I pulled it down 5 or 6 years ago and the blue foam looking stuff that was lining the presentation wood case had sort of rotted away.  Stuck to the gun, fragmented in the case.  I wiped the fragments of foam off the blued surfaces and they were as shiny and pretty as they were 20 plus years prior when I'd wiped it down and put it away.

I have guns in the safe that have not been pulled out/wiped down in 7 or 8 years but they sure looked good the last time I had them out and wiped them down so wiping them down with oily rags/cloths and running an oily patch down the barrel seems to work.

After you wipe one down with an oily rag - you don't touch the metal again when you put it away.  If you touch it, you wipe it down again (talking about blued and parkerized finishes here.  But I even wipe down the stainless pistols and Mini-14 - if I handle them.

I remember my father-in-law getting really pissed about pulling his old Browning .22 take down rifle out of the corner behind the door and finding rust on the barrel around the front sight.  He was really upset.  He blamed it on spider crap.  Yup.  He said a spider had crapped on his rifle barrel and rusted it.  My mother-in-law believed him.  I'd seen him clean his rifles, wipe them down and then grab them by the muzzle end to sit them in the corner too many times not to know it was just his skin/oil/salts, etc. that rusted barrel, right there where he grabbed it.

Blame rust on whatever you want to blame it on if you don't take good care of your tools.

[Rhodester]

I wipe mine with a silicone cloth and store them individually in VCI Rust Prevention Anti Tarnish Zip Lock Storage Packaging Bags from Amazon and then place them in their original boxes. Probably overkill but I am sort of anal about some stuff like this.

[rdcinhou]

Desiccant bags are cheap protection...one in every case and ammo can.

[Joe L]

Small electric strip heater inside the safe to keep the temp above the surrounding air temp thus above the dew point.  After cleaning and oiling, guns go in the slightly warmer safe. 
Joe

[buddyd157]

A comment on another post got me thinking about this. How is everyone storing their guns?
I recently bought a 'real' safe, and I have my handguns in the factory cases or boxes stacked inside. I always wipe them down before putting them away. It was mentioned that storing them in that way could case some rusting from moisture being trapped.

So whats everyone here doing about keeping their guns rust free in storage?

mine get cleaned, lubed, and wiped down with mineral oil.

then each gun is put into a soft carry pouch,(Allen brand)  i buy at walmart.

then they all get put into the closet.

[Lock-n-load]

Foam lined boxes will make your guns rust , oiled and in the safe for me!

[bang bang]

fwiw/ime

where i live its not  dry for months... 

but i have stored my guns in OEM boxes and gun rags, and so far no issues.  i will usually give a wipe down with an oily rag, but thats about it.

i did get a spot of rust on one of my rifles' barrel where it rested against the rest in the safe.  dont know how that happened since the other rifles next to it didnt have any issues.  Maybe a rust gremlin.

but i think you need to look at where you live and do what you need to do.

[RSR]

"Gun safes" questionable materials/construction are the primary cause of many corrosion issues.

WHY DO GUNS RUST SO FAST IN GUN SAFES?
Modern gun safes are built with a thin steel shell, lined with gypsum board (drywall) and then carpeted. To understand the corrosion issues you have to look at the chemicals contained in these materials and how they react.

FORMALDEHYDE: CH2O
Formaldehyde is used in drywall manufacturing. It is a dispersing agent used in drywall slurry. These dispersing agents are called sulfonated naphthalene-formaldehyde condensates. As the term implies, these formulations involve a combination of formaldehyde and naphthalene. The agents vaporize in your safe, creating a potentially caustic environment for metal and wood. Museums ban the use of formaldehyde in areas where artifacts are stored. Formaldehyde is also in the adhesive used to attach the carpet interior in most safes.

Sandvik laboratory test results for CH2O (formaldehyde) and carbon steel: corrosion rate over 1.0 mm/year. ~ Serious corrosion. The material is not usable.

ELEMENTAL SULFUR: S
Sulfur is found in drywall particularly from China. Sulfur reacts with trace amounts of water (humidity) to form hydrogen sulfide and sulfuric acid.

PYRITE:
Pyrite (iron sulfide) also known as “fool’s gold” is a very common mineral. It is present in the gypsum mined to make drywall. There are small amounts in gypsum in the U.S. and much larger amounts in gypsum mined in China. The pyrite ends up in the drywall. While this is not a big deal when it comes to home construction, you do not want it in your gun safe. Pyrite (Iron sulfide) reacts with oxygen and water to form iron and sulfur in the forms of iron oxide-hydroxide (rust) and sulfuric acids.

Sulfuric acid is particularly aggressive when it comes to corroding metal.

FERROOXIDANS – BACTERIA
This is a type of bacteria that eats metal. It lives on the pyrite in the drywall. It is this bacterium that breaks down pyrite into iron hydroxide and sulfur-based acids. However, it doesn’t stop there. Ferrooxidans will consume many other metals. Ferrooxidan bacterium is used in mining operations to strip metals in low-grade ore.

Does your gun safe ever smell like sulfur?
Next time you open a safe, see if you detect a slight earthy or sulfur smell. It’s there and gets stronger the longer the door has been closed. I have noticed it, particularly in cheap safes on the sales floor in some big-box sport discount stores. That smell is the above processes in action and it will cause gun rust very quickly.

As you can see, there is very good reason for all the corrosion control products in the safe industry. Modern gypsum (drywall) based gun safes are corrosive.

Why use drywall? It is cheap, easy to use and heavy. The weight is important. The gun safe industry wants their safes to be heavy. People think that heavy safes are “safer”. However, it’s smoke and mirrors designed to hide the fact that the industry has moved away from traditional safe designs. Modern gun safes are built to the UL Class RSC standard and are not, according to UL, a true safe.

So how did we get here?

How did the gun safe industry end up producing a product that can destroy the very item it is designed to protect?

It started in the late 1970s. Up until then, gun safes were based on the original design of Silas Herring. He used a sandwich design of thick outer steel, thin inner steel, and plaster or cement in the middle. This has been the standard fireproof safe design for over 100 years. In the 1980s the gun safe market started growing and as demand for safes grew, a bunch of new companies entered the market. To reduce costs and speed production, these new producers dropped the original Silas Herring design in favor of cheaper, lighter materials.

They eliminated the thick outer steel. They eliminated the plaster or cement filler. The thin inner steel cabinet became the outside steel box. They lined this thin walled box with drywall then carpeted over it. This is the modern gun safe.

When these changes occurred UL (Underwriters Laboratories) created a new classification. Class RSC–Residential Security Container. The RSC is the standard gun safe sold in most stores throughout America.

If you have purchased a gun safe made after 1980 it is most likely a UL Class RSC. It is drywall based and subject to all the corrosion issues above. Your best defense against corrosion is still well-cleaned and well-lubricated firearms. It is important to open the door regularly and let your safe air out. This will reduce the corrosive sulfur compound buildup. Dehumidifiers slow the process by lowering humidity, but they don’t stop it.

REMOVAL OF CORROSIVE MATERIALS.
The interior of a gun safe can be removed and replaced with safer materials. Products like SBI Micore-300 can be used to replace the drywall. However, this is an extensive modification and will take some time and skill to properly fit and install the new fire board.

How do you avoid all this? Do not buy a gun safe with drywall or carpeting. That eliminates just about every safe sold in America. Otherwise, Ft. Knox, Browning, American Security, and a few boutique producers offer safe models with the Herring double walled steel design. These models do offer some security and modest fire protection, and the inner steel will provide good corrosion protection. These safes start at around $10,000 and go up to 20K+.

More: https://www.secureitgunstorage.com/gun-safe-corrosion/

FWIW, I do increasingly think SecureIt's gun cabinets/safes are the way to go.  Granted, I'd suggest building their safe into the wall of a secure closet or gun room and reinforcing its exterior -- everything but door, so sides and back and top and bottom (bottom if not on concrete), with a metal framed wall reinforced with with fireboard and/or concrete block, thick plywood or 1"+ AdvanTech subflooring, and maybe also metal diamond mesh -- differing materials the more difficult it is to penetrate and also providing most of the same fire protection you'd get from those $10k+ safes referenced above for much cheaper.

[RSR]

*But regardless of where you store your guns, G96 is one of the best preservatives -- if storing you want a "preservative" not a "lubricant." 



My understanding is that it adheres to metal similar to how PB blaster penetrates rust to release bolts -- but G96 smells pleasant.  A BCM AR upper was the first shipment I received where this was used.

G96 “Triple Action” Gun Treatment ® is the finest most complete firearms product made.  It Cleans, Lubricates, and Protects your gun in one operation.  No solvent or preservation necessary.

Available in 12 oz. and 4.5 oz. aerosol spray cans.
G96 stock # 1055 (4.5 oz.) and 1055P (12 oz.)

Cleans Your Gun: Contains solvents which will completely remove all traces of rust, gun powder, leading, and corrosion in seconds.
Lubricates Your Gun: Contains lubricants which will not freeze, oxidize, or evaporate (the result of missile research).  Leaves no gummy residue.  Keeps firing pin and all moving parts working as low as -50F below zero; insures perfect firing every time.
Protects Your Gun: Leaves invisible magnetic film over all metal parts which protects your gun against rust under all weather conditions, even salt water spray.  Protects frequently handled guns against “fingerprint” damage.  This is the single and best gun care maintenance product ever designed to solve a gun owner’s cleaning, lubricating and corrosion protection problems. A unique formulation of active lubricants will not freeze, oxidize or evaporate. Designed with a pleasant odor, this gun treatment is assured perfect firing from 50 F below zero to 350 F.
Safe for use on polymers.

http://www.g96.com/products/gun-treatment/

Can buy it on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/G96-Complete-Triple-Action-Gun-Treatment-dp-B006EE0OUC/dp/B006EE0OUC/

[double-d]

Welp, since you asked...............

Firearm starts like this. Cleaned, lubricated and exterior wiped down with EEZOX



Once EEZOX is dry, placed in a breathable canvas bag with napped interior.  Mine are from a company called Muzzle Nuzzle but unfortunately they are no longer in business. I store my rifles in these bags as well.



Then into a homemade wood box



And finally stacked like this in one of my wood shelved gun safes with golden-rod dehumidifiers.



All my pistols are bagged & boxed the same way, above pic is simply a sampling.
YMMV

[Tim_B]

I do a lot of thinking and I thought of this method although I have not tried it.  It is a method to remove all corrosion causing elements and compounds from harming the gun. What is rust?  It is ferric oxide, a compound of iron and oxygen.  The formation of that compound is catalyzed by water.  If you remove oxygen and water and protect the gun from the other harmful compounds named in posts above then in theory you will have a safe gun for many years.  Here is the method:
Get the thickest large ziploc bag you can find.  Like the large thick heavy ones that come in some cases of bulk ammo and make sure it well seal airtight.  Buy a helium tank from wal-mart or some other vendor.  Place the gun in the the large ziploc bag and push out as much air as you can and zip it closed except for about a half inch at one end.  Hold the ziploc bag with the gun inside so that the corner where you left it unzipped for a half inch or so is at the bottom.  The bag will be upside down and that corner will be at the lowest point - this is important. Attach a rubber tube to the helium container and the other end of the tube you insert into the bag through the small opening at the bottom.  Let the helium flow into the bag.  The use of helium is two fold - it it lighter than any other gas in the bag and it will rise to the top and displace the heavier air which will exit through the opening at the bottom and it is also an inert gas.  Since it is an inert gas it does not react with other elements or compounds and this will not harm the metals or steels in the gun in any way.  Once you have filled the bag with helium and displaced all the heavier gases or compounds that cause rust or other corrosion then zip bag closed completely.  Your gun is now in a safe environment.
Like I said, I haven't actually tried this but it seems like a plausible way to keep harmful elements and compounds away from the gun.  It will only work with guns small enough to fit in the ziploc bag but I have seen some large bags of about two gallon size that come in cases of bulk ammo and the walls of the bag are much thicker and stronger than the ziploc bags made for food storage.

[RSR]

I do a lot of thinking and I thought of this method although I have not tried it.  It is a method to remove all corrosion causing elements and compounds from harming the gun. What is rust?  It is ferric oxide, a compound of iron and oxygen.  The formation of that compound is catalyzed by water.  If you remove oxygen and water and protect the gun from the other harmful compounds named in posts above then in theory you will have a safe gun for many years.
[...]

FWIW, neither formaldehyde nor the bacteria outlined above require significant moisture to cause damage. 

There are already gun storage bags made -- but I'd think a good oil and some desiccant certainly wouldn't hurt (desiccant particularly helps eliminate any condensation as temps change): https://www.zerustproducts.com/products/firearms-ammo-weapons/vci-gun-storage-bags/

I'd think nitrogen might be easier to come by and work similar to and possibly better than helium.  The problem however is that helium being significantly lighter than air has a tendency to escape as anyone with a mylar balloon can see over a few days.  Nitrogen has larger molecules by about 1/3 IIRC and also has a much heavier molecular weight -- both serving to slow the rate of dispersion and making less of a delta between the pure gas in the bag and outside air.