I am getting ready to head back to Iraq in a couple months and will be putting my rifles in long term storage. For their protection I would like to leave them in their cases but I am worried that even a heavy coat of oil may not prevent sweating from the foam liners and causing rust.

It seems that there used to be a poly type gun sleeve available that kept guns from rusting in storage. Is it even still available and any good?

If you have any suggestions I would sure like to hear them.

quote:

Originally posted by M1Tanker:
I am getting ready to head back to Iraq in a couple months and will be putting my rifles in long term storage. For their protection I would like to leave them in their cases but I am worried that even a heavy coat of oil may not prevent sweating from the foam liners and causing rust.

It seems that there used to be a poly type gun sleeve available that kept guns from rusting in storage. Is it even still available and any good?

If you have any suggestions I would sure like to hear them.

Hey, Bill...ship them suckers to me, I’ll make sure they don’t rust on you!

Seriously though, wipe em down real good with MilTech and then wrap em with waxed paper. Toss in a few of those pesky little packet things that always come with optics and such, and put em in the cases. If you don’t want to use up all your MilTech then go to a health food store and buy a bottle or two of pure lanolin. The wax paper won’t absorb the oil like other stuff will.

RIG is an answer too..
Don

quote:

Originally posted by Rick 0311:
Hey, Bill...ship them suckers to me, I’ll make sure they don’t rust on you!

You are about the 20th person to volunteer your services for storing them for me.

I have found that "oil" is not a very good long term rust preventative. Buy a high quality grease such as cosmoline and make sure the cases are not shut tight.

Yo can get gun socks impregnated with silicone, but I have no experience with them in the kind of long-term storage to which you are referring.

See Cabelas here and here.

Cosmoline is great for long term storage,but its a real bitch cleaning off.There is no way the bags could work as good.

I would normally agree with the RIG and/or Cosmoline idea...but I’m betting he would rather not have to clean all that crap off when he gets back home next year.

MilTech and Lanolin cling like a mother to whatever you put them on and they don’t run off like regular oil does. Another great product is the spray on dry lube/rust preventative that you can get at just about any good hardware store.

Put any of those on the metal, wrap the rifle in waxed paper or Brownell’s Gun Wrap paper and they will be protected from rust, and the rifles will clean up in the blink of an eye when you take them out of storage.

I’ve also used Bore Stores long term stoage cases which are just a sock type cover that allows you to put the rifle in a hard sided case. They only cost about $10 bucks each. Of course, with the number of rifles that Bill has he may need to get promoted just to buy enough!

If I had somebody I trusted that lived in a dry climate I'd let them store them for me. Up here a oil patch down the tube and a simple wipe down of the metal equals a long time of safe storage, I bet it's the same in Arizona.

Do not store them in a case. Paste wax the metal. Thoroughly clean the bores and finish with a greased patch. Best storage is in a rack with separation between the guns. I prefer muzzle down.

Dave

Dig a deep hole and burry them and don't forget to mark the spot.

what is the climate like where they will be stored if its AZ or UT rust isn't a problem because of the lack of humidity, central texas around ft hood would be a totally different situation, just wipe um down with gun oil either way to be safe

I think he is going to store them in Utah. He is leaving Arizona soon Most of my guns are stored at my dads house so I'm at the mercy of my dad to keep them rust free. I have to call him up every coupleof weeks to remind him to check on them.

ah if utah is the case, no problem, winter is coming so on average there is very very little moisture in the air when the temps drop, I grew up in texas and have noticed a huge difference in how fast things rust compared to there

Bill,
One possiblity to consider is bonded storage. Grease your guns, sleeve them and put them in climate controlled storage. Most major cities like SLC have a facility for just such a purpose. It normally runs about $2/month per gun. I know most of your guns aren't worth $2, but it gets them out of your wife's hair and neither of you have to worry about them until you get home.

Waxed paper doesn't do much Instead use VPI [vapor phase inhibiter] paper which puts out a gas of rust preventative chemical. First clean the gun thoroughly and coat with RIG, that's what it's designed for.

quote:

Originally posted by ForrestB:
Bill,
One possiblity to consider is bonded storage. Grease your guns, sleeve them and put them in climate controlled storage. Most major cities like SLC have a facility for just such a purpose. It normally runs about $2/month per gun. I know most of your guns aren't worth $2, but it gets them out of your wife's hair and neither of you have to worry about them until you get home.

Better watch out you migh upset him, He gave me a big speech on how my Savage rifle are worthless I have 2 now 1 and all his rifle were handcrafted by the finest gunmaker in the industry. He was referring to himself . when he looks at my custom made rifles he says there are decent for boat paddles.

John

quote:

Originally posted by 323:
when he looks at my custom made rifles he says there are decent for boat paddles.

John

Only your Savages.

But I am betting Forrest will be happy to borrow one of your Savages after Chic clubs him over the head on out deer hunt to get his hands on his Wiebe rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by ForrestB:
Bill,
One possiblity to consider is bonded storage. Grease your guns, sleeve them and put them in climate controlled storage. Most major cities like SLC have a facility for just such a purpose. It normally runs about $2/month per gun. I know most of your guns aren't worth $2, but it gets them out of your wife's hair and neither of you have to worry about them until you get home.

That is an idea I hadnt considered. I will do some looking into it.

And remember, the barrel for one of my $2 rifles came from you!

Just go buy a gun safe, and be done with it. I left mine in my gun safe for almost a year came back nothing. I didn't even have a chance to oil them up before I left and they were still in good shape. I got one of the wal-mart specials and it works good.

For long term storage, I store mine in anaerobic conditions. It takes oxygen to make rust, so I deprive them of oxygen by using one of those vaccuum baggers. I buy a roll of the bag material and make one as long as I need, lightly oil the gun and seal it inside. It sucks out all the air and keeps the gun moisture-free, rust-free, dust-free.

LPS-3 is a spray that goes on like oil and dries like a soft cosmoline. I have never had a gun coated with it rust. Like someone else said, no gun cases.