Storage Question (Preventing Barrel Rust)

[Dutch Henry]

I have some guns that were stored in a gun cabinet at my dad's house in SE Texas for 10 years without being maintained. Before they were put in the cabinet they were lightly coated with Birchwood Casey RIG (Rust Inhibiting Grease) inside and out. The day I pulled them out in 2009 they looked just as good as the day they went in. No rust anywhere. If you know anything about the weather in SE Texas you'll know that rust is a constant issue. Rain, humidity, killer heat - seeing what these guns looked like after that long unmaintained made me a firm believer in RIG.

^^^^^THIS +1

[Mail Clerk]

Question for you all. I know it is usually advised to put a light coat of oil inside the barrel to prevent rust when storing for long periods of time but what constitutes a long period of time. I know this depends on atmospheric conditions and other factors but is this something that takes a long time to form?

Sometimes I go a couple of months between shoots. I am also not one to clean my rifle frequently, maybe once every three or four outings. When I get home they usually go straight into storage until the next use. If I do clean them it is before i shoot and not after (I know I know).

Should I run a patch with some oil on it down the barrel before storing even if I am not cleaning it?

anonymous308,

If your referring to bolt actions then I feel running a patch of oil down the bore is the least you can do for your rifle! Doing this will break down bore fouling and keep it clean. I always clean my rifles with in a week so it always ready for the next outing. My two cents tells me why increase the chances for a jam and waste your time.

Mail Clerk

[glassparman]

Get a Zcorr storage bag. These guys make long term storage bags for the Military as well. They have a special barrier to stop condensation. They also have bags that fit in .50 cal ammo cans to store ammo.

I clean and oil my guns as normal, then I vacuum store in one of these for long term:

http://www.amazon.com/ZCORR-Corrosion-Vacuum-Shotgun-Storage/dp/B00A2TDQM8/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1446819673&sr=8-7&keywords=zcorr

Search Amazon for "Zcorr" and you will see most of their products.

[softmentor]

any non-stainless part should be protected with a synthetic oil that had penetration properties. My choice is AMSoil but there are several. the difference with synthetic is that it actually has an attraction to the steel that makes it penetrate the pores of the metal and stay in place. It will also displace any water. You can leave it for long numbers of years and it will still be rust free.

[NapalmCheese]

Why not just take better care of your things? Taking care of your firearms will turn them from consumables to inheritables.

^^^this^^^

He is taking care of his things by learning how to inhibit rust and by not excessively and unnecessarily cleaning his rifles.

[anonymous308]

He is taking care of his things by learning how to inhibit rust and by not excessively and unnecessarily cleaning his rifles.

Thank you. I honestly didn't even want to bother with replying to that but that is exactly the case. Everything I have read frowns upon over cleaning.

Just wanted to know if running an oiled patch down a barrel that was not just cleaned is fine for storage purposes.

[NapalmCheese]

Just wanted to know if running an oiled patch down a barrel that was not just cleaned is fine for storage purposes.

If it's hunting season, and I know I'm not going to shoot it for a while but want to keep it ready I'll push an oiled patch through the bore and run a dry patch through. The dry patch doesn't (can't) remove all of the oil and leaves a film. If I'm some place humid I'll skip the dry patch and maybe run the oil patch through a couple of times. Dry patch before I go hunting.

If I'm not going to shoot for a while and it's not hunting season I'll go ahead and just clean it and deal with having to have a few fouling shots before I regain accuracy.

If it's something I shoot every few weeks or so I'll just run an oiled boresnake through it or a lightly oiled patch (depends on the gun) and call it good until I start to see accuracy drop off, then I clean it.

[quadmx301]

I run a wet patch of clp through all my guns whenever they go back into the safe, doesn't matter if I'm planning to shoot them tomorrow or a year from now, clean or dirty. It is now a habit. Depending on what I'm shooting that day, quick dry patch down the bore to remove excess oil and I'm good. FWIW, never had a rust problem, some of my guns haven't been shot in years.

That's a really good habit IMO. I usually try to do this if I know something is going to be stored for awhile in particular.

[socal147]

the difference with synthetic is that it actually has an attraction to the steel that makes it penetrate the pores of the metal and stay in place.

This is what I hate the most about modern metals. All of the "pores" that collect dirt and moisture.

[DAVO]

Im going to try that lucas marine grease, this is supposed to be a rainy winter.