Firearm Long Term Storage

[CrossedRifles]

Quick question ; How does one correctly prepare a firearm for longterm storage?

I heard to clean everything real well and don't lube? Or do I? I'm thinking about also maybe putting desiccant to prevent rust / moisture if thatll help. Your advice and knowledge is again, deeply appreciated. Thanks.

[Mamluke]

If you live in Socal, no less than 15 miles inland, all you got to do is wrap them up in paper (not plastic bags) and store them in wooden boxes!

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[heycorey]

Rust never sleeps ... http://www.6mmbr.com/corrosiontest.html

[Cato]

Give it a good cleaning and spray it liberally with a gun lubricant like CLP. Spray all the parts too: stock, wood, grips, everything. Then wrap it in plastic like dry cleaning bags or a large zip lock bag if its a pistol.

Cosmoline will keep a gun preserved for decades and decades. I don't know where you'd buy cosmo, but you can probably use petrolium jelly. You can get that at any adult book store.

[luckystrike]

Give it a good cleaning and spray it liberally with a gun lubricant like CLP. Spray all the parts too: stock, wood, grips, everything. Then wrap it in plastic like dry cleaning bags or a large zip lock bag if its a pistol.

Cosmoline will keep a gun preserved for decades and decades. I don't know where you'd buy cosmo, but you can probably use petrolium jelly. You can get that at any adult book store.

No on clp and a big no on petroleum jelly, the breakfree dries up too fast and pertojelly is made for your skin so it's 80% moisture so youll have a very rusted gun. For longterm storage I use Milcomm, grease won't dry up like oil will. Maybe look into motor oil or cosmoline. It all depends how long "longterm" is.
A few weeks remoil will be fine, a few months I would use Milcomm, a few years I would use cosmoline.

[Bigtwin]

No on clp and a big no on petroleum jelly, the breakfree dries up too fast and pertojelly is made for your skin so it's 80% moisture so youll have a very rusted gun. For longterm storage I use Milcomm, grease won't dry up like oil will. Maybe look into motor oil or cosmoline. It all depends how long "longterm" is.
A few weeks remoil will be fine, a few months I would use Milcomm, a few years I would use cosmoline.

From a funny stand point I was going to say cosmoline, it worked for the Mosin Nagant and SKS for more than 40 years! There are other options now, but it does work.

How "long" do you intend to store said firearm?

[CrossedRifles]

Basic training in army so maybe 6 months - 1 year. Depends on how often they let me come back.

I already have Mil-Comm so I'll probably go with that.

[IntoForever]

Cosmoline if you don't mind orange hands after shooting it. I still can't get that crap out of my mosin stock, even after 2 weeks in the hot summer sun and wiping it every 2 hours with various chemicals and even soaking it in rubbing alcohol. Throw a de-humidifier in your safe along with whatever you coat your guns with.

[IntoForever]

Cosmoline if you don't mind orange hands after shooting it. I still can't get that crap out of my mosin stock, even after 2 weeks in the hot summer sun and wiping it every 2 hours with various chemicals and even soaking it in rubbing alcohol. Throw a de-humidifier in your safe along with whatever you coat your guns with.

[Merc1138]

No on clp and a big no on petroleum jelly, the breakfree dries up too fast and pertojelly is made for your skin so it's 80% moisture so youll have a very rusted gun. For longterm storage I use Milcomm, grease won't dry up like oil will. Maybe look into motor oil or cosmoline. It all depends how long "longterm" is.
A few weeks remoil will be fine, a few months I would use Milcomm, a few years I would use cosmoline.

The entire point of bagging it is so the protectant can't dry up(and moisture can't get in).

[FNH5-7]

I asked this exact same question. The general consensus was that I shouldn't worry, that oil will do.

[MrPlink]

cosmo will def work, but it sucks to remove

[MacOtac]

Make sure to dry fire them to release tension for long term storage.

[Jida]

Growing up we had rifles in closets (some over 100 years old) with only a bit of oil on them and/or silicon. No controls, no heavy grease, nothing really special. Being in CA and not right next to the ocean/bay generally kept the rifles in fine shape. We did get some rust on barrels (light) during particularly heavy rainy seasons. That came off pretty quickly with a little rubbing down.

This was for over 20 years, maybe 1-3 times where a little light rusting occurred and with almost no preparation or classic precautions.

Now I use CLP (just recently switched over) and I clean down/apply to my guns at least 1 time a month. Mostly due to wanting to handle the firearms more than a real need to oil them up.

If I were to have the firearms locked up for possibly a year I would dry them really good, clean them up with a light wipe down, cover in some kind of light oil or possibly grease, surround in packers wrap and then put them away. Hand acids, moisture in the air and other things you introduce to the metal is what is the issue.

[CrossedRifles]

Would it be okay to store them in pelican cases with tons of desiccant?