Guns rusting? Oh shoot help me out

[San FranPsycho]

So I live a block from the beach and keep my guns stored in a wooden trunk with some other crap, ammo, cleaning stuff, flashlight, binos, a buncha bottled water, peanut butter, tuna, bottle of whiskey, kinda my earthquake kit..

Living in SF a block from the ocean it is extremely humid and coming into spring/summer, pretty frequently foggy. I also have surfboards and a stinky salty wet wetsuit hanging in my room (i am renting out 1 room in a building).

This makes for a pretty stinky salty room in general but lately I have been noticing what APPEARS to be some rust on the barrel of my mossberg 500 (oldest gun i have a few years). I do not know if this could be caused by my environment but is there anything kinda of recommended moisture absorber you guys think I could put in the trunk? It is only on the outside of the pump and I don't really care about the aesthetics of that gun (only functionality - i will never sell it) but I did just get an AR and i really don't want that to start picking up rust especially on the inside of it.

is the fog and humidity of my environment doing this and what kind of moisture absorbant would you recommend if any?

THANKS!

[Riflewizard]

Oil your gun.

[jben]

I live equally close to the ocean. I have golden rods in my safes. No rust problems.

The correct answer would be for you to get a safe and put a dehumidifier in it. The cheaper answer would be try to mount a golden rod in whatever trunk you are using.

[readysetgo]

Silica gel and vci (corrosion inhibitor)

[redcliff]

And whipe your firearms down well with a silicone treated gun cleaning cloth every time you handle them. Its amazing how many people don't realize fingerprints will eat bluing and other finishes.

[jyo]

In some rust tests, Breakfree CLP scored well---I've been using it on my guns for about 20+ years---no rust. Of course, you must reapply every so often---usually about every 6-8 months for me.

[safewaysecurity]

Spray it down with remoil.

[JAGACIDA]

Oil it and store it in a silicone sock if it's going to be stored for any appreciable amount of time without care.

[teflondog]

I use Froglube on all my guns and I no longer have rust problems. Any protective oil should work if you take the time to reapply it once in a while.

[alfred1222]

Oil and lube your guns, and invest in dehumidifiers

[russ69]

Nothing can survive in a beach environment. If you want it rust free you are going to need to use rust inhibitors and do quarterly maintenance.

[ppl painter]

I also live a couple miles from the beach. I also had rust problems on a shotgun. Whenever I get back from shooting I clean and oil the outside, I shoot atleast once a month though. But on the same note I have some old marlin .22's that have a layer of oiled rust along the whole barrel, I was told that it was an old trick called 'browning' that was used to prevent actual rusting.

[dwh100]

Use Ezzox.

[mjsweims]

Regular cleaningf, even if you don't use it. Finish with a thin coat of oil. Store it so air can move around it and none of your survival stuff covers it.

[russ69]

...Store it so air can move around it and none of your survival stuff covers it.

This would be true in a normal environment but the salt air of the beach is worse than just the humidity of normal air. In this case you want to protect the gun from the salt air. Like I said, you need a rust preventive to keep rust at check.