Long term storage

elius

Lads i'm looking to wrap my four ten up in cotton wool for the foreseeable future. I gave it a massive cleaning not so long ago and more or less want it to stay that way. What would be the best way to go about this. Any info much appreciated!

Cass

I have never stored a firearm for a "long" period of time, but my personal opinion would be;

1. To make sure the barrels, breech and any other metal parts are well and truly wiped down. You do not want any handmarks/fingermarks on the metal. Its a worst case scenario, but oils from our hands can leave marks/impressions on a barrel, etc that will show/get worse with time.
2. Place snap caps in the gun and fire them. Some say its not necessary, others sy it is, but its no harm releasing the pressure from the internal parts if being stored for a while.
3. See if you can get a shotgun "sock". I have one and its great. They are less than €20 and slip down over the entire gun preventing most if not all dust/particals from getting to the gun.
4. Make sure the area you store it (gun safe) is dry/warm with no damp. Also no harm taking out the gun from time to time to re-wipe and store away again. Do not have the room/safe too hot. I think room temperature will suffice, but there can be no moisture/dampness.
5. When storing the shotgun for a long time i personally would store it barrels down. This way any excess oil that resides in the gun will run down to the muzzle and not backwards into the breech and internal mechanisms.

Some lads may have more or better suggestions, but this would be a decent starting point.

bunny shooter

ezridax wrote: »

I have never stored a firearm for a "long" period of time, but my personal opinion would be;

1. To make sure the barrels, breech and any other metal parts are well and truly wiped down. You do not want any handmarks/fingermarks on the metal. Its a worst case scenario, but oils from our hands can leave marks/impressions on a barrel, etc that will show/get worse with time.
2. Place snap caps in the gun and fire them. Some say its not necessary, others sy it is, but its no harm releasing the pressure from the internal parts if being stored for a while.
3. See if you can get a shotgun "sock". I have one and its great. They are less than €20 and slip down over the entire gun preventing most if not all dust/particals from getting to the gun.
4. Make sure the area you store it (gun safe) is dry/warm with no damp. Also no harm taking out the gun from time to time to re-wipe and store away again. Do not have the room/safe too hot. I think room temperature will suffice, but there can be no moisture/dampness.
5. When storing the shotgun for a long time i personally would store it barrels down. This way any excess oil that resides in the gun will run down to the muzzle and not backwards into the breech and internal mechanisms.

Some lads may have more or better suggestions, but this would be a decent starting point.

As above minus crossed out bit. Better to let it "breath" IMHO;)

Cass

The "sock" in question Bunny is quite literally like a sock for your foot. It is stitched and sowed together. It is not sealed/waterproof nothing. Its only design purpose is to protect the gun from a scratch/dust etc. If you dropped it in water or mud it will soak through and get to the gun with little to no resistance.

Odysseus

ezridax wrote: »

The "sock" in question Bunny is quite literally like a sock for your foot. It is stitched and sowed together. It is not sealed/waterproof nothing. Its only design purpose is to protect the gun from a scratch/dust etc. If you dropped it in water or mud it will soak through and get to the gun with little to no resistance.

I have two of them, great yokes, there are also damp resistance as well if I'm correct. I got them as my safe is attached to an external wall, I have a timber framed house; I noticed that the bolts start to show some signs of rust. As I was concerned for my babies welfare, I got those socks. They seem have have protected them well:)

Tackleberrywho

ezridax wrote: »

I have never stored a firearm for a "long" period of time, but my personal opinion would be;

1. To make sure the barrels, breech and any other metal parts are well and truly wiped down. You do not want any handmarks/fingermarks on the metal. Its a worst case scenario, but oils from our hands can leave marks/impressions on a barrel, etc that will show/get worse with time.
2. Place snap caps in the gun and fire them. Some say its not necessary, others sy it is, but its no harm releasing the pressure from the internal parts if being stored for a while.
3. See if you can get a shotgun "sock". I have one and its great. They are less than €20 and slip down over the entire gun preventing most if not all dust/particals from getting to the gun.
4. Make sure the area you store it (gun safe) is dry/warm with no damp. Also no harm taking out the gun from time to time to re-wipe and store away again. Do not have the room/safe too hot. I think room temperature will suffice, but there can be no moisture/dampness.
5. When storing the shotgun for a long time i personally would store it barrels down. This way any excess oil that resides in the gun will run down to the muzzle and not backwards into the breech and internal mechanisms.

Some lads may have more or better suggestions, but this would be a decent starting point.

hear yest of a fella that left his mod on and it rusted, rust went down the barrel and fcuked the whole rifle.

I was talking to the bloke who had the job of removing it, he said he was a seriously hard job.

I had a Swedish Mauser that was oiled and then wrapped in a greasy brown paper for 30 years or more before I bought it.
not a spec of rust on it.

bunny shooter

ezridax wrote: »

The "sock" in question Bunny is quite literally like a sock for your foot. It is stitched and sowed together. It is not sealed/waterproof nothing. Its only design purpose is to protect the gun from a scratch/dust etc. If you dropped it in water or mud it will soak through and get to the gun with little to no resistance.

I stand corrected so

Sounds like a good idea

Tackleberrywho

bunny shooter wrote: »

I stand corrected so

Sounds like a good idea

Talk about a stocking filler , ba dum tishhhhhhh:D

Grizzly 45

I assume you are not going to have to bury it somwhere for when the hordes of Zombies stalk the land.:D
FWIW.Clean thourghly of all oils and dirt,that means a total stripdown of the bits,and then heat dry them .Apply a very light coating of oil to the internal metal bits and reassemble.On the outside metal,still the best is cosmoline ,if you can get the milspec stuff, the better.Its a relation to Vaseline and is a gun trade product for years now.Lightly coat the metal bits with this,even the barrel inside.Remember to clean this out before you go to shoot it again, and then invert the gun for 48 to 72 hours for any oils to run out of the mechanism,as you dont wnt it soaking into the wood in the stock.
Wood is tricky,some people say let it breathe where it starts to dry out,others say oil and cover.
I go for oil and cover with breathable material,actually if you look at some surplus military rifles that have been never issued they have survived fine being oiled and cosmolined and wrapped in greaseproof paper in a wooden box for decades,under some less than ideal storage conditions too.
So unless you are storing this in a wet and damp area,the gun sock is a good idea,or there are now "sleeping bags" made by Tuff coate? in the US for long term storage of guns as well.