T.A. WORKMAN
Hunter
ncrobb said:
Robb,
Just buy some silicone treated Rifle & Shotgun socks and cut them to the guns length for storage. I don't use the one's made for pistols & revolvers as they are usually on the thin side.
Terry
Storing your pistol/revolvers
- Thread starter ncrobb
- Start date
Help Support Ruger Forum:
Robb,
Just buy some silicone treated Rifle & Shotgun socks and cut them to the guns length for storage. I don't use the one's made for pistols & revolvers as they are usually on the thin side.
Terry
I got called away from the computer last time and didn't get to say much. Wanted to add... Midway sells special coated metal racks for handgun storage in a safe. And they work, I've got a few. But also check out Walmart or other home store. I found a couple of upright racks at WM that were meant to hold dishes. They are metal with a soft plastic coating. Work just right in a safe. And they were cheap. I also bought a few of those coated metal rods that will hold a handgun by the barrel under a shelf. They seem to work as well. I can't bear the thought of suspending a treasured S&W M58 or Colt Python that way but I did hang up several modern stainless revolvers and they worked just fine.
The problem I have with rifles is mostly about the modern military style ones. Many are too short to go all the way to the upper support. There is a product you can buy that goes in the barrel and then sticks with Velcro to the underside of a shelf. So then the rod down the barrel keeps the short rifle straight and upright. I have just used a short wooden dowel for that. I usually cheat and just keep my AR pistols and AUG in zippered case somewhere else. Military style rifles are also bulky sideways and they are just covered with sharp edges from end to end. So AR's and FAL's and SCAR's that I'm going to put in the safe, I slide those into a sock. I don't really like using them because I end up with a safe full of guns I have to try to identify by touch rather than sight. And the socks fight me going on and coming off because of all the sharp edges and corners. But it's better than having them slide sideways and gouge each other. Or more likely, a military style rifle slides sideways and scratches the nice wooden stock on a classic Sako bolt action!
Most of us use multiple oils. The one that cleans the best may not protect the best against rust. Read the labels. I have some high dollar stuff that works. But have you noticed Remington is making two different versions of RemOil now. Compare the labels. They make the old standard one. And they also make some that is labeled "Moisture Guard" and "Using VCI technology." They advertise that it is particularly good in safes. A lot of my guns live in the safe so I tend to pull out one of the long term ones and give it a few squirts of this stuff on the exposed steel. Leave it wet and put it back on the plastic coated rack. Has worked for me so far!
Gregg
The problem I have with rifles is mostly about the modern military style ones. Many are too short to go all the way to the upper support. There is a product you can buy that goes in the barrel and then sticks with Velcro to the underside of a shelf. So then the rod down the barrel keeps the short rifle straight and upright. I have just used a short wooden dowel for that. I usually cheat and just keep my AR pistols and AUG in zippered case somewhere else. Military style rifles are also bulky sideways and they are just covered with sharp edges from end to end. So AR's and FAL's and SCAR's that I'm going to put in the safe, I slide those into a sock. I don't really like using them because I end up with a safe full of guns I have to try to identify by touch rather than sight. And the socks fight me going on and coming off because of all the sharp edges and corners. But it's better than having them slide sideways and gouge each other. Or more likely, a military style rifle slides sideways and scratches the nice wooden stock on a classic Sako bolt action!
Most of us use multiple oils. The one that cleans the best may not protect the best against rust. Read the labels. I have some high dollar stuff that works. But have you noticed Remington is making two different versions of RemOil now. Compare the labels. They make the old standard one. And they also make some that is labeled "Moisture Guard" and "Using VCI technology." They advertise that it is particularly good in safes. A lot of my guns live in the safe so I tend to pull out one of the long term ones and give it a few squirts of this stuff on the exposed steel. Leave it wet and put it back on the plastic coated rack. Has worked for me so far!
Gregg
coach
Hunter
I also use a golden rod in my safe just to keep any humidity at bay.
I also wipe the with a silicon impregnated or oil cloth when I put them back if I touch the metal.
Depending on what I'm doing, I sometimes put on cloth gloves left over from when I used to handle film negatives when touching blued guns especially. It saves having to wipe them down again since fingerprints are corrosive.
I also wipe the with a silicon impregnated or oil cloth when I put them back if I touch the metal.
Depending on what I'm doing, I sometimes put on cloth gloves left over from when I used to handle film negatives when touching blued guns especially. It saves having to wipe them down again since fingerprints are corrosive.
+1 on the Walmart dish racks! While in Walmart, I also picked up some cheap face cloths (approx 6x6").
These I place in each of the dish racks to ad some "bulk" and protect the revolvers.
With the revolvers placed in Midway silicon socks, I can easily place 2 revolvers (aligned in opposite directions) in each dish rack safely.
As long as the shelf does not collapse under its own weight, you would be surprised how many guns can be accommodated in this manner!
Flatbush
These I place in each of the dish racks to ad some "bulk" and protect the revolvers.
With the revolvers placed in Midway silicon socks, I can easily place 2 revolvers (aligned in opposite directions) in each dish rack safely.
As long as the shelf does not collapse under its own weight, you would be surprised how many guns can be accommodated in this manner!
Flatbush
Pal Val
Buckeye
I put my guns in the safe in silicone-impregnated socks. The boxes are stored in a closet. Any time I put a "non-original" part in a gun, I put the original in that gun's box. I found out long ago that if you send a gun to Ruger with a part not original to it, they take it off.
If a gun will be stored for more than 6 months, I treat it with gun wax.
Long guns I keep in permanent storage I also put in socks. Most of my long guns are shooters, so I have only a few "safe queens" in there.
The only time I've had a problem with rust was more than 30 years ago, when I went overseas and my wife didn't know how to care for the few guns in my collection then. It was very humid in our house. When I came back, some had developed some pitting.
If a gun will be stored for more than 6 months, I treat it with gun wax.
Long guns I keep in permanent storage I also put in socks. Most of my long guns are shooters, so I have only a few "safe queens" in there.
The only time I've had a problem with rust was more than 30 years ago, when I went overseas and my wife didn't know how to care for the few guns in my collection then. It was very humid in our house. When I came back, some had developed some pitting.
Viking Queen
Blackhawk
I am fairly new at this gun ownership business, but I do know a bit about storing valuable things safely.
I know antique textiles, table linens, clothing, quilts. A preservationist would NEVER STORE such items in ordinary cardboard boxes as part of the cardboard/paper making process the boxes have a form of acid in them. Over time, items stored in cardboard can turn color and even rot from contact with the cardboard. For the same reason, fine artwork is always framed using acid free mat board and textile archivists use acid free tissue and acid free boxes to store textiles. The acids present in the cardboard boxes can over time have a detrimental effect on metal finishes and finishes on fine wood also. For that reason I would not store firearms in boxes, unless they were the acid free archival type.
Wool holds moisture therefore any case for a gun that contains real sheep fleece is not advisable for gun storage. Many makers of fine leather gun cases line them with synthetic fleece so they won't attract moisture. As others have said, the zippered gun cases, especially leather ones are not good for long term storage as they would have the potential to hold any moisture that would be in the environment.
Cotton, on the other hand, such as the mention of the washcloths used to separate pistols in the walmart pot lid racks (that's what they are) is an excellent idea as is breathes and doesn't hold moisture like wool does. Cotton dries faster.
I have my small, very small, group of handguns slipped into white cotton socks. One per sock. Then they go in the safe with dessicant packets. Get a bag of Cat Litter Crystals. Just the crystals, not the clay litter with crystals. Take some old panty hose, guys, your wives/girlfriends have plenty. Cut each leg of the hose into 6 inch pieces...you will have little 6" tubes. Tie a knot in one end then pour about 1/2 full of the cat litter crystals and tie off yhe other end. Voila, you have dessicant packets. You can make the packets any size you need. The nylon is indestructable and won't rot. If you need to "renew" the packets ability to absorb moisture set them in a warm dry place for the day, I put mine out in the sun in the summer and you could put them over a heat register to dry out in the winter.
The Ruger gun boxes that I have are stacked inside one of those vacuum storage bags that you store blankets,etc in, then you vacuum out the air. That keeps the boxes in good shape and protected from dirt and any moisture in the basement. They will pristine for the next owner of the guns, should I ever sell them. You can fit a LOT of cardboard or plastic pistol boxes in one of those giant vacuum bags.
You all have some very good ideas about storage. Thank you for additional information that I did not have before. I always appreciate what I learn here.
Viking Queen
I know antique textiles, table linens, clothing, quilts. A preservationist would NEVER STORE such items in ordinary cardboard boxes as part of the cardboard/paper making process the boxes have a form of acid in them. Over time, items stored in cardboard can turn color and even rot from contact with the cardboard. For the same reason, fine artwork is always framed using acid free mat board and textile archivists use acid free tissue and acid free boxes to store textiles. The acids present in the cardboard boxes can over time have a detrimental effect on metal finishes and finishes on fine wood also. For that reason I would not store firearms in boxes, unless they were the acid free archival type.
Wool holds moisture therefore any case for a gun that contains real sheep fleece is not advisable for gun storage. Many makers of fine leather gun cases line them with synthetic fleece so they won't attract moisture. As others have said, the zippered gun cases, especially leather ones are not good for long term storage as they would have the potential to hold any moisture that would be in the environment.
Cotton, on the other hand, such as the mention of the washcloths used to separate pistols in the walmart pot lid racks (that's what they are) is an excellent idea as is breathes and doesn't hold moisture like wool does. Cotton dries faster.
I have my small, very small, group of handguns slipped into white cotton socks. One per sock. Then they go in the safe with dessicant packets. Get a bag of Cat Litter Crystals. Just the crystals, not the clay litter with crystals. Take some old panty hose, guys, your wives/girlfriends have plenty. Cut each leg of the hose into 6 inch pieces...you will have little 6" tubes. Tie a knot in one end then pour about 1/2 full of the cat litter crystals and tie off yhe other end. Voila, you have dessicant packets. You can make the packets any size you need. The nylon is indestructable and won't rot. If you need to "renew" the packets ability to absorb moisture set them in a warm dry place for the day, I put mine out in the sun in the summer and you could put them over a heat register to dry out in the winter.
The Ruger gun boxes that I have are stacked inside one of those vacuum storage bags that you store blankets,etc in, then you vacuum out the air. That keeps the boxes in good shape and protected from dirt and any moisture in the basement. They will pristine for the next owner of the guns, should I ever sell them. You can fit a LOT of cardboard or plastic pistol boxes in one of those giant vacuum bags.
You all have some very good ideas about storage. Thank you for additional information that I did not have before. I always appreciate what I learn here.
Viking Queen
ncrobb
Single-Sixer
All great ideas!
edlmann
Blackhawk
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