A thought about long-term storage in a safe.

[jimbo1096]

Amid the wanderings of my mind last night while I was settling down for bed, a question popped up in my head.
Here it is. Given the scenario that one had a safe full of their favorite and prized rifles and handguns. Obviously Ruger. Let's say all of the firearms were routinely cleaned, and wipe down with a treated rag, and then placed back in the original factory boxes, either the appropriate wax paper and cardboard or plastic bag in the case of the newer grey plastic. Let's say the owner passes away and no one either knows the combination to the safe or since family members retain ownership and residency in the house they don't bother to open the safe for 10 years. What would you expect them to find in regards to condition of the firearms inside?

 

[krw]

Rusted. You did not mention a dehumidifier in safe

 

[AJGUNNER]

Out west rust is not a big issue unless the safe is kept in the garage and subject to big temp changes. I have stuff in the back rows that have not seen the light of day for 3-5 years. Don't use a dehumidifier due to safe being in bedroom.

 

[turd]

Rust likely wouldn't be an issue here either. I have an old shotgun in a closet in the basement that I haven;t seen for a few years. The last time I looked it was fine no rust. That was after about five years of not looking at it. If they are put away lubed and wiped down I think they would be good here. This ain't Louisiana tho.

 

[Hvymax]

A coating of Ezox, Ballistol or Renaissance Wax and a well Desiccated safe shouldn't be any problems!!!

 

[gunzo]

Like has been said, more than one factor. But older Ruger oiled/waxed paper seems to be pretty effective.

I've personally handled some Blackhawks & Single Sixes that the shipper box outside the regular box had never been opened since made, early to mid 50's guns, until an estate auction about 10 years ago. 55 years of being boxed up. Serial numbers in the upper 40's to low 50's. What condition would they be in?

Surprisingly, all were pristine when opened. The fact that they hadn't stayed in one place for years made it more interesting. They would be in humid Ky. in the collectors gun room, just an average room in the house, to being hauled to various collectors shows, & back home again.

If folks know what Ruger treated the guns with & what the waxed paper consisted of in 1955 or 6 I think that would be the answer. And BTW, the guns needed a good wiping down, but they weren't heavily coated either, just a bit tacky.

 

[Kevin]

It also depends on where the safe is. Inside an air conditioned house or outside in an unheated garage.

 

[diyj98]

I've kept my guns for years in gun safes in an unheated, unattached garage. I wipe the ones that I don't regularly use with RIG grease. Some haven't been touched in years, but I've never had a rust issue. I do keep heated rod like the Golden Rods in each safe though.

 

[Johnnu2]

Many years ago, I had a friend at work who brought in (in those days it wasn't a fire-able offense) a Walther P-38 that his father/uncle brought back from WWII. I had been stashed in a NJ attic until I saw it in the mid-70's. It was kept in its original leather holster in that attic. No one ever touched it because no one was a 'gun person' in that family. The guy just brought it to me to see if it was loaded (there was no mag), and what it's value might be. I brought it home and took it completely apart, even found small amount of battle field (I suppose) soil inside the grip panels. There was no rust or pitting anywhere inside or outside that gun. To this day I remain amazed given that it was always kept in that leather holster....(which was also just fine). He kept the gun.... wouldn't sell it.
Go figure,
J.

 

[gw425#]

Depending on where the safe is located, and whether or not a dehumidifier is in use, I would expect the firearms to be fine.

Greg

 

[jimbo1096]

OK, a little more info. This is about me personally and I’ve had some issues here lately that though not hospital serious has made me wonder about certain things. I’m just particular.in this case my son locally and he knows the combo and my granddaughter was given the combo and she and her husband live with me in the house. They are really good people, though he was in the army. My son hunts mainly ducks and other water foul and has a few firearms mostly ones I’ve given him, but has no time to sort things out. So my thoughts are the most likely scenario it would take them a while to get around to doing something with the contents of the safe. I don’t want to liquidate it because I am still enjoying use of the firearms and having possession of them. The gun safe is a good one. It’s located in a closet in the middle of the house, has dehumidifiers in it, but not the constant electric kind always have to be plugged in and these have to be recharged occasionally. This happens about once a month. The house is always temperature controlled and the humidity is usually very low in the house. I like to store my guns in their original box. That way I don’t lose boxes, they won’t lose the boxes if I’m not here and it’s easier to see. The long guns that I don’t have boxes for are in silicon bags , I’ve never had any rust proexcept a 10/22 from 1976. It was surface rust and I caught before it got bad. Why I don’t know.
That’s my story and I was sticking to it.

 

[turd]

You're good.

 

[Byron Bay]

Interestingly enough I have found that it depends upon the safe.
My rifle safe has to have dehumidifier beads changed at least once a month.
Where I live it is semi tropical old rainforest country.
My pistols though I store in a 70 odd year old Chubb safe the old fireproof ones with the combination. Have to use an engine hoist to move it.
Never in all my years have I had a problem with that safe and rust.
I have often wondered why, if anybody has any theories I would be interested to hear them.

 

[blume357]

As has been implied I think the big problem with safes is the combination of their mass, heavy steel and temperature changes.... this can cause condensation inside the safe. Now as I over think this... why can't these safes be hermetically sealed and one of the moisture absorbing pads put inside? that sounds more practical than a dehumidifier.....

 

[Kevin]

As has been implied I think the big problem with safes is the combination of their mass, heavy steel and temperature changes.... this can cause condensation inside the safe. Now as I over think this... why can't these safes be hermetically sealed and one of the moisture absorbing pads put inside? that sounds more practical than a dehumidifier.....

Something like an ammo can, but on a larger scale? Makes sense.

the gun safe I use is honestly just one of those cheap stack on brand lockable safes. It wouldn’t last 10 minutes in a fire. But it’s inside the house with proper humidity and temperature control.

I bought one of those goldenrods, but didn’t like the way they get so hot. I now know that’s how they control the humidity by burning it off more or less.

 

[Byron Bay]

As has been implied I think the big problem with safes is the combination of their mass, heavy steel and temperature changes.... this can cause condensation inside the safe. Now as I over think this... why can't these safes be hermetically sealed and one of the moisture absorbing pads put inside? that sounds more practical than a dehumidifier.....

I tried that some years ago with my rifle safe.
Used rubber gasket all around and a bit odd silicone where I thought it was needed.
Did not work for me so tried a second layer, made it a Cow to close but still had moisture getting in.
Could possibly work outside of tropics. Never a problem with long term storage of ammo in ammo cans. Same with primer and powder storage ammo cans are the best.

 

[Hankus]

I tried that some years ago with my rifle safe.
Used rubber gasket all around and a bit odd silicone where I thought it was needed.
Did not work for me so tried a second layer, made it a Cow to close but still had moisture getting in.
Could possibly work outside of tropics. Never a problem with long term storage of ammo in ammo cans. Same with primer and powder storage ammo cans are the best.

All my ammo, primers and powder is stored in MILITARY SURPLUS ammo cans with a bunch of desiccant packs that come in OTC or prescription drug bottles. I have to store the cans in my garage due to a lack of space under AC. My safe is in my little home office (formerly an 8x8 pantry), under AC. I’ve never had a problem with ammunition even though some of it is ~30 years old. I really need to go blow off about 1500 rounds of my oldest ammo, mostly Federal .22 in 550 round boxes!

 

[DoorKicker]

I think about this all the time. Mainly, who will want/get my guns, and how will they maintain them when I am gone. Currently I use the moisture packs in all my gun safes and swap them out monthly. None of my long guns are in the box, but have a light coat of oil. Most of my hand guns are in rugs with wax paper(or whatever that stuff is) inside. I have a list of all my guns with SN and aprox value. I worry about neglect when I am no longer here, or able to maintain them.

 

[OMCHamlin]

You're good.

I agree, you're good so long as those described conditions remain in effect. I worked part time at a gun shop up in CT, many years ago (Lebanon Sports Centre, if it matters), and I got orders to Italy for two years (turned into three). My boss let me keep my entire safe inside the "All guns" vault, and I coated each one inside with RIG grease and the outside with Boeing T9 Boeshield, a clingy lubricant. I had no losses in those three years at all.

 

[larry8]

I have 4 of those dehumidifiers with the beads in them. When they turn blue (about 1 month) i take them to my garage and plug them in. Overnight the beads turn red I put them back in the safe. I also have a meter in the safe that tells me the relative humidity so I'll know if they aren't working and to plug them in again.

 

[epags]

Amid the wanderings of my mind last night while I was settling down for bed, a question popped up in my head.
Here it is. Given the scenario that one had a safe full of their favorite and prized rifles and handguns. Obviously Ruger. Let's say all of the firearms were routinely cleaned, and wipe down with a treated rag, and then placed back in the original factory boxes, either the appropriate wax paper and cardboard or plastic bag in the case of the newer grey plastic. Let's say the owner passes away and no one either knows the combination to the safe or since family members retain ownership and residency in the house they don't bother to open the safe for 10 years. What would you expect them to find in regards to condition of the firearms inside?

Come on...does anyone read the OP's statement. "...safe full of favorite and prized rifles and handguns.....placed back in the original boxes....." who has a safe that big unless it is a walk-in gun room.
Rant over concerning a wandering mind scenario. Sorry OP...just had several JD's

 

[jimbo1096]

What’s the point of your rant?