Long term firearm/ammo storage and fumigation tents?

[w3453l]

Hi everyone, I'm not sure where to post this since it's sort of a broad question. So mods, please move this where appropriate if necessary.

I'm going to be going away for a few years, I sold off a large portion of my firearms. The ones that I decided to keep, I will be leaving them at my father's house (in a safe).

My questions are this: are there any added preparations I should make to the firearms before placing them in the safe? I don't want to trust that the safe will be properly humidified. Aside from lubing them heavily with Slip 2000 EWL, is there anything else I should do? Would sealing them in VCI bags or Borestores be good/bad?

Ammo is kept in factory sealed cardboard boxes. It won't fit in the safe.

I was going to have it sit in the back of a walk in closet, as it always has. Although, my father did mention something about wanting to have a pest fumigation tent done (the big tents that cover your house, seen in Breaking Bad).

Would such fumigation cause any issues to ammo left in its factory cardboard boxes? I'm assuming firearms in the safe would be good to go?

I didn't really see any of this info any where.

Thanks

[GH41]

Hi everyone, I'm not sure where to post this since it's sort of a broad question. So mods, please move this where appropriate if necessary.

I'm going to be going away for a few years, I sold off a large portion of my firearms. The ones that I decided to keep, I will be leaving them at my father's house (in a safe).

My questions are this: are there any added preparations I should make to the firearms before placing them in the safe? I don't want to trust that the safe will be properly humidified. Aside from lubing them heavily with Slip 2000 EWL, is there anything else I should do? Would sealing them in VCI bags or Borestores be good/bad?

Ammo is kept in factory sealed cardboard boxes. It won't fit in the safe.

I was going to have it sit in the back of a walk in closet, as it always has. Although, my father did mention something about wanting to have a pest fumigation tent done (the big tents that cover your house, seen in Breaking Bad).

Would such fumigation cause any issues to ammo left in its factory cardboard boxes? I'm assuming firearms in the safe would be good to go?

I didn't really see any of this info any where.

Thanks

If the gases used for fumigation would harm firearms or ammunition they would harm everything in the house made of metal. I think you are worrying about nothing.

[alvincullumyork]

Do you have a vat of cosmoline?


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[SteyrAUG]

Fumigation won't be an issue. Ammo will be fine in any clean, dry spot.

If humidity is an issue in your area, may want to consider a golden rod type heating bar. I've found you can also use a light bulb and get much of the same effect, assuming your father has access to the safe and can change bulbs as necessary. Also you will need an old school light bulb, the new LEDs probably won't do the trick.

Lube the internals and wipe down the exterior. Not sure what kind of guns you have but be careful with wood stocks and lots of lube. I probably wouldn't bag anything, but again that depends upon local humidity and type of stocks (polymer vs. wood).

My brother did this for a 4 year deployment with a mix of wood stock hunting rifle and polymer stock AR types and he didn't have any issues. Just cleaned them with CLP and left a oily film on all metal surfaces.

[Warp]

I have guns that haven't left the safe for that long, they're fine, nothing special done.

[BuzzinSATX]

Do you have a vat of cosmoline?


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It's messy and lasts forever, so if you want to use cosmoline, Brownells sells it...

https://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-chemicals/oils-lubricants/rust-prevention/rust-veto-prod26344.aspx?psize=96

[BuzzinSATX]

This is a very good video on this subject by Brownells:

https://youtu.be/0NWy8vIbcsY

[MegademiC]

Throw a bunch of desiccant and oxygen absorber in the safe and seal the door with duct tape(after generous lube)?

Vci bags would work.

Residual fumigation gases could cause damage, dont use used tesnts.

[tgizzard]

Nice low cost solution that has worked for me over the years; fill an old sock with rice and hang it up inside the safe. I change it out about once a year, keeps the safe from getting humid inside.


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[w3453l]

If the gases used for fumigation would harm firearms or ammunition they would harm everything in the house made of metal. I think you are worrying about nothing.

Thanks and very good point. I'm not sure why I didn't think of that myself, but I just wasn't sure what the procedures for fumigation were regarding what to remove from your house.


Do you have a vat of cosmoline?


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No cosmoline, I'd like a less messy solution, but if that's the only way then I'd do it.


Fumigation won't be an issue. Ammo will be fine in any clean, dry spot.

If humidity is an issue in your area, may want to consider a golden rod type heating bar. I've found you can also use a light bulb and get much of the same effect, assuming your father has access to the safe and can change bulbs as necessary. Also you will need an old school light bulb, the new LEDs probably won't do the trick.

Lube the internals and wipe down the exterior. Not sure what kind of guns you have but be careful with wood stocks and lots of lube. I probably wouldn't bag anything, but again that depends upon local humidity and type of stocks (polymer vs. wood).

My brother did this for a 4 year deployment with a mix of wood stock hunting rifle and polymer stock AR types and he didn't have any issues. Just cleaned them with CLP and left a oily film on all metal surfaces.

Thanks, seeing parts of your collection in the different picture threads, I figured you would know a bit about this stuff. Four years is about how long I might be gone for, so that's good to know.


Nice low cost solution that has worked for me over the years; fill an old sock with rice and hang it up inside the safe. I change it out about once a year, keeps the safe from getting humid inside.


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Thanks, I will keep that in mind.


Throw a bunch of desiccant and oxygen absorber in the safe and seal the door with duct tape(after generous lube)?

Vci bags would work.

Residual fumigation gases could cause damage, dont use used tesnts.

Yeah I will throw a bit of dissicant in there, I didn't think of duct taping though.


I have guns that haven't left the safe for that long, they're fine, nothing special done.

Thanks, I haven't been to Georgia, but I'm assuming the humidity gets high? I live in Southern California, so humidity isn't as big of a concern as other parts of the country. Although it's not completely nonexistant. I've had things still rust if not properly maintained.

Thanks again to all of the responses. Good to know that this won't require too much.

[Ryno12]

Throw a bunch of desiccant and oxygen absorber in the safe and seal the door with duct tape(after generous lube)?

Vci bags would work.



This is what I’d do. Lube everything well & place desiccant packs in there. Make sure the safe is relatively air tight.


The last thing I’d want is a Goldenrod sitting in there baking away for four years. Aside from doing nothing to remove the humidity, having an unchecked AC power source that could potentially flake out & ruin your firearms, doesn’t sound appealing to me.

[Warp]

Thanks, I haven't been to Georgia, but I'm assuming the humidity gets high? I live in Southern California, so humidity isn't as big of a concern as other parts of the country. Although it's not completely nonexistant. I've had things still rust if not properly maintained.

Yes, it gets pretty humid. We always run the A/C but it can easily be 60% humidity inside anyway

I have one in particularly that I know I haven't done a thing with except very occasionally handle to move around, didn't treat for storage purposes and haven't reapplied, that's been in there for, gosh, 6 years? 8 years? IDK. Looks the same.

I don't use a rod or dessicants or anything in the safe