View Full Version : Long term AR storage in gun safe
Guys, I've got 2 complete BCM rifles I need to store long term - about 18 years. I will keep them in the gun safe / actually its not a safe but a steel cabinet. I have 3 or 4 homemade desiccant bags (large tea bags) in the cabinet now to help with humidity. The cabinet in inside my house, so it is room temp year round. Could I get by fine with a coat of CLP on the outside of the barrel and buffer tube and also on the inside of the trigger group and chamber / barrel? It wouldn't be a problem to pull them out once a year and re-apply. Or should I go with some other method?
My Dad bought a Colt 1911 back in 1995 and has kept it in the factory plastic case ever since - never had a round chambered. We got it out a few weeks ago and it's got a hint of rust-dust around the sights, in the slide serrations and up inside the mag well. He did have it wrapped in a thin piece of cotton rag though I threw that rag away for him the second I seen it. This got me thinking about steps I need to take with these AR's I plan to keep put back.
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Thomas M-4
07-20-09, 18:14
I would use the brownell storage bags and good coat of grease over all metal parts
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1154/Product/TRIPLE_TOUGH_trade__PREMIUM_STORAGE_BAGS
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=10700/guntechdetail/Gun_Cleaning_Clinic__Knowing_the_Limits_of_Rust_Preventatives
Brownells also sells cosmoline.
number9xd,
I collect AR's and have many that I don't shoot. The guns that I don't shoot will get oiled every six months. I use FP-10 to coat the guns and also oil the bolt and carrier. I will also run a heavily soaked patch down the bore. I will put a couple of drops on the trigger also. So far this method has worked. Some of the AR's I've had stored this way for eight or more years. I would have no fear of pulling one out and shooting it. I would suggest speding some money on a safe and a golden rod. I keep all of my guns in safes in a room that I monitor the climate. I try to keep the humidity level in the room low, and the temperature is kept @65degF.
lanceriley
07-20-09, 18:43
why are you storing these fine rifle for 18years???
why are you storing these fine rifle for 18years???
Built them for my boys who are 2 and 3.
What about keeping the plastic muzzle covers on them? Any reason to not do that? - possible hold moisture between the plastic and flash hider?
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faawrenchbndr
07-20-09, 19:23
I have my Grandfather's M1903 in silicone impregnated GunSock.
I then vacuum packed it, twice. I stored a Browning 7mm like this for three
years. Not a spec of corrosion.
Be sure and recharge those bags every now and then in the oven. They will get saturated.
I'm guessing you will use these in about 10 years :D
Parabellum9x19mm
07-20-09, 22:59
just shoot them.
when your boys are around 5 or 7 or so, get them started on BB guns or air rifles...whenever you think they are ready
if they're doing well with that, when they're a little older, get them started on a single shot, youth model bolt action .22
if they're doing well on that, when they're a little older, move them up to a semi-auto .22 rifle
by the time they're 12 or 14 or so, they'll be ready to shoot those BCMs under proper supervision
when they're ready to have the rifles passed down to them it wont matter if they're brand new or not. its not like you're going to shoot them out. chances are they will be able to pass them down to their kids and they'll still shoot fine.
Bread is People
07-20-09, 23:13
Do what the soviet bloc arsenals did: simply pack them solid with cosmoline. It's worked with the russian captured K98 rifles for going on 60+ years now. I just wouldn't store anything plastic in the cosmo though, that greasy feeling never quite goes away, same thing with wood. I'd also put them in vacuum packed bags as well.
Like Parabellum9x19mm said, get your boys started early and you wont need to keep these rifles stored for 18 years, more around 10-12, IMO.
lanceriley
07-20-09, 23:21
20 years from now is a long way..
by that time your kids might want the latest plasma rifle heheheeh
MSP "Sarge"
07-20-09, 23:28
Took my 8 year old boy with me to shoot the M4 last weekend. At about 40 yards he hit the target 3 out of 10 times while standing. I was a proud daddy. Start them young. Make sure safety and maintenance is included during your instruction and good time.
torquemada055
07-21-09, 02:01
I must be a bit weird then, I started taking my 3 kids shooting when they each reached 5 years.
Never had a bb gun in the house, just a .22 single shot and a S&W 422.
Made sure that the rules were understood each and every trip out to shoot.
Showed then with milk jugs and watermelons why guns arent toys.
They are now 29, 21, and 19 and are very safe shooters and responsible young adults.
They also said I could teach my grands when they get old enough.
I must be a bit weird then, I started taking my 3 kids shooting when they each reached 5 years.Not weird at all. My grandfather started teaching me to shoot at 4 using my dad's old single shot 22. I really wish I still has that rifle but somebody stole it from my dad 20 years ago.
Parabellum9x19mm
07-21-09, 03:39
i just said air rifle cos that's what i started on when i was a kid.
but i grew up in the suburbs and we could use an air rifle in the back yard, but couldn't use a .22 there....so it was just easier to learn primary marksmanship that way.
you can still learn all the fundamentals with an air rifle and you don't need to worry about hearing protection and stuff.
i dont think 5 is too young for a .22 in the proper environment. i was just giving a suggestion :)
it all depends on the kid and what the parents (usually the mom) is comfortable with. i saw some teens dicking around at the range last time i was out when their chaperon's back was turned. i had to give them a talking to.
my son shot his first can at 4-5 with a 22lr
first rabbit at 6 with a 22lr
first deer with a .243 at 8
he's been around and shot guns since he was a boy. My thoughts . . . . shooting the black rifle kicks way less then the .243.
20 years from now is a long way..
by that time your kids might want the latest plasma rifle heheheeh
Or the Masada :D
Thomas M-4
07-21-09, 13:47
To get back on subject If I was storing for long term I would use cosmoline heat it up to liquefy it in a pan large enough to dip the lower and upper separately remove the hand guards from the upper and reinstall them after I have dipped the upper.The lower I would remove the butt stock and use the pistol grip to dip the lower just to the edge of the grip. Reinstall the butt stock dip the BCG and then reassemble the rifle. If you wanted to you could use muzzle caps to give you some extra protection if the rifle ever gets dropped in storage. Then place the now cosomolined rifle into a brownells air tight strorage bag. If you wanted to get more fancy you could vacuum seal the bag for good measure. If stored that way it would probable store for 100 years.
An more modern option to cosmoline is aluminized vacuum storage bags with dessicant. Air and water vapor passes through plastic over time. Not through metalic foil.
I hope you are storing ammo for them, also. They become an unwieldy club without ammo.
Kentucky Cop
07-21-09, 20:43
Soooo, I should probably pull my sealed in the box from the factory 6920 out of the safe and look at a different method to store it or is it okay in the factory plastic? Its been stored for several months; hope she's okay. :confused:
I was on Brownell's today and they sell the same preservative paper that guns ship in and they claim 10-15 years storage life. I have no clue how well it works but it's worth looking at.
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1197/Product/GUNWRAP_trade__PAPER
Parabellum9x19mm
07-21-09, 20:56
Soooo, I should probably pull my sealed in the box from the factory 6920 out of the safe and look at a different method to store it or is it okay in the factory plastic? Its been stored for several months; hope she's okay. :confused:
only one way to find out. open the box, open the plastic and inspect it.
while you're at it, might as well shoot it.
i don't know about you but i wouldn't keep a cordless drill in the box stored for years.
there's no point to owning it if you don't use it. i just don't really see the point.
if you want to make an investment buy gold or platinum bullion and keep that in the safe.
Colts hold their value really well anyway, taking it out of the box wont hurt value much at all.
Soooo, I should probably pull my sealed in the box from the factory 6920 out of the safe and look at a different method to store it or is it okay in the factory plastic? Its been stored for several months; hope she's okay. :confused:
My Dad now wished he'd taken his Colt 1911 out of the box a time or two the last several years.
......
I have been collecting several ARs recently and with prices today where you can get a Colt 6920 for $1100 shipped it's a great time to buy.
Here is what you use to store a rifle
http://www.zcorrproducts.com/
The US military use this so you should too.
I totally get storing "excess" guns/ammo for long periods of time to have available to leave to ones children. They should be trained and brought up with knowledge of and respect for firearms, as well as skill in their use. This can be accomplished with the guns not kept in storage.
I do question the logic of keeping long-term storage guns at home. By definition, they are not needed for immediate use, and a break in or fire can render them useless. Better to find a secure place off-site.
As for how to store them, a silicone impregnated rag, then vacuum sealed seems like a viable solution. Place it in a PVC pipe and seal. Holds ammo, tools, supplies, rifle. Another option is an airtight box (pelican case) with dessicant and VCI strips. I am trying this method with an extra Glock I want to store. Pelican case holds one Glock, extra mags, ammo, dessicant pack, VCI strip. Case is air tight. Gun has had barrel wiped with CLP and entire gun wiped down with silicone rag.
I hope this method works as well as cosmoline. It's a hell of a lot easier and cleaner.
I would suggest speding some money on a safe and a golden rod.
+1 Get the golden rod, at least. De-humidifying the inside of the gun cabinet is really key, IMHO.
Otherwise, I'd put a light coat of oil on everything (douse them in CLP) and put them in silicone gun socks. Done.
Bimmer
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