Rifle Bolt Storage

[Berettaco]

Hello all,
I am looking for a better way to store rifle bolts and was hoping someone here has a creative space saving solution.
I take my bolts out of my rifles before putting them in a safe as to keep from getting dings as well as creating more room. So this leaves bolts laying on top of a safe and there has to be a better way to organize them.
I took a couple pieces of 1x4, built a rectangular box, drilled holes and created a holder of sorts where they lay horizontally- but it didn’t turn out that great…. Anyone know of a better option? Preferably something I could buy to solve the storage issue?
Thank you
Berettaco

 

[Sideshow]

Ive a lock box inside the safe above the rifles that mine sit in. That way if broken into they need to get through two locks. Id be weary of storing them in a leather sheath as they could tarnish rust if left for a long time. Had that happen with bullets in my pouch. You could make up a small wooden plank and drill holes in this and fix it inside the safe.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Harbor Freight sells cheap plastic ammo boxes that are lockable. One of those would work fine.

 

[PARA45]

After reading this in another forum, I've been brainstorming about how to do it. Unfortunately, I do not have storage on the shelves, because that is where I store my handguns. So, this is what I've been thinking. Using PVC either 1/2 or 3/4" inch diameter, then cutting them down to about an inch long. Drill a hole so a screw and screwdriver can fit and attach these pieces of PVC to the edges of the shelves. For storage, you just drop the bolt into the holes of these PVC tubes. I'm even thinking of marking them with the caliber and even serial number to ensure I get the correct bolt. A bit difficult to explain, and I hope it makes sense to you.

 

[JimP]

Ive a lock box inside the safe above the rifles that mine sit in. That way if broken into they need to get through two locks. Id be weary of storing them in a leather sheath as they could tarnish rust if left for a long time. Had that happen with bullets in my pouch. You could make up a small wooden plank and drill holes in this and fix it inside the safe.

If someone has the capabilities of getting into your safe, that lock box isn't going to stop them and they may just break into it thinking that there is money inside a locked box inside of a locked safe.

For years I debated on how to store my handguns, I then found this system and it works great and takes up a lot less room than just laying the handguns on the shelf in my safe.

Amazon.com

As for the bolts, I just leave them in the rifle. I have however came up with unique ways to store my rifles in the safe. For one thing all my rifles after they are cleaned are placed in a rifle sock before going into the safe. Then alternating how they are placed into the safe you can store a lot more in the space available before you need to upgrade the safe to a larger model.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Synthetic ammo pouches for extended or regular mags depending on bolt size.

Using adhesive back Velcro, run one piece through the belt loop of the pouches. Adhere the other piece to the door, interior safe wall, or on the side of shelving.

With Velcro pouch closure type mag pouches a tag can be made listing which rifle the bolt goes to and stapled to the mag pouch Velcro closure to protect against the staple from contacting the bolt.

 

[uplander01]

Ah, I'd be more likely to drop one fiddle farting around getting this bolt out for that gun. Get another safe and split the collection so you have more room to maneuver. Make someone break into 2 safes, if they want it that bad , piss on it, I'll collect the insurance money and go hunting.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Bolt holsters are an option. Generally used at matches.

Rifle Bolt Sheaths

The original source of leather sandbag rifle and pistol rests made in USA since 1938. Offering top grain leather shooting bags and rests for hunting, benchrest competition and long range shooting. Also manufacturing aluminum shooting rests, leather accessories, trap/skeet bags and rifle slings.

protektormodel.com

 

[WAB]

I can’t imagine trying to sort through dozens of bolts to find the right one. Thankfully I have a walk in vault so storage is not an issue. I feel your pain though. I used gun safes for many years and hate them. I just bought multiple safes and kept them well below stated capacity. Personally I would not consider storing the bolts separately.

 

[KurtVH]

- Made for the purpose bolt case/pouch.
- Hard, foam-lined case with the foam cutout for each bolt.
- Pencil pouches (cheap).
- Tool or knife roll.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I have 3 safes primarily for this reason. Now I’m selling guns I don’t use… Sold a nice Browning shotgun last night and it was Mint condition @ 20 years old!

I never remove the bolts. Not in storage, not while packed for traveling, and only to clean them…

I also do not put anything else in my rifle case when I travel with them.

I put riffle slings, spare locks, extra magazines, other tools, and accessories in a separate container with ammo.

If my rifles or shotguns get dings, scuffs, or scratches in the field, it’s likely they earned them during their intended use. Otherwise, I want to be certain they are well cared for. Thats my take. Others treat guns like tools, just a hammer that gets thrown back in the tool box after use.

To each their own…

 

[Luminous Ham]

Perhaps something like this, magnetic: https://ihjorten.dk/produkt/universal-magnetisk-bundstykke-holder-sort/

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Hello all,
I am looking for a better way to store rifle bolts and was hoping someone here has a creative space saving solution.
I take my bolts out of my rifles before putting them in a safe as to keep from getting dings as well as creating more room. So this leaves bolts laying on top of a safe and there has to be a better way to organize them.
I took a couple pieces of 1x4, built a rectangular box, drilled holes and created a holder of sorts where they lay horizontally- but it didn’t turn out that great…. Anyone know of a better option? Preferably something I could buy to solve the storage issue?
Thank you
Berettaco

I store rifles in a safe with the bolts open. They don't use up any more room than if I removed the bolts and I don't have to figure out which bolt goes to a rifle.

 

[Tam Dl]

I thought that MTM Case Guard had a two bolt box... No luck on their website.

I store things like fishing reels in handgun cases. If you want some specific segmented padding, you can get Kaizen foam. Amazon sells similar stuff, probably cheaper.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kaizen+foam

Another path is making inserts and dividers out of 3D printed parts. 3D printers are fantastic for making lots of little things. Really slow for making larger things. But for something like a bolt, all you need are a few spacers.

Sometimes you can download an already made design for free. Running it in a 3D printer is a lot like printing a letter in a paper printer. You insert the file, switch on the machine, and out comes the part.

Here is a Rem 700 thingie that someone already designed. You can print it as is, but you can also use the design as a cookie cutter to make, anything else you want to hold a 700 bolt.

Someone has designed the full Rem 700 short action for 3D printing, which would save a lot of work if one wanted to make something related. Once one has a part like this one can manipulate it to produce just about anything related.

Say you want a bolt carrier for matches, you could merge the red file with this file, and you could have this speedsquare carrier converted into a bolt carrier. The cool part is that the guy who designed this carrier, made it painless to just screw on a Tandy belt clip.

These designs come from Thingiverse.com, They have a fair amount of shooting stuff. You can print out a 500 Jeffery cartridge, and is is perfect to within .001" You can make that into a die from which you could make things to hold Jeff cartridges. You could make a cropping belt. Granted, the number of people who need a home made, plastic, cropping belt for a Jeff, is probably small. Though maybe having the plastic cartridges would be useful for forming a leather one...

I use a free program called Tinkercad to design things.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Question for people storing rifles with the bolt removed or opened: does this leave the spring for the firing pin in a compressed state? Long term, this can’t be good.

 

[Laniarius]

I don't know if it would scale well to more rifles, but I use flashlight or "tactical baton" pouches attached to the inside of the safe door. I got them at a surplus store, but on the wall with new stuff for tactical LARPers.

I have the flaps adjusted so the bolts slip in easily on the safe door. For travel I could remove the remove the pouch and use it for bolt storage in a rifle case with appropriate padding and positioning.

 

[franzfmdavis]

One simple option is to cut a notch in a used the toilet paper cardboard roll for the handle and then mark on the roll which gun the bolt goes with. You can stack them as well as the cardboard will provide some separation.

I have a walk in safe now so its a non-issue, but i had thought of that option previously.

 

[Tam Dl]

Question for people storing rifles with the bolt removed or opened: does this leave the spring for the firing pin in a compressed state? Long term, this can’t be good.

I don't know that this is something one needs to worry about. Springs are strong, and when the bolt is let down, they are still under compression. However, most bolts I know of can be dropped back to the lessor compressed position. Sometimes it is kinda hard to do. The harder part is getting them back compressed, so that you can reinsert them into the rifle , so a 3D printed wrench would be cool.

 

[TOBY458]

I’m with the guys saying to just buy more safes. With today’s cordless tools, they’re all easy to break into anyway. So may as well make them work on more than one safe. Until you get up into the extremely expensive safes, the metal on the sides, top and back of the less expensive safes are 14 or 12 ga. for the most part. Very easy to cut with a side grinder. So if they want in, and they have enough time, they’re getting in. A home alarm should help quite a bit, as at least that cuts down dramatically on the time they have to work.
As for removing bolts, unless you only have a few rifles, I’d think it would be a pain to have to fish around for the correct bolt for each rifle. But that’s just me.

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

Question for people storing rifles with the bolt removed or opened: does this leave the spring for the firing pin in a compressed state? Long term, this can’t be good.

My understanding is that springs lose their effectiveness from cycles of compression and release so a compressed spring is not a concern long term. At least that is my understanding from discussions about the long term storage of loaded magazines.