Storing rifles

[Hunt anything]

I store them muzzle up, the main reason is I took the racks out of my safe and use rifle rods to hold the rifles/shotguns vertical. Doing this it has expanded the capacity of my safe by at least one third.

 

[Luvthunt]

Muzzle down as they fit better in the safe.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Ontario, I did learn that years ago that glass is always settling.


From a search

Glass, however, is actually neither a liquid—supercooled or otherwise—nor a solid. It is an amorphous solid—a state somewhere between those two states of matter. And yet glass's liquidlike properties are not enough to explain the thicker-bottomed windows, because glass atoms move too slowly for changes

 

[JG26Irish_2]

To the OP, I never store my rifles muzzle down. In fact the crown is one of those areas that I go out of my way to protect. I also never oil my guns to the point that it would run or drip off of them. Being a competitive shooter I clean them often but once the bore and action is clean this is the process I use.

Run a cotton patch down the bore with only a few small drops of Kroil which is a penetrating and rust preventative oil. This protects it from rust but is not enough to drain into the action. Then I lube the action using a cotton tipped swab with 1-2 drops of a high grade synthetic gun oil. I use a product from Don Fraley at Advanced Weapons Technology. The amount is extremely sparing and this stuff also penetrates into the metal of the action and stays slick at extremes of heat and cold. Again not nearly enough to drain down to the stock. Finally, I spray a good rust preventative spray onto a lint free cloth and rub down all of the outer surfaces of the metal to remove sweat, fingerprints or other dust or grime and this protects it until the next outing. Some stay stored for years and others only for days but this method has worked for me with all sorts of firearms in our hot humid summers and winters that often produce temp swings that can create condensation on the metal. Some rifles may get a patch with bore butter on them but those tend to be only rimfire match rifles.

Once clean and lubed they go into the safe muzzle up until next use. Those which are stored long term live in the house safe and those used regularly live in the garage safe. The later is exposed to more heat and cold. Some competition rifles never make it to the safe since they are used often and thus tend to live in their gun cases most of the time. Others such as squirrel rifle will live in the back seat of my 4x4 all winter long until the season ends and then it gets its once a year cleaning whether it needs it or not. If any of them was going to rust the squirrel rifle is the one exposed to the most abuse. The only one that has ever rusted was a CZ452 that was in a cordura case that got pee'ed on by my wife's mangey cat. The acidic effect of the urine was enough to create a half inch square rust patch on the bbl. It cleaned up ok. The things we do for love.

 

[MT_Fin]

Mine are all muzzle up, but I don’t live in a humid place and they are lucky to see any oil let alone enough to run anywhere…Ha!

 

[Don458]

I’m starting to think I’m doing something wrong.

View attachment 590162

This Hurts me greatly seeing this… Australia or UK im presuming?

 

[Altitude sickness]

^^^^Or Chicago

 

[HankBuck]

To the OP, I never store my rifles muzzle down. In fact the crown is one of those areas that I go out of my way to protect. I also never oil my guns to the point that it would run or drip off of them. Being a competitive shooter I clean them often but once the bore and action is clean this is the process I use.

Run a cotton patch down the bore with only a few small drops of Kroil which is a penetrating and rust preventative oil. This protects it from rust but is not enough to drain into the action. Then I lube the action using a cotton tipped swab with 1-2 drops of a high grade synthetic gun oil. I use a product from Don Fraley at Advanced Weapons Technology. The amount is extremely sparing and this stuff also penetrates into the metal of the action and stays slick at extremes of heat and cold. Again not nearly enough to drain down to the stock. Finally, I spray a good rust preventative spray onto a lint free cloth and rub down all of the outer surfaces of the metal to remove sweat, fingerprints or other dust or grime and this protects it until the next outing. Some stay stored for years and others only for days but this method has worked for me with all sorts of firearms in our hot humid summers and winters that often produce temp swings that can create condensation on the metal. Some rifles may get a patch with bore butter on them but those tend to be only rimfire match rifles.

Once clean and lubed they go into the safe muzzle up until next use. Those which are stored long term live in the house safe and those used regularly live in the garage safe. The later is exposed to more heat and cold. Some competition rifles never make it to the safe since they are used often and thus tend to live in their gun cases most of the time. Others such as squirrel rifle will live in the back seat of my 4x4 all winter long until the season ends and then it gets its once a year cleaning whether it needs it or not. If any of them was going to rust the squirrel rifle is the one exposed to the most abuse. The only one that has ever rusted was a CZ452 that was in a cordura case that got pee'ed on by my wife's mangey cat. The acidic effect of the urine was enough to create a half inch square rust patch on the bbl. It cleaned up ok. The things we do for love.

JG26irish: Cat pee on a gun is extremely dangerous - to the Cat…very few can survive it

 

[m457109]

Just something interesting to think about….years ago I put a 45 cal bullet mold in a quart jar full of valvoline 10-w30 for storage. Fast forward a couple of years, pulled them out of the jar and they were rusted beyond use. Don’t understand how or why they could have rusted when completely submerged in motor oil. Still use valvoline in all of my cars and small engines though. Lol

 

[RR 314]

Ontario, I did learn that years ago that glass is always settling.


From a search

Glass, however, is actually neither a liquid—supercooled or otherwise—nor a solid. It is an amorphous solid—a state somewhere between those two states of matter. And yet glass's liquidlike properties are not enough to explain the thicker-bottomed windows, because glass atoms move too slowly for changes

I am just seeing this. I learned glass “flowed” as well. It is indeed an amorphous solid. The thickness at the bottom is most likely explained by that is how the glass was made. It did not flow or settle as most of us were improperly taught. . The glaziers would purposefully install the slightly thicker part of the glass on the bottom as this was the practice.

FWIW I store butt down.

 

[crossone]

I store butt down. Probably more because all of my safes are setup to do so and because I would be worried about damaging the crown of the barrel. If storing for months, or years, I will coat the barrel and action using one of the below oils. Someone on the internet did a study of various oils for corrosion protection. They used bare carbon steel coated with the various oils and combinations of salt water, heat, and humidity to determine which of the oils/coatings provided the best protection. The Boeshield T-9 was the best on an older study but the Hornady was the best on the latest study I could find. I have been using these for years and have found them to be very effective.

 

[crossone]

Here is a link to the study. Its actually better than I remembered. They attempted to test each of the oils, coatings, for reactions with plastic, friction reduction, as well as corrosion.

Comprehensive Corrosion Test: 46 Products Compared | Day At The Range

By: DIY_guy We all want to use goods quality products on our guns, bows, fishing gear, knives, autos, hunting and lake front gear and like you I?m not a fan of letting things get rust on them nor am I a fan of items wearing out prematurely. To protect my investment in gear, I began

dayattherange.com

(You have to scroll through the comments on top to get to the article/study)

Searchable title:

COMPREHENSIVE CORROSION TEST: 46 PRODUCTS COMPARED​

 

[HankBuck]

I store butt down. Probably more because all of my safes are setup to do so and because I would be worried about damaging the crown of the barrel. If storing for months, or years, I will coat the barrel and action using one of the below oils. Someone on the internet did a study of various oils for corrosion protection. They used bare carbon steel coated with the various oils and combinations of salt water, heat, and humidity to determine which of the oils/coatings provided the best protection. The Boeshield T-9 was the best on an older study but the Hornady was the best on the latest study I could find. I have been using these for years and have found them to be very effective.

View attachment 594127

View attachment 594128

Crossone: very helpful thanks….. For “long term storage” (years vs. months) I’ve been using Hoppee’s ‘Gun Grease’ —— am I not up to date with the latest/best storage methods??

 

[crossone]

Crossone: very helpful thanks….. For “long term storage” (years vs. months) I’ve been using Hoppee’s ‘Gun Grease’ —— am I not up to date with the latest/best storage methods??

No doubt the Gun Grease is probably better for truly long term storage, especially if you live where humidity is high. I would say that the products I posted are more for everyday use and I don't put them in the bore unless I'm putting a carbon steel rifle away for the year. I do use both products, or have even though I almost exclusively use the Hornady stuff now, to coat the outside of the barrels and all of the actions when I go hunting. These are much lighter products than grease so no need to de-grease them.

 

[HankBuck]

No doubt the Gun Grease is probably better for truly long term storage, especially if you live where humidity is high. I would say that the products I posted are more for everyday use and I don't put them in the bore unless I'm putting a carbon steel rifle away for the year. I do use both products, or have even though I almost exclusively use the Hornady stuff now, to coat the outside of the barrels and all of the actions when I go hunting. These are much lighter products than grease so no need to de-grease them.

Crossone: I’m gonna try both these products soon - been using synthetic oil (Rem Oil spray can or Hoppee’s ) for general light lubrication. For bore cleaning - Hoppee’s for shotguns and a Copper solvent for rifle bores and “always” NYLON brush for rifle bores but tornado style or bronze bristles for shotgun bores.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Crossone: I’m gonna try both these products soon - been using synthetic oil (Rem Oil spray can or Hoppee’s ) for general light lubrication. For bore cleaning - Hoppee’s for shotguns and a Copper solvent for rifle bores and “always” NYLON brush for rifle bores but tornado style or bronze bristles for shotgun bores.

Have had Hoppe's gumming/ varnishing on your actions and internal parts?

I ask because after using Hoppe's cleaning solvents and gun oil I have found that setting for over a day or two Hoppe's starts gumming up/ varnishing on my actions and internal parts resulting in my firearms to not fire or function properly.

I still like Hoppe's for cleaning my firearm(s). But after cleaning I now use a spray parts cleaner to remove the Hoppe's solvent and oil, then use a water displacing only that dries leaving a protective coat that protects parts from friction and helps to protect against rust from periodic handling that doesn't gum or turn to a varnish.

 

[Hunt anything]

Wait a minute, are we really supposed to clean our firearms?

 

[HankBuck]

Have had Hoppe's gumming/ varnishing on your actions and internal parts?

I ask because after using Hoppe's cleaning solvents and gun oil I have found that setting for over a day or two Hoppe's starts gumming up/ varnishing on my actions and internal parts resulting in my firearms to not fire or function properly.

I still like Hoppe's for cleaning my firearm(s). But after cleaning I now use a spray parts cleaner to remove the Hoppe's solvent and oil, then use a water displacing only that dries leaving a protective coat that protects parts from friction and helps to protect against rust from periodic handling that doesn't gum or turn to a varnish.

RIDGE: I have Not noticed “gumming” related to Hoppe’s but it’s possible, I don’t “obsesse” over cleaning my guns but I keep them in “functional condition” and never dirty or subject to rust. My Son is better then me - he uses “hinge grease” on his O/Us and always cleans immediately after we shoot a few rounds of Clays (I might wait a day or week — unless it rained or was dusty etc..). Does that “disqualify Me from an opinion on Hoppe’s?? (Maybe it should !)

 

[HankBuck]

Wait a minute, are we really supposed to clean our firearms?

NOPE —- Not if you shoot or Hunt with Your SON….he cleans, good “training” and a nice “Thank you Dad” for buying the guns, ammo, gas, etc.. (Son’s are GREAT and Love mine !!)

 

[Hunt anything]

NOPE —- Not if you shoot or Hunt with Your SON….he cleans, good “training” and a nice “Thank you Dad” for buying the guns, ammo, gas, etc.. (Son’s are GREAT and Love mine !!)

Daughter and son-in-law