I have a question for you experienced collectors regarding storage.

My question is:
I have a roll of this Brownells gun paper similar to what S&W uses in wrapping/storage in their boxes.
Rather than using the firearms original box, because I know over time these can get somewhat fragile--- would it be ok to wrap the pistol in the paper and store them in a cloth type pistol case?

Well there are a lot of variables when deciding how best to store your guns.

Some would be

Are you storing them in a safe?

What part of the country are you in? Weather conditions Florida-Alaska?

What are you using as a lubricant or protection ?

I am sure there are others but they are first to come to mind.

After thorough cleaning and degreasing, I lubricate and store in silicone treated "socks" inside my frequently opened safe located in my climate controlled home......Ben

__________________
Cogito, ergo BOOM!...

These pics are a few years old now. I continue to use the same method. I have removed all the grips/stocks and store them in a container each set wrapped loosely in paper towels. The guns themselves “hang” by a rod covered with heat shrink in the barrel.
I try to keep “air flow” around each gun.

I have “run out of shelf space”, so now I am using a rack. The company is called armory racks I think. They are pricey but essentially hold the gun the same way. The barrel slides over a coated steel rod. The rack slides under the guns on the shelf below. It’s working out pretty good so far.

EC6D3099-41FE-431E-9344-5DF657248569.jpg

8B9F3493-4F8E-4EF6-A135-132E25948F1E.jpg

The key is to keep the guns from resting on anything that holds moisture and keep from getting “safe dings”.

Good luck......
Bob

__________________
Keep on keepin on
SWCA #-3282

OP hasn’t told us where he’s located: dry or humid makes a difference.

You can buy a lot of stuff for storing guns. Most don’t do any harm, many can be helpful.

My general rule is to keep guns wiped down with a little oil and avoid storing in an air tight container. Temperature change can produce condensation that will rust your gun overnight so you don’t want the gun in a container (like a gun rug) that will inhibit evaporation and let your gun stew in the condensation.

Lots of folks use desiccant in one form or another. I don’t, but I live in a pretty dry climate. If I lived in the South or Midwest, I might consider using a desiccant.

Silicone treated gun socks are inexpensive and popular, but I’ve seen them behave like a plastic bag, sealing in moisture and promoting rust so I don’t use them for storage.

An old t shirt, a few drops of oil for wiping down the gun and a storage space with a little air circulation is all you need.

I live in upstate SC.

I have wrapped my guns in gun paper, put them in a gun sock and then put them in a soft gun case they are in my safe and that is inside my house in the spare bedroom, so the climate is fine.

I simply clean, dry, and wax them. I hate an oily (exterior) gun. Then i put them in a plain old, clean cotton sock to prevent safe dings.

Never a problem.

__________________
John 3:16 .

Contact "pharman" in the accessories for sale. NICE FRESH S&W FACTORY vapor paper! Goes great in boxes or slip a sheet in zippered pouch. No oil residue. Great Gentleman to deal with too.

For some of my rarely shot/handled firearms, I wipe with one of the preservation oils, then put them in poly ziplock rust prevention bags, the ones with some sort of rust prevention vapor in the plastic of the bag.

I also frequently re-new my dissicant containers in my safe. For many of my reloading dies I have small renewable dissident packs in sealed plastic boxes, and make sure I renew all of them often.

I guess the most important thing is timely inspections of one's firearms.

NV

The MOST IMPORTANT aspect of storing firearms is not letting the humidity level get above 35% in the room they are stored in. Your best bet is to have a dehumidifier.
I give mine a good wipe down with an oil rag and put them in a zip case or on a rack and into the vault. I would only use vapor paper if I was to put them back in a box.
If for some reason you ever degrease a gun make sure you reoil the WHOLE gun minus the grips before storage.

I thoroughly clean mine and judiciously apply small amounts of oil at pivot points and the extractor rod.

Then wipe off any excess oil and apply a coat of Renaissance Wax including underneath the grips. (I do not wipe off the wax under the grips.)

Then into a silicone sock and into the safe located in the basement which is heated and cooled; I run a dehumidifier in the summer months. No humidity control in the safe.

I have a number of blued and stainless handguns and blued long guns and have not had any problems storing in this manner.

If the firearms are not used for an extended period (6 months to a year), I take these out at least once per year to check function and re-apply the Ren Wax.

YMMV...........

I also believe in "air flow" around my guns. They all rest on pegs set about 3" apart. Same with long guns, set in rack about 3+" apart, with air flow all around. I do have a coat or two of Renaissance Wax on the longer term storage guns. On those I use frequently I just clean and put in the rack for the next use.

I was fortunate to have built my current home from scratch, and included a 4'X7' concrete vault in one corner of my loading room. I put two 4' sanded 2x4's with brass or aluminum (coated with heat shrink) pegs ever 3 or 3.5" apart, and set at about a 5 degree angle. Then I did have a couple of overhead cabinets with gun racks for some larger handguns and other misc stuff, such as holsters and grips.

Below that was a long gun rack straight across that holds 27 long guns.

I have been able to maintain temp & humidity at close to 70/50 year around.

__________________
H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

All my firearms stay in a safe inside the house, with a large desiccant pack to absorb any moisture. The handguns are either in silicone impregnated gun socks, or hanging by rod-style hangers from the shelf. I handle them frequently, no safe queens in my house (except for one, but it still gets handled), so they get frequently wiped down and inspected.

If you don't mind, could you please show some pictures of the inside of your vault? It sounds very nice! Thanks.
Larry

__________________
Miss My Buddy crsides!!

I built my current home from scratch, too. I had the architect design a "safe room" in the center of the house. Technically, it's for storm safety so it's totally bricked up but, naturally, a nice gun safe fit right in there and a couple of gun cabinets, too. If there's a storm I'll get a chair and sit in there but it's really for the guns, not for me.

It's the only "closet" door that locks, so I can lock myself in there from miscreants as well as a storm. Oh, dear, imagine the surprise when the miscreant breaks the door open.........

__________________
Come and take it!!

My guns are mostly lined up on shelves in safes. Sort of a mess really. Either stored upright next to one another like books or tessellated flat. However, the climate control is tight. Home's previous owner collected wine and built a large room with built-in wine racks, insulated floor, walls, window, door, etc, and its own split unit commercial cooler. Basically, it is a full room sized refrigerator. I keep it about 55 degrees year round, although it can go to about 40. This system keeps the humidity quite low. Of course, the guns do not need to stay cool but the system is designed to run continuously.

I'm a big believer in Bore Stores.

I have yet another slightly different way that I store mine. I use the cheap black plastic cases with black foam that come in 3 different sizes. They are around $12/$16 and can be bought at any local gun store. I clean and wax my guns then wrap them each in a blue shop paper towel. I can put 2 in each case then I place a disectant under the foam liner to keep any humidity out of the case. Then when I go shooting at the range I just select the plastic boxes with revolvers I want to shoot and bring all the cases. After shooting I clean the guns and back into the black cases the guns go. I warn though the cases take up a lot of space and I do not have children so I just put my cases on the shelves in my closet and only my most valuable and pristine guns reside in the cases and in the gun safe. This system works well for me and you could even put each gun in a silicone sock then into the black plastic case. I have recently taped on each case a piece of paper labeling what guns resides in each case. You just have to come up with the system that works best for you with the space you have in your house.

I clean, lubricant inside as necessary, de-oil outside. Renaissance Wax and store on "hangers" in my safes. Tag each hanger as to gun and box number which is stored separately. Each safe has a dri-rod and a desiccants in each safe.

Attached Images

20181012_181816.jpg (114.4 KB, 41 views)

Many different and good storage methods.

I live on an island surrounded by saltwater - and high humidity.
Guns are in safe in normal portion of the house, each safe has two rechargeable desiccant canisters (oval type).
Most handguns stored in a canvas zip rugs that have been previously heavily sprayed with silicone and allowed to dry.
All arranged on shelf vertically, like books in a bookcase, not piled on one another.

A normal oil wipedown after shooting/cleaning/handling and have never had the first issue or hint of rust.

__________________
Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

My Go-To for any sort of corrosion protection for the last 30 years at least, has been EEZOX. It actually bonds with the metal and dries. It even says on the can, if it hasn't dried in a few hours you've used too much and to wipe off the excess.

I actually learned about it from the black powder crowd since it worked so well with BP corrosion. Fingerprints won't even stick to the finish, if the gun gets handled a lot. Used to be known as SLI Liquid Gunsmith before Eezoz. It was developed for NASA for corrosion prevention for space vehicles and boy howdy did they get it right.

I can't reccomend this stuff highly enough, a 4oz can will last for years since you only need a few drops even for a long gun.

I moved to the Upstate 14 years ago from the Ft Lauderdale area and had more corrosion issues here than I ever had in Fl. It was the big swings in temp from night/day than the humidity.

Anyway, check out Eezox, your collection will thank you.

Rob

__________________
Strange days have found us

I have several of the huge plastic storage crates that Cabelas sells.I apply Rennaisance wax,with an oil on the case hardened parts,then put them in pistol rugs. My black box 29s get seperated by protective foam inserts.