Possibly going to Korea, what do I do with my guns?

[GatorFarmer]

My wife is in the Navy. It looks as though the next set of orders might be a hot fill slot for Korea. Some little place 40 miles away from Pusan where almost no one is, but where families get to come along. Oh joy, three years in Korea. Eh.

So that begs the question, of what do I do with my guns? No small number of guns mind you. I'm going to make a wild guess that they're not allowed to come with me to Korea.

How many guns are we talking about? Eh, more than 50, less than a 100. A "few" by my standards, a lot by anyone's normal standards.

I'd hate to just sell them as that would mean getting all new guns three years hence. I already had to sell off stuff once to get married and it was a hassle.

Any ideas? Spray 'em all down with CLP and wrap 'em and put them in storage some place? Seal them in drums and bury them like a squirrel getting ready for winter?

 

[zoom6zoom]

From stories I've heard, I wouldn't trust a storage place. Best solution would be if there's family or a trusted friend who has room for a few extra safes in the basement or spare room.

 

[Andy Griffith]

I'd talk to a good friend about it. If he will let you, purchase a very, very good safe and keep it at his house.

Don't tell him the combination, and just get your guns ready for long term storage by purchasing a good amount of Cosmoline and coat them throughly, and then place into those silicone treated gun socks.

Of course, upon your return, they'll probably have banned any kind of chemical that will help to get the Cosmoline off.

 

[n4zov]

If you want to avoid all the mess of using cosmoline, you can do what the military does for long term small arms storage and use VCI storage bags. When you return, open the bag, lube the gun and go shooting!

http://www.exploreproducts.com/kleenboreanticorrosiongunstoragebag.htm

 

[cmort666]

I was an officer, so I took two of mine with me. I kept my Series 70 Colt and Ithaca riot gun in the arms room. I carried the Colt on the DMZ. I just had to make arrangements to get them there and back according to the regulations. The one or two other guns stayed at my mother's place in Chicago.

Don't know about the Navy.

 

[WC145]

Send them to me, guns love Maine. I'll take good care of them for you and see that they're exercised regularly.

 

[Chop]

I had a two year tour to Taegu, Korea (US Army) and brought several .45's, 11 S & W revolvers, and 3 Marlin rifles. I hand carried the .45's in my duffle bag to Korea. They were listed on my PCS orders. I shipped the others with my household goods. They had to be kept in the arms room of my unit. By the way, Marlin lever actions do not fit well in M16A2 rifle racks. I did go clean them often and when we went to the range I got to bring my .45's and shoot the excess ammo after everyone else qualified.
When I returned to the states I shipped them all in my household goods. All of the weapons had to be listed by serial # on the housegoods inventory. The household goods shipment (6800 lbs) was held up by the US Customs in New Orleans for several days because of the firearms but then released with no issues. It was kind of a hassle but most anything with moving overseas is.
Good luck, Korea is a great and interesting tour. I assume you will be at Chinhae, its a small joint US/Korean Navy Base. They have a fantastic Cherry Blossem celebration each spring. Chop

 

[gunlovingirl]

I'd talk to a good friend about it. If he will let you, purchase a very, very good safe and keep it at his house.

+1

 

[walkinghorse]

GF, An Option to Consider !!??

A mass Karma !!!!

Select names in a descending order, and the winners could pick the one they will be babysitting till your return!!

Caveats:
1. Do they have zombies in South Korea?
We know they do in North Korea!

2. Paperwork upon your return to U.S. in 3 years or so, may be more onerous than taking
them with you and bringing them back!!!!

 

[deduke1907]

I had a two year tour to Taegu, Korea (US Army) and brought several .45's, 11 S & W revolvers, and 3 Marlin rifles. I hand carried the .45's in my duffle bag to Korea. They were listed on my PCS orders. I shipped the others with my household goods. They had to be kept in the arms room of my unit. By the way, Marlin lever actions do not fit well in M16A2 rifle racks. I did go clean them often and when we went to the range I got to bring my .45's and shoot the excess ammo after everyone else qualified.
When I returned to the states I shipped them all in my household goods. All of the weapons had to be listed by serial # on the housegoods inventory. The household goods shipment (6800 lbs) was held up by the US Customs in New Orleans for several days because of the firearms but then released with no issues. It was kind of a hassle but most anything with moving overseas is.
Good luck, Korea is a great and interesting tour. I assume you will be at Chinhae, its a small joint US/Korean Navy Base. They have a fantastic Cherry Blossem celebration each spring. Chop

in 1962 it was not a great or interesting tour.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

What Gator hasn't told you is that going with his wife is just insertion cover. Once he gets there, he is tasked with infiltrating North Korea and taking out that crazy little peckerwood dictator up there , what's his name...Kim sung Do or something like that. I know thiws because I am his handler

 

[USAF385]

South Korea is amazing!.... Er.. I guess from what I saw of it.... which means... the Air Bases were nice. Stopped at Osan once for about 12 hours.... My Korean food experience: Taco Bell and BK from the BX!!! Also stopped at Kunsan.

That was actually one of my favorite "trips" though. It landed me at Kadena and Yokota in Japan, and lastly Anderson in Guam (for a good 36 hours, what I saw was beautiful.. definitely saved the best for last as far as I was concerned).

 

[BE Mike]

What Gator hasn't told you is that going with his wife is just insertion cover. Once he gets there, he is tasked with infiltrating North Korea and taking out that crazy little peckerwood dictator up there , what's his name...Kim sung Do or something like that. I know thiws because I am his handler

Man, we are in deeper trouble than I thought. I thought the incompetence was just in the beltway, I didn't know it had filtered down to the operational level.

 

[OFT]

in 1962 it was not a great or interesting tour.

Amen. 1st BG, 17th Inf. 7th ID. Camp Kaiser.

 

[greyhawk178]

I'm thinking that there HAVE to be some high security storage places somewhere near you. Probably not cheap but neither is the stuff to be stored. Pictures, Serial #'s, and insurance.
Good luck...and enjoy the tour...

 

[Titan]

It's not a great time to be going to Korea, since the little nut job declared that the Korean Armistice is no longer in effect and the Congress (just today) ratcheted up sanctions on North Korea, but I wish you well regardless.

I'd echo the advice to store your guns with a very trusted friend or relative.
.

 

[Airedale]

I spent a year in Korea in the early 90's at Camp Humphreys. If you want to acclimate, pull the lid off your septic tank and set by it.

I didn't take any personal weapons but did use a shotgun out of the arms room to hunt pheasant.

Your spouse can shoot an email to her sponsor and get the answer to take or not take firearms.

Dave

 

[Onomea]

Per above, best solution is a high-end safe at a good, gun-friendly friend's, or family member's house. Drawbacks are expense and difficulty of moving a high-end safe, and you may not have a person like that available.

Here is an easier to move, less expensive solution. Long gun locker costs about $400.

http://kennedymfg.com/1530.htm Not as secure as a good gun safe, but even a good gun safe is not perfect.

The vapor bags above are a good idea. Put the sealed guns inside gunsocks for padding. Forget racks. You can cram a lot of guns into a small space that way.

If you can't use a friend's home, check out storage places. Try to find out break-in history of the place. Maybe choose one in a safe town or neighborhood within driving distance. Buy insurance. Cover whatever you are storing the guns in with something like an old rug or cardboard boxes so a casual peek reveals nothing of potential interest.

 

[bamabiker]

You are about to hit 7900 post. You could become "2009 Greatest Member" by giving some REAL NICE karma gifts. Hey, I just noticed I hit 500. I'll have to look around for something.

 

[84CJ]

With that many Firearms I would think you already had a safe. If not and you plan on keeping them BUY ONE. Check with the naval base at your location and see if they have secure storage. I would still buy a safe a good one. National Security or Liberty perhaps. If you have access to AC power use a golden rod.Clean and wipe them down with CLP no fingerprints. Put them in the safe with Golden Rod Go to korea and have fun. Check with Reserve units and see if they have space in their vault. Put your safe in their vault with your guns in it. Doable if you know the right people. Ask around on the base your not the first with an issue like this. The more secure the location the less secure your safe needs to be. Armory's already have dehumidifiers in their vaults. Store them with family or friends as a last resort that is like asking them to be responsible for them.