storage in gun safe

[Bfnj5j8]

Hey Guys,
What is the generally accept practice for storing hand guns? I'm using a gun safe Am not talking extended long periods, maybe a month or two. Are there special rated cloths for example? My rifles, I usually keep in a lined soft rifle case.

[Kid Shileen]

I use the silicone treated handgun and rifle socks. Work well. I take the weapons out occasionally and inspect and wipe down. No problems. The rifle cases probably aren’t the best for storage.

[Golphin]

I store mine in the safe with the exception of the one I keep with me. I have a cover that hangs on the safe door that holds handguns of all types. They also make racks you can stand in a shelf in the safe to hang them on. I would not store a gun or a knife in a leather holster or sheath as some leathers will ruin the finish, I don't store any of mine in holsters other than my M&P 45 that stays with me and is not something I am worried about getting damaged anyway.

[ISCS Yoda]

I store my hand guns for years and years in my safe in gun socks or the soft, fleece lined "rugs". Not the typical, soft sided but rigid gun "rugs" because they take up too much room.

Same for my rifles.

Some are just "nekkid" because of lack of room, etc. Nothing happens to them whether in socks or without. Some places, like South Florida or maybe the Galveston area in Texas (Chesapeake Bay in MD??)might be too humid to leave guns without protective socks but, otherwise, with or without you shouldn't have much of a problem.

If your safe is able to be so equipped you can insert a "golden rod" dehumidifier. I used to toss all of the little sacks of hygroscopic chemicals that came with medicines and various other items into my safe to absorb moisture, just because I had them so why not, right? Regardless, I never had a problem with guns stored in my safe.

Further, please note that after the fire in 2018 everything got wet but some of the handguns in the back of the safe were hardly touched by the water, some were nicely protected, anyway, and some got nasty water stains so I sold them because I couldn't bear to look at them. New safe now; same procedures as before, gun socks for most of the guns and it will be all of the guns after I buy some more socks.

Side note - as an accumulator (I can't be too much of a collector anymore, most of the messed up guns were S&W revolvers, but I still have my share of S&W handguns) I have a lot of handguns and some will literally not see the light of day for years in my new safe, never mind months. I might croak out before some of them ever come out again!

[banger]

I don't know if you are coastal or not not.

Consider a dehumidifier rod.

There used to be a product known as a "Golden Rod".

I have no idea if it's still manufactured or not.

Plan "B" is, put a 100 watt light bulb into the safe.

The heat keeps the rust monsters away.

[Toddlars1]

Originally Posted by Kid Shileen

I use the silicone treated handgun and rifle socks. Work well. I take the weapons out occasionally and inspect and wipe down. No problems. The rifle cases probably aren’t the best for storage.

Perfect, been working for me for years

[squidsix]

The nice revolvers are wrapped in VCI paper and in acid-free cardboard boxes, similar to S&W factory boxes but specifically designed for photographs.
All the other stuff is on one of those “the best pistol display/storage rack in the universe” or some such, which is a coated rod in the barrel. Maybe 20 handguns like that.
Rifles and shotguns in silicone gun socks.

[Mike, SC Hunter]

You don't need those fancy "gun socks" that cost $10.00 each or more. For over 20 years I've stored them in regular "foot socks". Which are a heck of a lot cheaper and work just as well. In socks you can rack "em" and stack "em" with no worries.

[Jeppo]

My wife sews gun socks for me from worn cotton towels. They cost me nothing.

[loknload]

Mine are stored in nothing inside the safe except for sitting in wooden racks made by the safe co. Quite a few are kept in the boxes they came in?
Every so often they are taken out, wiped down and oiled. My rifles are kept in the same fashion?
Nothing special and I do have a golden rod operating?

[Bumpus13]

Popped mine open a few minutes ago.

I use various racks and a dehumidifier rod at the back of the floor. All the protection they need.

Here’s a peek:

[Rubone]

Originally Posted by Jeppo

My wife sews gun socks for me from worn cotton towels. They cost me nothing.

They cost you more than you think!!

[Gunhacker]

A dehumidifier rod in my opinion is a must, especially during the humid months. I'm on the fence about the silicone impregnated gun pouches, such was the "bore store" brand for long term storage.

I have guns that have been in my safe that were in "bores stores" many years and several of my blued guns developed a non removable milky haze in the bluing, while others did not.

I don't know the reason for the disparity in why it happened to some revolvers, but not others, but I was not happy to say the least.

I've since changed over to guns socks, which unlike the "bores stores" aren't fleece lined. And are less expensive... I buy a long shotgun gun sock and then have the wife cut and hem them into several handgun sized socks.

[Grayfox]

I've got more handguns than self space.
I put mine in Bore Stores brand treated rugs. Then I just stack 'em in the safe. As long as you're not throwing them around and just gently stack 'em there's no problem with scratches or other damage.
You spend hundreds for a good gun. Are ya too cheap to spend another $5-6 to protect it?

[max503]

I never store a gun in contact with any fabric. Fabrics can hold moisture.

[HOUSTON RICK]

I use silicon treated gun socks for long guns and handguns and and gun mitts for handguns

[bmcgilvray]

I had a banking career, mostly as a lending officer, for over 40 years. I just gathered up bank zippered deposit bags. A very large bank for which I initially worked had accumulations of competitor banks' zipper bags gathered up over the years available for the asking. As the handgun collection grew more bags were acquired.

Zipper bags come in different sizes, top opening and side opening. Overall they've become smaller over the years. I have some older bags that house 6 1/2-inch N-frame Smith & Wesson and Colt New Service revolvers.

The very old bags which were going out of style by the mid-1970s were made of canvas with brass zippers. Bags made of vinyl became popular. The vinyl bags had either the brass zippers or steel zippers. I did not prefer the steel zippers for they would scratch a handgun's finish. Bank bags have mostly been made of vinyl with plastic zippers for the past two decades.

I do have a single old canvas bank bag, but am reluctant to store blued steel guns in it. It's never rusted a gun, but I now use it to store a .40 Smith & Wesson shield.

Handguns are wiped with RIG before being stowed in the bags then put on shelves in the safe. I've used this method for storage since the 1970s and have several handguns which have been stored in their same ol' bag in this way since the 1970s and always with perfect satisfaction. The bags are thin so more handguns fit on shelves. Pistol rugs are too padded to be satisfactory. The bags keep handguns from scuffing and and chafing each other. Pistols go out for "exercise" in these bags when they are placed in my shooting box.

Many banks will have an accumulation of competitors' bags that they have taken out of circulation free for the asking at the tellers' windows. Or, they will sometimes give or sell one of their own deposit bags if asked.

Bags are available online and sometimes overruns or accumulations may be found on Ebay for cheap.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...+bags&_sacat=0


NetBankStore.com: Zipper Bags
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[diyj98]

I don't like to keep anything in boxes or any kind of sleeves or rugs. They're all in racks. Wiped with gun oil for short term storage and RIG grease for long term storage. I have a golden rod in all my safes.

[BigBoy99]

I give the gun a good coating of Break-Free and completely cover the handgun with plastic cling wrap. If there is a holster for the gun, the plastic wrapped gun is stored in its holster. Then holster is put in zip-lock bag and sealed. No problem with rust.

[Bfnj5j8]

Well Guys,
To say I'm overwhelmed by your collective responses, would sound trite. Yes, I live in the mid-Atlantic and actually in a marina community. Humidity is abundant at times, but, I'm hopeful my small-ish gun safe while in a temperature/humidity controlled area of the house will suffice for now. I do like the idea of desiccant pouches to place in the safe. You mentioned items like silicone and bore socks, which I've never heard of, so will explore these. I have a 1941 Winchester Model 94 30-30 that has been kept in a regular old soft lined gun case, thus far, maybe been lucky, the blueing is still superb. But then, perhaps, the "blueing" of "yester-year" is far better than what has been applied in the last 20? Dunno? Thanks again.....

[kidcom]

I use a Stack-On Total Defense dial safe. I don't believe in nor do I trust battery operated locks on a safe. To many friends that I know with battery operated locks have had failures necessitating the services of a locksmith to get back into their safe. Needless to say they have ALL switched to a dial combination safe. As for my semi-auto S&W collection, I can get 25 ( 5 x 5) guns per side stored in cases with silicon treated gun socks. As an interested side note, all of my handguns are stored in Glock cases (NO I don't own a Glock). They are the right size and are perfect for my situation.

[Mike, SC Hunter]

Originally Posted by max503

I never store a gun in contact with any fabric. Fabrics can hold moisture.

Hasn't affected mine in over 20 years and I don't use any kind of dehumidifier. And i live in the humid south. Some of my "better" rifles are stored in rifle socks. No problems there either.

[ISCS Yoda]

I don't believe in nor do I trust battery operated locks on a safe.

I now have a battery operated lock on my gun safe. Trust me, I'm not happy about it. When the battery fails I have to reprogram the danged thing. Annoying!!!!!!!!!! But I got this gorgeous safe for free (long story) so I shut up............

[Dave Lively]

I used to use gun socks. But after selling off anything I had not shot in a few years there is enough room in my safe that I no longer have to worry about scratches getting them into and out of the safe so I just put them on a rack.

I live in Georgia and used to live in Arkansas, both of which can be pretty humid at times. I use a golden rod and desiccant cartridges but don't keep a close eye on the desiccants so they often become saturated.

The only gun I had rust issues with was an HK91 that spent 30 years in my safe. The bore never rusted but the flash suppressor got so bad I replaced it. There was also some pitting on the bolt I noticed when I was taking picture so sell it. I suspect some of the "non-corrosive" 308 surplus I bought by the case in the 80s was not quite as non-corrosive as advertised. But I cleaned it after every range session so it shouldn't have mattered that much.

[Rship1]

I use Bores Stores

[hobby-gunsmith]

Before I moved to an apartment, I had a large Liberty safe that accommodated my rifles and handguns. I used a golden rod for many years, same one, and did not have any rust. I cleaned and lubricated once a year and most of my antiques are in a sized boxes for the gun and wrapped in double sided paper similar to the smith & Wesson paper. The larger antiques are in the Bore stores socks in different sizes. However, since I moved about a year ago to an apartment, I had to downsize my safe and sold all of my rifles. Since the larger safe had a plug in the safe for a golden rod, I had no problem with moister. Now, without the plug in the new safe, I had to find something else to inhibit the rust. Yes, the apartment is air conditioned, my humidity gage is showing 59 percent with 79 degrees in the apartment. I am now using a product called EVA-DRY that holds little beads that monitor the humidity with a green or orange color. When the beads turn green, you plug the unit in an outlet, for about 10 to 12 hours until the beads turn orange. Then place it back in the safe and your good to go for about a month until the beads turn green. The gage is now showing 51 percent humidity. I use the EVA-DRY indicator outside and inside my safe for comparing the humidity and temperature in the room. The boxes I use are a protecta-gun box, very sturdy, and sized for the gun. I have dropped the boxes from the safe to the floor and held the corners without breaking. I purchase the boxes from Robert Arms and supplies in Harpers Ferry, WV. I am happy with the results on all counts. Oh, by the way, there is a new product from MCM plastic storage boxes that holds two handguns in each box in the safe. They come three to a pack and I replace the metal gun racks in the safe and they do come with a cloth insert. This gives me more room for more guns. If If I can be of further help, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Nick