Revolver storage questions…

[Model29-26.5]

What’s the best/safest way to store blued revolvers?
I figure stainless are easy but I’m wanting to avoid rust and other issues later on?
Keep it oiled? Renaissance wax etc?
How about using those silica gel packs inside wherever they are to avoid moisture over the long term?

Thanks

 

[diyj98]

I cover mine in a light coating of RIG grease before storing in the gun safe. I store them out of the box in a rack.

 

[djohns6]

I wipe my guns down with a cotton cloth to remove fingerprints , etc. This is important . Cotton , not synthetic cloths . Then I wipe them down with whatever gun lube I have on hand . They go in the safe which has a cup filled with silica gel desiccant . No rust issues .

 

[Skyhunter]

My safe has a "Golden Rod" & silica gel packs. All blued firearms are wiped down with "RustPrufe" before being locked away.
This has been my routine since living in the Mississippi Delta, the Texas Gulf Coast, the Atlantic side of Florida, and continues in Tennessee.
Since instituting this process, I've never had any issues with corrosion of any sort.

WYT-P
Skyhunter

 

[MajorD]

Unless you live in an EXTREMELY high humidity area, no special attention is needed. Back when I lived in a high humidity area I just tossed blued guns in the safe which was equipped with a golden rod, and my gun room had a dehumidifier. Blue is not nearly as fragile as people make it out to be. They require no more maintenance than stainless in my experience. Then again full disclosure my idea of cleaning is five minutes knock enough crud off them to keep them running and ignore the rest.I hated white glove inspection clean standards in the Army and still fully believe overly aggressive cleaning is what harms guns more than anything

 

[lkabug]

I too use a Golden Rod and silica. I also keep a hydrometer in each safe.
I clean each gun and use Renaissance Wax on each before storing in safe on hangers.
I have been known to use RIG on some older guns that came to me with a bit of rust.
I inspect my guns often.

 

[marinevet]

VCI bags have worked well for me..........

 

[Hair Trigger]

What’s the best/safest way to store blued revolvers?
I figure stainless are easy but I’m wanting to avoid rust and other issues later on?
Keep it oiled? Renaissance wax etc?
How about using those silica gel packs inside wherever they are to avoid moisture over the long term?

Thanks

Just don't shove it in a safe and forget about it. Clean and very lightly oiled internals, and wipe it down with a silicone gun cloth, or wax it with Renaissance wax. You can also wrap it in a silicone cloth or get some silicone gun socks for it and whatever else you have.

I hang mine from the shelf in my safe with gun rods after treating them as I described. They all get handled frequently enough that I don't worry about rust, plus I have dehumidification for the safe. A couple of my favorites are stored in their presentation cases, but are wrapped in silicone cloths. I only do it that way from space limitations, but they get frequently inspected, so no worries.

 

[PMRet]

I keep mine in Bore-Stores silicone gun cases.

 

[BC38]

Unless you live in an EXTREMELY high humidity area, no special attention is needed. Back when I lived in a high humidity area I just tossed blued guns in the safe which was equipped with a golden rod, and my gun room had a dehumidifier. Blue is not nearly as fragile as people make it out to be. They require no more maintenance than stainless in my experience. Then again full disclosure my idea of cleaning is five minutes knock enough crud off them to keep them running and ignore the rest.I hated white glove inspection clean standards in the Army and still fully believe overly aggressive cleaning is what harms guns more than anything

Ditto that.
The correct answer to the OP's question depends on where you live.
Here in the dry RIGHT side of Washington where the average humidity is around 60% we don't have to take any extraordinary measures to protect firearms against rust or corrosion.

Just 300 miles away in the Seattle area, where the average humidity is closer to 80%, firearms will start to develop rust "freckling" unless you take measures to protect them.

Just one more reason I am glad I moved here from there.

 

[Valmet]

My safes have golden rods but I usually wipe them down with Ballistol and store them in those treated pistol “socks”

 

[rct269]

My routine went like so:

A new arrival comes apart (ALL APART), is made squeaky clean, slathered in CorrosionX, and left to sit for a day, or two, or however long before I get back to it. At that point all the CorrosionX that will come off gets blasted off with high pressure DRY compressed air. The gun gets put back together, and the CorrosionX film on the exterior gets removed with Hoppes, then dried/polished with a soft, cotton cloth (because there's nothing uglier than a blue gun with oil stains on it)------and gets put on a shelf in the display cabinet----which is not air tight, so the guns get dusted with a vacuum cleaner brush maybe twice yearly.

So how's that work out? There were guns in there for 30 years or so with NO further attention.

I don't know the whys and wherefores, but I give the credit to the CorrosionX----never mind I wiped all of it off the exterior---all of it you can see anyway.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[H Richard]

There are many different methods as stated above. But important is to take them out of the safe a couple times a year and inspect and make sure your method is working and re-apply it before going back in the safe.

 

[OutAtTheEdge]

Stretchy gun socks turned inside-out, lightly sprayed with a light gun oil, then turned rightside out. Pistol in sock, sock into padded unzipped gun rugs lined up on shelf in safe protected with safe-size desiccant bag.

 

[.38SuperMan]

I live in a high humidity state, Tennessee, but the humidity in my home stays 45% all year round.

All of my revolvers or pistols are cleaned thoroughly every range trip and oiled with CLP or similar. My 1911’s and single actions are stored in their plastic cases. My double action are stored in fleece or fabric lined gun rugs. I shoot most of my revolvers regularly so they aren’t in the rug for extended periods. Even if I don’t shoot a particular one regularly I’ve carefully and thoroughly cleaned and oiled them and I’ve never experienced any hint of a problem over the years.

If I get in my safe and handle a gun I have fresh Hoppy’s silicon clothes I thoroughly wipe them down with so no finger prints to promote rust.

My rifles are in another safe on a different level of my home and I keep all my rifles in racks vertically in my safe with them totally open and not in a sleeve. Again each are cleaned and oiled. Also for good measure I have a golden rod in that safe.

The only time I ever had a problem was when I used an air drying agent that came in a can. The agent was an alkaline chemical desiccant and it actually ate through the aluminum can and liquid ran into the bottom of my safe and damaged a shotgun barrel and attacked a couple of screws in the butt of a rifle. I no longer use desiccants.

In the last thirty years I’ve not had an issue and the only issue was that one instance where the container used by the desiccant manufacture developed a pinhole and leaked corrosive liquid.

Keep your guns clean, oiled and dry.

 

[Frailer]

I agree with the view that no extraordinary care is needed. During my last overseas tour I had blued revolvers stored in foam-lined Plano cases in my parents’ Alabama basement for six years. I had cleaned them well and rubbed them with a *lightly* oiled cloth, but that’s it. They suffered no ill effects.

These days I apply a little Renaissance Wax and store them in “Sack-Up” socks.

 

[65Whelen]

My safe has a "Golden Rod" & silica gel packs. All blued firearms are wiped down with "RustPrufe" before being locked away.
This has been my routine since living in the Mississippi Delta, the Texas Gulf Coast, the Atlantic side of Florida, and continues in Tennessee.
Since instituting this process, I've never had any issues with corrosion of any sort.

WYT-P


Skyhunter

Agreed, been using this stuff since the '70s, never a problem with rust.

Rust is neglect.

 

[Retired W4]

Silica can only absorb so much moisture. The 450 gram bags I have must be put in a 240 degree oven for 3 hours to dry them out for further use.

 

[hdfinder47]

I've never had an issue with rust (57+years collecting) and have lived 18 miles from the Gulf Coast in South LA most of that time. I inventory every year or so and wipe each piece down with an oily rag (RemOil). I clean the few I shoot after every shooting session. Store in vaults in racks in an air conditioned environment.
That being said, silicone storage bags, RenWax, and all of the procedures mentioned above are extra insurance against rust and can't hurt - I'm just basically lazy.
Ed

 

[djohns6]

We used silica gel desiccant at work and they would throw it away after it became saturated . Before I retired I liberated a couple of quart sized jars of it and have been using it for years . I store the dried desiccant in a Thermos bottle and it keeps it fresh .