"Storing" an unused rifle ?

[ethomps]

Buddy of mine at work just bought a pair of M&P15s.
(after shooting mine this past weekend )

He is planning to shoot one and keep the other one in the box as an "investment" / for possible future use.

We got to talking and didn't know the answer to the following.

Do you need to do anything to a gun that is bought brand new in box? Does it come from the factory with adequate lube/oil that it can just be left as is for any length of time and stored?

Or does a NIB / never fired rifle need to be wiped down, oiled, etc. in 'storage' as well? He will be keeping it in his gun safe.

(I told him to shoot it, he says 'not yet'.)

Thanks in advance. Eric

 

[ethomps]

Quick follow-up.
I was taught (by my father) that guns 'last longer' when fired periodically and properly cleaned. To him, guns are 'mechanical' and the worst thing you can do to them is just let them sit for years.

Any truth in this? I always just took it as gospel (my dad is retired military and I've never questioned him about such things)

... and don't forward this to my dad... I'll get a lecture...

Eric

 

[cyphertext]

I would put a couple of those silica gel packets in the box with it and it should be fine.

 

[Argonnakid]

Out where I hunt at, I have a 26' trailer and I keep a spare shotgun in there. What I did was cosmolined the shotgun and stuck it in a food saver bag. One of those vacuum bags. It's been in there going on 6 years now or abouts. No sign of rust. The weather out here on the East coast is not firearm friendly a good part of the year. It's just plain damp. I want to say that Brownell's sells a kit designed for long term storage of firearms.

 

[Baddog]

The weapon is oiled enough when S&W puts it in the box, just store the box in a climate controlled enviroment so the repeated cold/hot cycles doesn't affect it.

 

[MichiganScott]

I've got some mil-surp rifles that were covered in cosmoline 65 years ago and stored. They are in fine shape after being cleaned up. So much for them lasting longer if fired occasionally.

Although guns come from the factory with a corrosion preventative on them, I'm more comfortable with cleaning and oiling before long term storage. I have other mil-surps that were obviously oiled and put away. The oil has dried and formed a varnish-like coating on the steel that seems to have prevented corrosion from forming.

I question the thought behind buying an AR at today's inflated prices as an investment. Prices are on their way back down. I doubt prices will rise enough to be profitable to do so until at least the next presidential election and even then they may not keep up with the stock market. Maybe the smart thing to do may be to look at the second gun as a spare and shoot the snot out of rifle #1.

 

[gm272gs]

The upper and lower receivers are aluminum. It's the steel parts inside and the barrel that need a coat of oil. For long-term storage, I would store the stuff in pieces. complete lower gets lubed and stored in one bag. Upper gets lubed and stored in a second bag. BCG gets separated (firing pin out of bolt and bolt out of carrier) lubed and sealed in a third bag. Magazines and other stuff in a fourth bag. Then everything goes back in the box.

If the bags are vacuum-packed, all the better.
Lube for long-term storage? Break-Free makes a "Collector's" liquid coating that is very good for this. Cosmoline is good, too. If you want the end-all-beat-all of 21st century technology, lube the whole rifle and vacuum pack it in BoPET (Biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate) polyester film. and forget about it. You have to get access to someone's $1/2 million machine, though.

 

[Maddmax]

He is planning to shoot one and keep the other one in the box as an "investment" / for possible future use.

(I told him to shoot it, he says 'not yet'.)

Thanks in advance. Eric

Good thought,but it is used do to the fact it has been bought and sold. It's a one owner right now. Who's to say "how used" reguardless of how it looks in a box with "factory" lube. Just saying... I have weapons 40+ and a couple hand downs close to 80 years old that look brand spanking new due to care. It's only worth what some one is willing to pay for it.

 

[august242]

Agreed.

Just be sure to keep those silica packs away from any parts on the rifle itself.

Possibly use a small amount of tape to adhere one edge of the pack to the inside portion of the cardboard S&W shipping box. Just enough tape to secure it so that it doesn't slide around and come into extended contact with any metal portions of the rifle ... just don't overdo the tape so as not to obfuscate the breathable granule pack material which the silica beads / gel is contained within (as it needs to breathe in order to eliminate any humidity).



Good idea cyphertext.