Anybody use vacuum sealing food storage bags for long term firearm storage?
Vacuum sealing for Guns
- Thread starter Narragansett
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No, but I have also thought about it. Makes sense. A couple of silica gel bags, and airtight and lubed, should last for ages.
OP
You might think so. I hope somebody has tried it
I did quite a bit of surfing on this subject. There seems to be a lot of proponents of vacuum sealing guns for long term storage.
The commonalities among those who do are: clean gun, lightly oil, introduce nitrogen into the bag and then vacuum seal it.
You have my seal of approval on this.
The commonalities among those who do are: clean gun, lightly oil, introduce nitrogen into the bag and then vacuum seal it.
You have my seal of approval on this.
I thought about vacuum sealing a pistol or revolver while using wet leather to mold it to the form, it made sense to me at the the time and does to this day. That way you could form the leather to the piece and instead of carefully removing the item and letting the leather dry you could just let it dry with the item in place. I never got around to making the holster in question but the idea is still there.
A couple years ago I sealed a box worth of .38spl., loose in the bag. I don't know where I put it, so can't comment on the effectveness, but a good thought at the time.
I would be afraid of condensation here in the south. Maybe with the silica bags it would work, but I would rather just take mine out periodically and check the internals as well. That also gives me a reason to shoot ones that get overlooked
I agree 100%. But doesn't oxygen have to be present for rust to form? So as long as the firearm is vacuum sealed no rust would occur—correct?
AJ
US Veteran
Interesting concept!
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Best method I've found for long term storage of ANY metal …….
RIG Universal Grease inside and out. Wrap item in waxed paper and then in aluminum foil. You're good for a lifetime! You needn't worry about a vacuum bag seal leaking, opening or ripping. No need for special equipment either. Time tested and always works.
RIG Universal Grease inside and out. Wrap item in waxed paper and then in aluminum foil. You're good for a lifetime! You needn't worry about a vacuum bag seal leaking, opening or ripping. No need for special equipment either. Time tested and always works.
Ivan the Butcher
Member
In the early 1990's I vacuum sealed 2 of the 525 round milk cartons of Federal 22's. When we moved 7 years ago the vacuum seal was still good, just last week I checked my stock of ammo and found those two packs still had the seal intact, so the bag technology is proven to work.
I have a friend that live in Australia. When the handguns were to be turned, they used a heavier duty technology. They used car tire inner tubes and cut them open 180 degrees from the valve stem. Then sealed one end with bathroom silicone sealant and a radiator hose clamp. Inserted guns and or ammo and cleaning kits, then sealed the other end. They "Lightly vacuumed" out the air and inflated to about 20 PSI with Nitrogen or packed in dry ice with the stored items and bled pressure down to about 20 PSI. These were buried near an identifiable landmark in the "Outback."
The innertube method would be far more resistant to abrasion! But would be far more costly.
Most of my American friends that stored guns underground used large PVC pipe with one sealed end and one threaded end with Teflon tape and either and air conditioning stem or a Schrader valve stem (car tire) for air removal and Nitrogen filling. Tubes were always buried with a wrench attached to the outside. These were usually 2 long guns and ammo and emergency supplies. (Updated every 3 to 5 years)
I just use a 500 gram silicajel dehumidifier in my gun safe.
Ivan
I have a friend that live in Australia. When the handguns were to be turned, they used a heavier duty technology. They used car tire inner tubes and cut them open 180 degrees from the valve stem. Then sealed one end with bathroom silicone sealant and a radiator hose clamp. Inserted guns and or ammo and cleaning kits, then sealed the other end. They "Lightly vacuumed" out the air and inflated to about 20 PSI with Nitrogen or packed in dry ice with the stored items and bled pressure down to about 20 PSI. These were buried near an identifiable landmark in the "Outback."
The innertube method would be far more resistant to abrasion! But would be far more costly.
Most of my American friends that stored guns underground used large PVC pipe with one sealed end and one threaded end with Teflon tape and either and air conditioning stem or a Schrader valve stem (car tire) for air removal and Nitrogen filling. Tubes were always buried with a wrench attached to the outside. These were usually 2 long guns and ammo and emergency supplies. (Updated every 3 to 5 years)
I just use a 500 gram silicajel dehumidifier in my gun safe.
Ivan
I've never used vaccum seel bags for long term storage but have used them for molding hosters and let the gun sit for a day or two. Never had a bad experience.
I may have to put one of my safe queens in the bag for storage to check it out. Thanks for the idea.
I may have to put one of my safe queens in the bag for storage to check it out. Thanks for the idea.
No oxygen no rust. Displacing atmosphere with Nitrogen is effective and N2 is a cheap gas.
I have no reason to do it, to a gun. Considered it in lieu of embalming. Let your imaginations go. Of course whatever body was sealed in the bag would cause the evacuation to eventually emit gases but hopefully body was buried before it kinda bloated up. For a gun or other inanimate object it sounds like a good idea. Of course you gotta purge with dry nitrogen first. Sorry about the dead body thing...
Perfect idea for those unfortunate boating accidents.
Better yet...
OP
This sounds interesting. I wonder, if I do this, and vacuum seal the wrapped and treated gun, do I improve the process?
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Jon651
Member
Over the years I have formed three holsters to pistols using this method and it works great.
First thing I suggest is to find a really thin plastic bag (like the kind the newspaper sometimes comes in) and wrap that around your pistol first before anything else. This will help to prevent moisture from entering your gun's inner workings.
Next, soak the leather holster in question in warm water for about 20 minutes then shake dry. Place your plastic-wrapped pistol into the holster.
Using a vacuum sealer, seal the entire thing in a strong bag and let sit overnight. I usually recommend using two seals on the bag opening if your sealer can do that as an extra precaution against leaks.
The next morning, remove everything from the bags and let the holster dry completely before placing the pistol back into it. I don't know if this is the "official" method, but it has worked very well for me.
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You are doing something that is just not necessary! Like wearing 6 condoms at once - lol. I've still got USGI magazines manufactured in 1943 packed in the original Comsmoline (yesterday's RIG Universal Grease) and wrapped in a gauze type cloth and whenever I unwrap one they are brand new - no rust at all. That's 89 years ago - so I would certainly not bother with vacuum sealing.
Many years ago I was into an Uzi Model A and had a full auto bolt and short barrel, plus a couple thousand rounds of Israeli steel cased 9mm. I wanted to secure a cache of ammo in a secure location. I used white sewer pipe, glued and capped one end, glued a screw on clean out plug on the other. I filled it with a couple thousand rounds of the Israeli ammo, stuffed an old gym sock in to take up empty space, screwed the cleanout in with its silicone rubber O-ring. Buried it on secure state park land and basically forgot about it for over thirty years, traded the Uzi for a very clean '55 Chevy, went on with life and then remembered the ammo and decided to go see what I could see or find if I could even find it. Went back to the site, there was no evidence I had ever been there other than a rock that didn't belong there was the marker was still there. I dug down, pulled the pipe out and opened it up, the stuff looked like the day I put it there...no Uzi though to have fun with.
