Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Long term gun storage, 3-4 years, while out of country

Guys,

If you had to live out of the country for a number of years, and couldn't take your rifles and pistols, what would you do with them?

Thought buying a big safe and having it delivered to family, and storing them there, but a) that's a hunk of furniture to stick in their house, and b) I'd be nervous about the family issues (they have custody and control but not the same degree of care).

Thought about putting the safe in a climate controlled storage unit, but that is risky for a number of reasons.

Are there companies out there who do this kind of storage? Net search turned up little of value.

Thanks,
Rich

I dont have a specific solution for you. Couple of points:

Seems to me from long hard experience, you would be much better off paying for storage than leaving something with relatives for that length of time. Schitt happens.

Make sure your storage is either in a very dry climate or arrange for a place to plug in your Goldenrod.

If they are not family heirlooms with no sentimental value, maybe the best thing would be to sell some or all, put the money in the bank and buy more when you return .

There are storage facilities out there but mainly for documents and hardware/backup files.......

You could use a spray cosmoline like substance on them, then have them vaccum sealed, put them away in a secured storage facility and make sure you put a replacement insurance policy on them..... should be fine till you get back. Just make sure you pay the rent......


or I'm sure a few on this forum would take good care of them for you FOC

I did just what you are planning - I left mine in my parents basement for 10 years while I lived in Europe. They lived in the deep south but the basement was always kept cool and dry - I was very surprised to find not a speck of rust anywhere on any of the guns or reloading kit. All was in the same condition as when I left.

Several years back I went through this when I moved to Germany. I ended up buying a large safe and leaving in my parents garage in southern Arkansas. Can you say humid?

I was a bit worried about storage and asked the same thing here. RIG grease was the general consensus. I coated everything, inside and out, with a thick layer. The guns were in that garage for over three years with no rust whatsoever. RIG grease works for longterm storage.

Some of my reloading equipment wasn't as lucky. Wish I had thought about wiping it down as well.

http://www.break-free.com/products/products_collectorliquid.asp?catalog=law

RIG grease and LPS3 are also excellent, but harder to remove.


http://www.polygunbag.com/gunbags.html
These bags are 70" long, so cut to fit and save the scraps to make bags for pistols, reloading dies, knives, etc.

I'll second the LPS3, good stuff.

LPS3, stuff is great.

I once used LPS3 to store a blued shotgun barrel I wasn't using. I stored it in a corner of my garage in it's original cardboard box. Unbeknowst to me, that corner of the garage flooded during heavy rains. I discovered the problem months later when I found the barrel, still sitting in a soggy bottomed box. Not a speck of rust anywhere.

I'd use RIG if you are only doing a few guns, due to the work involved in cleanup.

I once had to put 200+ guns into storage while an estate was resolved. I was really glad I found Breakfree COLLECTOR because no cleanup was required.

LPS3 sort of splits the difference. It's easy to clean up, but it does form a thick brown oil that you'd want to clean off before using the gun.

Lots of good advice so far on what to do before putting them in storage. LPS 3 is the right stuff.

What about storing them with a reputable gunsmith or firearms dealer? Somebody who has been in business for a long time and is not going to go out of business? You could ask.

???