Storing guns in safe, lube and oil dripping

[CovertGunny]

I want to know if anyone stores all their firearms with the muzzle pointed down for the offseason. I've noticed on some of my firearms a week or two after I've put them away that usually by the trigger housing there is either excess lube or oil that seeps into the cracks and onto the exterior of the firearm (I'm guessing there is some inside the trigger mechanism itself). I swear I don't use a lot of lube I stick to the manuals and apply a single droplet to point of emphasis in the manual and that is it. I tend to get almost all the solvent from the barrel and finish everything off with a light coating of kroils to inside the barrel and any metal surface on the outside. Any suggestions to make things a little less messy?

 

[snakepit]

Buy a Sinclair Chamber Plug, they have a "O" ring for sealing. I often use these chamber plugs and fill the barrels with Bore Tech C4 Carbon Remover and leave them sitting upright for a day or two and they do not leak a single drop. One time I filled a used 6mm barrel with the C4 and left it sitting upright for 6 months and it never leaked a single drop.

 

[LW Moore]

If storage is for all winter, I wipe down the outside metal parts with a very thin coat of gun grease,and also run a patch through the bore with the same very light coat of gun grease. It wipes off quickly in the spring with a dry soft rag and a couple squirts of de- greaser on a few patches clears out the bore.. Bottom line NO RUST and it don't run or move off the places one puts it unless one heats the house to 100 degrees.

 

[wapiti25]

Yes muzzle down does help.

 

[Martin52]

+1 muzzle down, but protect the crown. I use thick foam to rest the muzzle on.

If you want to clean the trigger, try lighter fluid.

 

[fdshuster]

Gunny: At least part of what you are seeing could be solvent that is coming out of the chamber. You would be surprised how many chambers I look into with the borescope, for others, and see a very wet chamber, after they swore it was "bone dry".

Cartridges that have a 30 degree and sharper shoulder angle seem to be more likely to have solvent remaining in the chamber, compared to 20 and 23 degree shoulders. I believe the cleaning patch is not able to get into the sharp, forward corner, where the shoulder meets the neck to completely dry it out.

I did start using brake cleaner as a final drying method, then read some negative results posted here about the metal being left "too dry" and more likely to rust, so backed away from that. I now go into the chamber with an oversize dry patch & it seems to be working.

 

[spclark]

Switch to something with more body that Kroil for long-term storage protection. That stuff's intended to migrate, after all they print "it creeps!" right on the can.

 

[CovertGunny]

Any suggestions for winter storage besides kroils then? Ive heard good things about eezox and clp. Ill give the grease a try on one this winter see how it goes. I never heard of these plugs sounds like good idea.

 

[acloco]

A - quit using ANY lubricant or protectant that does not stay put.


For barrel bore - us lock ease or Ultra Bore Coat.

External - product made by IOSSO - Gun Brite. Helps to remove rust/scratches in every finish (nickel, chrome, satin, blue, gloss blue), helps to prevent rust from occurring, and helps to prevent holster/case wear.

 

[CovertGunny]

Was looking around at the chamber plugs and i'll probably get 1 or 2 for my custom rifles, but at $10 bucks a pop getting 1 for every gun in the safe, yikes. I wonder if you could use rubber stoppers that they use in like science labs/classes. I bought about 50 different sizes for like $20 bucks couple years back and use them to seal my muzzle when using wipeout. Probably would serve the same purpose they dont have orings, but probably would do the job.

 

[artbosco]

If guns are excess and messy, then you're using more than you think. Cut back.

I use an oil dropper that utilizes a very thin needle pointer and/or some of Brian Enos's Slide Guide [ http://www.brianenos.com/pages/slide-glide.html ] sparingly.

 

[BoydAllen]

If you add lube to where there is already lube, you are very likely to get to a point where you have too much. For my bolt actions, with my safe indoors, and the house interior humidity always low, I do not do anything special to my rifles except make sure that the barrels are clean before they are stored, and that whatever I last used in the bore did not leave it dry. As for triggers, I do not lube them, and if they need minor cleaning, without dis-assembly, I use lighter fluid to flush them, and do not oil them after. Excess oil can and does attract dirt, which can act as an abrasive over time. Of course I wipe off the exteriors of my blued firearms from time to time, with Eezox. I put it on wet, let it sit for a while wipe off the excess, and it dries to form a very effective protective barrier. A friend took a blued rifle with a wood stock to Alaska decades ago. Before he left, he had taken the barreled action out of the stock and liberally used Eezox on all the metal parts. On the trip it was wet, and he hunted in the rain, after which he simply cased his rifle and left it there until about two weeks after his return, at which point he fully expected to see a disaster when he opened it. There was not one spot of rust on the rifle, including under the wood.

 

[jnyfeler]

I want to know if anyone stores all their firearms with the muzzle pointed down for the offseason.

That's the only way I ever store my rifles. I put a folded up paper towel under the muzzle to catch any drips.

Jeff

 

[Changeling]

I don't have any rust problems but keep hearing about this "Eezox" being extremely trustworthy.

Are there other derivatives of this product, if so, can someone give me the exact name to purchase?

Can it be found at any of the major chain stores ?

Thanks.

 

[BoydAllen]

http://www.eezox.com/gun-care.html
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=eezox&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=31653166237&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14349273445911456111&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_4gwe4qotgv_e

 

[sirius27c]

I have a friend who convinced me to switch to Eezox on a cantankerous 12 gauge auto that kept stick. I was so impressed with it that I now use nothing but. Excellent protection and no drool, it's more like a wax. Heck, I'd almost brush my teeth with it!