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  • Weapon storage

    As most of you know I was stationed overseas for a little over four years. During that time, I had to place my weapons into storage (not the .gov storage, in a place I trust) and prepared them as best as I could. And I recently was able to gather my full stash and transport them to my new home.

    We often talk about storing firearms long term and how they will be affected, whether our storage methods will hold up, etc. So I
    Experience is a cruel teacher, gives the exam first and then the lesson.

  • #2
    And pistols were done somewhat the same way. However, running out of the small craft bags I was using for desiccant packs, I improvised even more and used a paper towel. Probably not the best of choices, but I’ll get to that.

    Here are a 1911 and a Tokarev in their bags:




    (Also, please don’t tell my mother I own a 1911, she still thinks I’m respectable and work in a cat house)

    And the Tok:



    Two things went wrong I believe. The Tok was placed into storage in 2006 and IIRC, the 1911 in 2007. However, my choice of a paper towel for a desiccant package might not have been the best idea. Both the 1911 and the Tokarev showed some corrosion. You can see the slight ring around the 1911 barrel and the interior of the Tok barrel was rusty.



    Tok



    So lessons learned: Use the same materials on both. I should have used the small craft bags for the desiccant packs, but ran out and improvised. Maybe not the best item. Also, when storing, a generous amount of oil to include the barrels should be applied. They will come clean I’m certain, and the function check went off without a hitch. Just a tad more oil probably would have helped out a lot more.
    Experience is a cruel teacher, gives the exam first and then the lesson.

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    • #3
      And the ammo. I picked the 7.62x39 ammo since I knew for a fact it was packed away in 2006. And another random can was the 7.62x51. Random picks.



      The ammo was still airtight even five years later. I packed it up in Colorado and never opened it since then. It was hard to open and the pressure change of less oxygen at altitude in Colorado made opening them a little harder. But I got it open and looked just like it did the day I packed it away.



      And the 7.62x51 ammo was the same:




      No serious trouble with storing ammo for long term. I used the desiccant packs and they worked like a champ. Even the temperature changes over a five year timeframe didn
      Experience is a cruel teacher, gives the exam first and then the lesson.

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      • #4
        And finally the desiccant packs. I picked up a pack of the small craft paper bags at Michaels. Filled them with standard flower drying silica gel and stapled or taped the ends up. Didn’t take much, maybe a spoonful or two per pack and the paper seemed to work just fine.




        However, I don’t think the paper towel worked very well at all. I might have gotten better results with standard newspaper or something like that.

        So overall, yes, it is possible to store weapons and ammunition for up to five years with little to no trouble. Provided I learned a lot with the pistols and keeping them oiled better, but lesson learned and I feel I still would have been able to pull them out and fire them with little problem.

        Hope this helps those considering storing something long term.
        Experience is a cruel teacher, gives the exam first and then the lesson.

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        • #5
          Nice report Grand. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us. I have been wondering about using a food saver with oxygen absorbers inside. Anybody got any good ideas or tips to try?
          Welcome to Tennessee, patriot state of shootin' stuff.

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          • #6
            Not a bad idea...just wondering how well the plastic would hold up with the sharp edges of a weapon?
            Experience is a cruel teacher, gives the exam first and then the lesson.

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            • #7
              Man you sure came out of it better than I did leaving my stuff with "friends" and family while across the pond. Good Post
              Knowledge is Power, Practiced Knowledge is Strength, Tested Knowledge is Confidence

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              • #8
                Well done, great job!
                Boris- "He's famous, has picture on three dollar bill!"

                Rocky- "Wow! I've never even seen a three dollar bill!"

                Boris- "Is it my fault you're poor?"

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Grand58742 View Post
                  Not a bad idea...just wondering how well the plastic would hold up with the sharp edges of a weapon?
                  I haven't actually tried it yet. I was hoping someone on here had done this before. I was thinking I could use the vacuum to pull the bag down "snug" and then seal it before it got too tight. My foodsaver has a button on it that will let you manually seal at any time during the process. You could even pour in some 10W 40 and seal it off without using the vacuum. If you buy the rolls of bags you can even do long guns. For AR's it would be easier to do them each half at a time :)

                  Just thinking out loud here. Anybody?
                  Welcome to Tennessee, patriot state of shootin' stuff.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by ridgerunner View Post
                    I haven't actually tried it yet. I was hoping someone on here had done this before. I was thinking I could use the vacuum to pull the bag down "snug" and then seal it before it got too tight. My foodsaver has a button on it that will let you manually seal at any time during the process. You could even pour in some 10W 40 and seal it off without using the vacuum. If you buy the rolls of bags you can even do long guns. For AR's it would be easier to do them each half at a time :)Just thinking out loud here. Anybody?
                    I've never done guns with the foodsaver just ammo. If you use oil in there you won't be able to use the vacuum and get a good seal i dont think.

                    We had a bit of a discussion on the ammo i stored while away here
                    Dapatkan pengeluaran hk hari ini yang tersaji dalam data hk untuk menentukan kemenangan pemain togel hk sebagai hasil keluaran hk prize yang di sambil dari live hk pools resmi.


                    I dunno about the guns though. Seems plausible but the bags will break down over the years
                    Knowledge is Power, Practiced Knowledge is Strength, Tested Knowledge is Confidence

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                    • #11
                      Excellent thread, Grand!!

                      If you wrap the long guns in a plastic wrap after light oiling, then put them in a vacuum bag the sharp edges shouldn't be a problem. I'll drag out my Foodsaver tonight, if I get home early enough, and vacuum pack a couple of pistols as a test if anyone is interested.
                      Brokedownbiker

                      If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Gov't, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin
                      Sam Adams

                      Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
                      John Adams

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by brokedownbiker View Post
                        Excellent thread, Grand!!

                        If you wrap the long guns in a plastic wrap after light oiling, then put them in a vacuum bag the sharp edges shouldn't be a problem. I'll drag out my Foodsaver tonight, if I get home early enough, and vacuum pack a couple of pistols as a test if anyone is interested.
                        INTERESTED for sure!
                        Knowledge is Power, Practiced Knowledge is Strength, Tested Knowledge is Confidence

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                        • #13
                          Yes, absolutely. I'm curious to see how it turns out.
                          Experience is a cruel teacher, gives the exam first and then the lesson.

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                          • #14
                            Okay, finally got time this morning to try it out.

                            First things-

                            I used two of my handguns- a Taurus PT145 compact 45 acp semi auto and a Smith and Wesson 686 Midnight Black .357 revolver to show the results on a fairly smooth gun with low sights and a larger gun with quite a few sharp edges

                            photo #1 is the vacuum sealer I used. It is a Foodsaver V3425.

                            photo #2 is the storage bags I used, Foodsaver brand bags.

                            photo #3 is the plastic wrap used.

                            photo #4 are the test guns used.

                            photo #5 shows the guns wrapped in 5 layers of plastic wrap prior to sealing, I did this to try and blunt some of the sharp points and edges (the S&W has a surprising number of sharp edges- sights and hammer are real problem areas).
                            Attached Files
                            Brokedownbiker

                            If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Gov't, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin
                            Sam Adams

                            Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
                            John Adams

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                            • #15
                              Now to the meat of the test-

                              I didn't oil the guns for this test as I didn't want to have to spend the time cleaning them off afterwards but if I were going to store them in a cache I would coat them lightly with the oil of your choice prior to wrapping them in the plastic wrap.

                              photo #6 shows the guns after sealing

                              photo #7 is a close up of the Taurus

                              photo #8 is a close up of the Smith and Wesson

                              My impression is that this will be a great method for long term storage- with a few changes. Like I mentioned above, the oiling would be one, more layers of the plastic wrap with attention paid to the sharp areas and most importantly, I would add a dessicant pack to absorb any trapped moisture. I might try just a few grains of rice, it is known to be a natural absorber.

                              For a higher degree of protection, multiple layers of vacuum bags would give more depth to the protection.

                              All in all, I think this method will work for really long term storage with minimal risk of piercing or moisture intrusion for caching your "metal objects"
                              Attached Files
                              Brokedownbiker

                              If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Gov't, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin
                              Sam Adams

                              Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
                              John Adams

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