Long-term storage of arms.

[Adam Helmer]

Many of us have many arms and the need arises to preserve the bores and exteriors of the guns waiting their turn at the firing line.

Many new gun owners today do not understand how to safely store arms for long terms. Most think an oil patch down the bore is "good enough." I am not an expert, but I have safely preserved my collection for far too many decades and here is my prescription:

I clean the arm and then run a RIG (Rust Inhibiting Grease) or Mil-Spec Rifle greased patch down the bore two or three times to coat the bore and wipe the exterior metal with a cloth with 50-50 rifle grease and oil and then put the arm into the vault. I have left some guns, so treated, for 5 or 6 years with no rust problems. Occasionally I open a vault and regrease and wipe down the guns therein.

Before firing a greased arm, I run a few dry patches down the bore to remove all grease and then go shoot the arm. I also wipe down the bayonet collection every year or two to keep the blades pristine.

At the Springfield Armory they have "the organ" which is a stack of Model 1855 rifled muskets standing one layer atop another that were greased in the late 1850s and they are still pristine.

Adam