long-gun storage etiquette

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gaseousclay

New member
one of the things I learned in my firearms safety course is that when storing a long-gun you should store it in your safe with the muzzle down. The reason being that solvents & oils can collect in the action and stock and cause damage. I found this interesting because I have yet to see a long-gun in a gun safe stored with the muzzle down....it's always up.

so what do you do? do you store your long-guns with the muzzle up or down?
 
It well depend on how 'wet' your rifle is when stored. After many years you do build up oil and other 'stuff' around the butt socket.

I really see this with AR's collecting oil in the RE. I've had A1' and A2's spit oil out the vent hole in the stock screw and pee on my shoulder:eek:

I store muzzle up and sometimes for space well alternate up and down.
 
It comes from the habit by many to over lube the gun.The real damage is to the wood which can be rotted out .It's sad to see a nice old sidelock double shotgun rotted out as there are just four fingers of wood holding things together.Muzzle down or barrels horizontal is better .Don't use as much oil either.
 
I learned in my firearms safety course is that when storing a long-gun you should store it in your safe with the muzzle down.
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Someone must be pulling your chain. I have never heard of such sillyness. Mine are stored in two gun cabinets and there is no way you can store them barrel down. If you clean them properly, there will NOT be enough oil to make a difference just a thin coating in the barrel. All outside surfaces are oiled and then wiped dry and given a coating of silicon which does not run.

Jim
 
Someone must be pulling your chain. I have never heard of such sillyness. Mine are stored in two gun cabinets and there is no way you can store them barrel down. If you clean them properly, there will NOT be enough oil to make a difference just a thin coating in the barrel. All outside surfaces are oiled and then wiped dry and given a coating of silicon which does not run.
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well, if the DNR and the firearms instructors who taught my class were pulling my chain they must be part of some vast conspiracy. my firearms safety manual even says the same thing
 
I can't say that I've ever had a problem by storing my guns muzzle up. Typically I just clean them as normal and use trace amounts of oil and put them into a preservation bag and pull it out when I'm ready to use it. If you put half a can of oil on there I could see that leading to a bit of an issue.
 
Another reason I also heard for storing muzzle down is so the butt pad doesnt get deformed over time.

So i've only stored the rifles with a soft butt pad "upside down"
 
I have guns in my safe that are over one hundred years old and are stored muzzle up. If these "instructors" are teaching this it's bad info. My guns have enough oil and solvents on them to keep them from rusting and protect them (none of them have any rust on them) and the stocks are in great condition. This isn't "maybe bs", it is BS.
 
Mine are muzzle up. They have a lite coating of oil on them and I can never recall a time that I ever put so much oil in or on them that it would even matter. All the weight being on the crown would be worse I think.
 
There's no problem storing muzzle up if you have chosen your lubricants properly and have not applied them with a bucket.
 
I have guns in my safe that are over one hundred years old and are stored muzzle up. If these "instructors" are teaching this it's bad info. My guns have enough oil and solvents on them to keep them from rusting and protect them (none of them have any rust on them) and the stocks are in great condition. This isn't "maybe bs", it is BS.
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I disagree. I think what they're teaching is sensible, but it's up to each individual gun owner to decide what's good or bad for their guns. and for what's it's worth, the instructors weren't a bunch of young, 20-somethings who were still wet behind the ears - these were guys that have served in the military and have had decades of firearms experience between them. I think calling their information BS does a disservice not only to them but to gun owners in general
 
While this train of thought does have merit as far as the oil and wooden stocks are concerned, it simply does not make sense with AR's or synthetic stocks. Also the idea is to eliminate all the risk of oil getting to the wood so how much oil used is irrelevant. My question is where can one purchase an inverted gun case or cabinet? I assume a cabinet made for this would have a solution for the crown protection, maybe a hanging gun system?? I have never seen one for sale made specifically to hold guns barrel down. If anyone knows where I can get one please PM me!
 
I disagree. I think what they're teaching is sensible, but it's up to each individual gun owner to decide what's good or bad for their guns. and for what's it's worth, the instructors weren't a bunch of young, 20-somethings who were still wet behind the ears - these were guys that have served in the military and have had decades of firearms experience between them. I think calling their information BS does a disservice not only to them but to gun owners in general
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Since we don't know who these guys are, I still think it's BS. Anybody can say or publish what they want. It just doesn't make it so.
 
bob brister

I remember a bob brister article from my youth explaining how oil migrates into the wood and storing upside down would help prevent the softening of the wood in critical areas of the stock. i remember trying it for a while but the rifles kept falling over hitting the next gun. a guy might come up with a nice convienent system for hanging the rifles and make a pile of money with the right marketing.
 
Since we don't know who these guys are, I still think it's BS. Anybody can say or publish what they want. It just doesn't make it so.
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why would a certified firearms instructor give this information to his students if there wasn't some degree of truthfulness to it? he has nothing to gain by lying to everyone. and why would the same information be published as part of the hunter education course for the Minnesota DNR? I find your logic confusing and a little absurd. yes, there are plenty of gun owners out there who have never experienced any problems storing their firearms muzzle up, but the point the instructors were trying to make was that there's still potential for damage. I don't think it was meant to be interpreted as gospel and that every gun owner should store their long guns muzzle down.
 
I had an uncle that taught hunter safety in Mesa, Az. He always stored his long guns muzzle down. He taught me to do the same. My uncle told me it would ruin the stock if you stored the gun muzzle up. It never hurt any of the crowns on his rifles or shotguns. He was the best shot I have ever seen.
 
All my rifles are stored muzzle up & never had any issues with them over a 25 year period. Some of the rifles/shotguns in the gunsafe were bought by my buddies father & have been stored muzzle up since the 1950's - still no problems with them. Any gunstore, gunsmith or armory I've ever visited store/display the majority of rifles muzzle up, or in a smaller number of occassions horizontally, but never have I seen them stored/displayed muzzle down. I even remember years ago visiting the Tower of London armory where the majority of valuable historic rifles are stored muzzle up.
Each to their own, but I'll continue to store muzzle up. If a rifle I'm about to use hasn't been used for a while, I'll always inspect it - to make sure no barrel obstructions, & maybe give it a quick spray & clean to make sure its in working order. I'd do the same if I stored it muzzle down, & since my safe is designed to carry rifles muzzle up, I'll continue to store them that way.
 
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