Ultra long term shotgun storage

[dsimons]

I recently purchased a 32 Mosin and I had to clean all the cosmo off that was left. I also have a 48 Yugo mauser that had the same thing done to it. I'm not sure what the life stories of these rifles are but I would presume that they were in boxes for at least 30 or 40 years with no human contact at all(or they had some guy who spent 12 hours a day cleaning and repacking these rifles for his entire 40 year career.) My new thread questions is this: I have an old Springfield Sears (I think) department store shotgun and I want to do the same thing that was done to my Mauser/Mosin however everybody keeps talking about long term storage as being 5-10 years. The plan is to pass on my grandfathers shotgun to my young nephew in the shape it is in right now. I have to be missing something. I know about the cosmo, gun wrap paper, and storage bags from Brownells and other places but they all say the same thing as you about the 5 to 10 year long term storage. Is there a free pdf that covers mil cosmo long long term storage or am I an idiot?

 

[rcmodel]

I would suggest R.I.G. Universal grease and a silicone treated gun sock so the gun can "breath" and not come in contact with trapped mosture..
IMO: R.I.G. is better then Cosmoline, and not nearly as messy.
And it won't soak into wood stocks and ruin them nearly as bad as Cosmoline.
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=31842/product/RIG_reg__UNIVERSAL_GUN_GREASE


Or, museums use Renaissance Wax for "forever" firearms preservation.
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=236/product/MICRO-CRYSTALLINE-WAX-CLEANER-POLISH

Also IMO: "Store it and forget it" is a bad plan for any firearm you want to preserve for eternity.
It pays in the long run to use something like R.I.G. or Renaissance wax, and then take a few minutes every few years to inspect it and go over it again.

rc

 

[ridgerunner1965]

i saw a article a while back and dont ask me to remember where i read it at!a guy took a mini 14, took the wood off, vacuum sealed the wood after waxing,vacuum sealed the barell and action, well greased and vacuum sealed sum ammo, like 250 rnds.put it in a piece of 6 inch pvc, glued caps on both ends and buried it at the base of a big tree for 15 years.when he went to dig it up he had a hard time finding it as the tree had died and fell over.when he got it out and put it back together it was in perfect condition.i do remember the bags he used looked really heavy and tuff.ive been thinking about doing a couple shotguns like this and storeing them in different places on my property.

 

[dsimons]

Wow! thanks for the info, im going to look into that rig stuff as wood is a primary concern for me. I will let you know what happens when I try it. Thanks again for the help.