View Full Version : How to store and hide a gun for decades.
Yes for decades and it is easy. It takes a field stripped firearm, a appropriate sized PVC pipe, 2 PVC caps, and the proper glue to seal airtight.
Field strip the gun and wipe the pieces with your favorite gun oil, then put your gun in the pipe with no padding. Go to your friendly neighborhood muffler or welding shop and get them to fill the pipe with argon. Argon is heavier than air and will displace any air and humidity. A lit candle will tell you when the pipe is full. Seal the end and go bury it. It cannot rust or corrode in the argon. BTW you need some ammo in there too.
I have a PVC fence behind my house!
6" PVC pipe, cemented endcap at one end, threaded cap at the other. Put a VCI emitter in the tube with the firearm, or put it in a VCI bag). Grease on the threads (as opposed to thread sealer) will prevent cap removal from being an aggravating hassle years later
If I was going to bury said tube, it would still be under a roof--say an old barn or shed.
Not that I've spent any time thinking about this. :)
Johnny P
09-06-2022, 05:13
Where does decades later remembering where you hid it fit in?
Where does decades later remembering where you hid it fit in?
Or croaking before telling others where they are hidden?
My very healthy 52 year son old knows as well as a couple of grandsons and nephews. If you have a gun you want to remain pristine for your offspring here is the way. If you do not give a damn about that dont bother.
When togor wins and they come and invade your home and confiscate your guns and your wifes panties Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be).
Post #6 needs moderation.
Post #6 needs moderation.
he is just commenting on your past comments on voting , and gun control,
nothing that crosses a line,
wonder who taught him that,,,,, the not crossing the line part........
I sort of get the idea of burying things. The PVC pipe plan is good. There was a guy who committed suicide and left his last message in PVC. They didn't stumble across him for many years. But a very small percentage of the population cares to read it. Burying a gun for decades? What is the point? When I die my brother gets my stuff the next day. I suppose if you are going to prison you could bury the loot like that in anticipation of getting it later Shawshank Redemption style.
he is just commenting on your past comments on voting , and gun control,
nothing that crosses a line,
wonder who taught him that,,,,, the not crossing the line part........
What past comment on gun control? This "past comments" excuse gets trotted out a lot. Yet here I am improving on his PVC tube, not ridiculing it in any way. To do a proper argon purge on a container is not as simple as "go see your local welder". Also if I had a tube I meant to make disappear into the earth, I sure wouldn't advertise the fact beforehand by lugging it--obviously full of *something*--into some shop for an inert gas purge.
"What's in the tube, buddy?"
Also, 0% humidity is bad news--very bad--if there's a wood stock involved. 40% RH at storage temps is fine. VCI and light oil will allow the gun to be brought out of storage and ready for use with minimum work.
I say over the line because RED makes it political by making it about gun control. The sticky says that belongs elsewhere yes?
As for who taught RED what, none of it came from me.
Johnny P
09-06-2022, 07:43
How many of the other family members should you apprise of hiding a gun that belongs to one of them in case some develop dementia? If all the guns have been confiscated, won't that make the recipient a criminal?
blackhawknj
09-06-2022, 08:07
How about heavy grease-cosmoline ? Sounds like a good argument for stainless steel.
How many of the other family members should you apprise of hiding a gun that belongs to one of them in case some develop dementia? If all the guns have been confiscated, won't that make the recipient a criminal?
I would say tell all family members who are interested.
If confiscation happens no one involved with the gov't needs to know about the buried guns. That's why they are buried in the first place. Meanwhile if SHTF the recipient can always dig up some protection.
Total dryness isn't good for wood, per togor. I agree. A lot of wood suffers without that moistness from nice damp evenings. I left a Boyds stock out in the shed for a summer and it cracked big time. Arizona. Drying wood or salmon (or mummies) takes a little time. Hey, don't make me come in there.
How about heavy grease-cosmoline ? Sounds like a good argument for stainless steel.
Guessing the idea is to save labor bringing the gun back into service. But digging takes labor too. The military went to VCI for a reason, and I think that's the right answer here has well. Also if not stainless steel, then a chrome-lined bore.
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Total dryness isn't good for wood, per togor. I agree. A lot of wood suffers without that moistness from nice damp evenings. I left a Boyds stock out in the shed for a summer and it cracked big time. Arizona. Drying wood or salmon (or mummies) takes a little time. Hey, don't make me come in there.
Wood and leather last longest with about 50% humidity. Subject them to 0% and they turn to dust. If I was storing plastic/metal firearms, sure pop some dessicants in the tube before closing it up.
Those ammo spam cans we all like were just sealed up with factory air, hopefully not too humid, and years later the cardboard and cloth are like new and so are the en bloc clips.
from experience,
looked at a musket,
genuine 1770's dated rev war piece
all correct
just a bit of crusty stuff evident,
story was it was put up in a church steeple back in that time frame and forgotten
found in the 80's as in 1980's and stored correctly since
not a clue of the story is true, but that was one nice musket
M16,
one of dad's old buddy's showed up with one that he had stored in the filter housing / intake of his pool,
yep, his pool,
greased up beyond belief, and wrapped up in a poly bag
that leaked,
all the alloy parts were fine, just finish issues,
all the steel parts had rust, despite the grease, but were serviceable,
unfortunately, some springs rusted too, and they would not do as they should
bore was serviceable, chrome ,,,,
replaced the springs and all was well,
he went ahead and replaced the internals, and stored it again, away from the pool,,,,
it was one of his SHTF plans,
I Was at a show in NOVA (That is NOrthern VirginiA) many years ago and a guy had a table full of 1903 C stocks,
he worked for the .gov, and when they were phased out he took them home (not uncommon, since most surplus obsolete stuff would be trashed) and stored them in the rafters of his garage,
at the time he lived somewhere hot and dry, and left them there for a long time
they were like balsa wood, light as a feather , all the oil had baked or run out of them but they were pristine as far as look,
damn shame, that was, even then they were expensive
6" PVC pipe, cemented endcap at one end, threaded cap at the other. Put a VCI emitter in the tube with the firearm, or put it in a VCI bag). Grease on the threads (as opposed to thread sealer) will prevent cap removal from being an aggravating hassle years later
If I was going to bury said tube, it would still be under a roof--say an old barn or shed.
Not that I've spent any time thinking about this. :)
I know someone that did this once,
post hole digger, deep hole, (like he was putting in a fence post) and dropped the tube vertically,
despite the best efforts, the humidity in the air inside the tube was enough that it condensated and formed a puddle in the bottom,
rusting the firearm that was inside in that area,
I do not know if he tried it again and suspended the firearm off the bottom of the tube
I have always thought it was best to hide them in plane sight, inside a structure etc out of the weather
reminded me of a guy I knew locally that was a VN Vet and spent time as a Merc in Africa,
he had a kitchen fire at his house, and tried his best to put it out himself but ended up calling the FD,
he was scared the FD would start breaking out walls to check for embers etc,,,
why? he had a bunch of NFA (not papered at the time) and a few grenades sealed up in the walls near the kitchen,,,,
Yes temperature + humidity is tricky. If the temperature gets below the dew point for the air in the tube, condensation. Just like some spam cans are a bit rotten on the inside, though long sealed. Inside air was too moist for the outside temperature conditions. Another reason to not let ammo spam cans cycle through low temperatures.
Johnny P
09-07-2022, 07:22
I would say tell all family members who are interested.
If confiscation happens no one involved with the gov't needs to know about the buried guns. That's why they are buried in the first place. Meanwhile if SHTF the recipient can always dig up some protection.
Apparently this is a SHTF situation, and the idea is to dig the gun up when this happens. Buried it does no one any good.
Working on lawn mower deck spindles brings this to mind. After a gun or guns and ammo (fill it up) is placed in a 6" or so PVC tube with the ends sealed, drill a hole in the side of the tube near the bottom and thread it for a grease nipple. The plastic is thick enough for this. Drill a small hole on the side of the tube near the top for a vent.
Using a grease gun completely fill the tube with grease. Grease isn't terribly expensive and the more stuff you have in the tube the less it will take. Fill the tube till it comes out the top vent hole. When filled remove the nipple and replace with a brass threaded plug and do the same with the upper vent hole. Besides fully coating most all the air will be purged out this way.
Grease should preserve the metal as well as retaining moisture that's already in the wood.
A lot of trouble? Sure, but it could save your life or a family member's life after we're gone.
It's best to have guns quickly available but this is for a long term storage, I assume for the life we will have after guns become illegal.
We all know the world is heading in this SHTF situation, hopefully not within our life time but who knows? Look how far the world went to chit during the previous lawless years. If someone had told us 30 years ago things would be like they are now no one would have believed it.
On a side note: Some guns are easier to clean than others. Guns with super simple internals like the Glock or AK-47 variants would be better candidates to store in grease. If you had to take a gun apart to clean the grease out more than likely you are already in a SHTF situation and need the gun quickly otherwise you wouldn't have gone to the trouble to dig it up so with that in mind would you rather deal with having to take a Beretta 92 apart to clean with all the small parts, pins and springs or a Glock?
Filling the tube solid with grease? Extracting the gun would be an unholy mess. Last thing I would want to do if the SHTF, and I've got the clothes on my back and little else, is wade through 10 lbs of grease to get at a rifle.
But that might just be me.
Filling the tube solid with grease? Extracting the gun would be an unholy mess. Last thing I would want to do if the SHTF, and I've got the clothes on my back and little else, is wade through 10 lbs of grease to get at a rifle.
But that might just be me.
never mentioned tube,
but you are correct, seemed a bit more than the avg person would want to go thru
??????
A greasy rifle is a greasy rifle.
The scenario is to preserve the gun and keep the moisture out.
It's a lot of trouble no matter which route you take but the less protection the more likely you'll end up with a damaged gun.
In a non SHTF/non confiscation situation I simple put a thin coat of Vaseline on the gun and store in a climate controlled bedroom closet. Some have been there for decades with no problems. Some are in gun socks, some are not. I don't like to use foam padded gun cases--I've had problems.
Major Tom
09-07-2022, 09:06
When my Uncle finished off his basement in his new home, he used 2x8 lumber for a couple walls. He put 1/2 inch gypsum board on the walls and used 1x2 lumber at the joints as for decoration. But, those joints hid easy access to his firearms! BTW, his basement was climate controlled, never temperature above or below 70 degrees and low humidity! His guns were always pristine!
Maybe some folks still use evaporative coolers. We called them swamp coolers but they don't work well in damp areas. I think they may have been invented in AZ. I have seen the damage those things could do to metal. Guns, tools, guitar strings, you name it.
never mentioned tube,
but you are correct, seemed a bit more than the avg person would want to go thru
"Working on lawn mower deck spindles brings this to mind. After a gun or guns and ammo (fill it up) is placed in a 6" or so PVC tube with the ends sealed, drill a hole in the side of the tube near the bottom and thread it for a grease nipple. The plastic is thick enough for this. Drill a small hole on the side of the tube near the top for a vent.
Using a grease gun completely fill the tube with grease. Grease isn't terribly expensive and the more stuff you have in the tube the less it will take. Fill the tube till it comes out the top vent hole. When filled remove the nipple and replace with a brass threaded plug and do the same with the upper vent hole. Besides fully coating most all the air will be purged out this way."
But for sure this would keep the water out.
As people may have guessed I actually have experience building a "cylindrical hard shell case for long-term storage" from 6" PVC tube, as a thing to try. It is heavier than you might think, even in "Garand length", which is field stripped. You don't want to forget the interior padding, in case the thing is dropped. Also the threaded cleanout-cap is harder to turn than you would think, especially if someone uses pipe thread dope on it that hardens up. Might have to have a tool handy, something with a 2" square edge cut out of bar stock--and this is important--a way to keep the tube from spinning while you work on loosening the cap. A big vice or maybe a couple buddies with strong hands and big butts. :)
Funny thing is that I had the project half-finished, with the bottom cap cemented on, and it leaning against a wall. Well a mouse got in and died, which lead to *serious* procrastination. By then the smell got in the PVC, and I didn't want to complete the experiment with a tube that smelled like dead mouse. So that lead to multiple bleach soaks, which finally did the trick.
Burying it (around here at least) would be a putz. It would have to be 3' down to get safely under the frost line, and with all of the glacial rock in the soil around here, it would be a real job to get it in the ground. And then one has to manage settling, and planting over, but not losing location, etc. In other parts of the country, burying things might be super-practical, but around here it just feels like a giant PITA.
It's kind of cool looking but not a space-efficient way to store rifles. So I'm hoping some use for it in the garden might come along, but so far nothing has come to mind.
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