Barrel storage

[normanrd]

Hi there, just a quick question about how you folks store your spare barrels. Do you lay them flat, stand them vertically? Any other considerations? I have a new barrel for my 22-250 and the old one still has a little life left in it, and the new one may be a year or so away from being installed. Thanks in advance!

Norm

 

[Trinimon]

I just put a coat of grease on 'em. Wrap it in some bubble wrap. If I have the cardboard tube that the barrel came in, it's stored in that. That's just me.

 

[SND]

Flat or vertical doesn't matter.
Oil up steel barrels like any steel part, stainless don't worry about it.

 

[ultimate_monkey]

Run oiled patch threw bore , oil out side stick in storage space and call it good . Store it the same as u would any other barrel

 

[yodave]

umbrella stand by the front door filled with Styrofoam packing chips, they are kind of dual purpose this way...............

 

[bearhunter]

Lots of people have different ideas for storage of firearms and barrels.

I have seen a lot of wood stocked firearms that were put into long term storage in crates and stored on their sides. Everything from vintage matchlocks to M14s and more recently SKS rifles by the crate. The seem to be no worse off for age as long as they have been stored properly in dehumidified areas.

The shipments of replacement barrels I have seen, such as those offered by Tradex, one of our banner sponsors, were stored and shipped in flats on their sides.

I saw a bunch of FN SLR barrels in heavily waxed coverings along with L42 barrels in similar coverings that came into a shop I worked for as surplus and they were all bundled together in a half dozen to a bundle in one heavy press board tube with manufacturer's numbers, dates and the description printed on the tube.

IMHO, just store them carefully. Fill the bore with cosmoline or similar grease and cover the outside of the barrel in similar material, then wrap it up nicely in a plastic sleeve if you plan on storing it indefinitely.

If you are planning on using it relatively quickly, coat the bore with a good preservative as well as the outside and store it in a dry place with no outside weight against it. All should be well.

 

[Blastattack]

Geez people, it's a steel bar with a hole in it. Throw on some preservative and you'll be fine.

 

[fingers284]

Geez people, it's a steel bar with a hole in it. Throw on some preservative and you'll be fine.

kind of what I was thinking ...what's the difference if it's on a gun or loose for a year, still the same thing...moisture is the only damaging factor weather its on a gun or not.

 

[SandRoad]

I believe the OP is thinking about creep deformation. It will occur with steel under high temperature and pressure. So you have to worry about deformation if the barrels are stored with a substantial bending stress (supported at each end and a couple hundred pounds pressure in the centre), together with temperatures over 900°F. At room temperature? Highly unlikely. It would need enough force to begin bending the barrel, near the point it won't spring back.

Storage at room temperature with no stress? It will rust to pieces before there's any measurable bending from plastic/creep deformation.

 

[normanrd]

That's exactly what I was thinking about. I know turbine rotors, line shafting and other precision parts will sag measurably if not supported properly along their length or stored vertically. It doesn't take high temperatures or pressures to do this either, just room temperature and gravity. I was just wondering if this was an issue with a barrel. That's all.

 

[sunray]

A barrel standing in a corner isn't going to deform. Weather is unlikely to bother it either. If the corner is reasonably dry, as in little or no radical changes in humidity, nothing will happen. Not even rust. Mind you, a bit of grease, inside and out, wouldn't hurt.