Storing a garand

easysauce

easysauce

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hey guys,

just a question, I picked up a nice garand, its my first wooden stocked rifle, and its in pristine condition. the stack on is a bit crowded, so I put the garand in a soft shell case, and then into the stack on safe so none of the other guns ding it or anything.

I keep desiccant in the safe, should I also have some in the soft shell?

is leaving it long term in the soft shell + safe going to cause any issues with the wood, or even rust the metal?

I have been storing it barrel down to ensure oils dont seep into the wood.

I know this must sound a bit paranoid, but this is such a nice piece of history , 1943, all Winchester parts except the stock is a restoration job I think as I cant find stock cartouches, but the stock is the same type of wood and shape and is absolutely beautiful.
 
Do not leave it in a case it will act as closed climate. Keep humidity in. Oil it lightly and stored it with some air access like a stack-on.
 
Absolutely do not store in a case. Like David says, they hold in any moisture present and that will cause rusting. Won't bother the stock unless you put it away wet and mold and mildew forms.
If you want to store for a long time put a layer of grease on the metal. Oil it or short term storage.
 
I'd have to agree with whats been said, just slap a trigger lock on it or take out the bolt and put it in a closet or something. For the time being, and buy another stack on, fill new stack on, repeat.
 
thanks guys, I knew I remembered something about not storing things in cases, I just cleaned out an ammo locker and put it in there with a bit of padding.
 
Hey, if you go to Canadian Tire or your local gun store, you can buy a gun sock that fits tightly around your gun and has a protective layer inside
which will not damage your steel or wood. It also protects against scratches from other guns, if your safe is a bit tight.

Better solution.....buy a bigger, like a way bigger gun safe!! because eventually you will fill it! ask me how I know :)
 
easysauce said:
thanks guys, I knew I remembered something about not storing things in cases, I just cleaned out an ammo locker and put it in there with a bit of padding.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't have any padding either. Anywhere a cloth like padding or material touches the metal it will rust. Personally I would clean out the safe a bit. Either that or just put a trigger lock on it and store it next to the safe.
 
It really depends on where you live in regards to Storage and Humidity. If it's high humidity like Toronto, or if you use a dehumidifier, it may not be a good idea to store in a gun case.
If it's low humidity like on the prairies, you won't have any problem, just throw in a few of those desiccants from an empty vitamin bottle.
 
Every rifle that I own has a Gun Sock....after cleaning a light wipe down with oil on the metal ...into the sock and into the vault which has desiccant boxes.....never ever had a problem with surface rust etc...
 
I was told many years ago, when storing a Garand (even an M14) in a wood stock, to un-latch (correct term?) the trigger assembly. I leave mine in the rifle, just not latched. Something I have done since.
 
Some people do store their Garands with the guard unlatched to minimize the possibility of wood compression below the trigger housing which could lead to a sloppier lock-up over time. The military never did this for storage, but a lot of arsenal overhauled stocks do show glued in wooden blocks or glass bedding in this area in order to correct a loose vertical lock-up caused by wood compression.
 
If you have a trigger guard with worn lugs one way of tightening up the fit/vertical tension for better shooting is to temporarily shim both sides of the trigger housing where it seats against the stock. An easy way to do this is to cut strips out of one of those magnetic fridge stickers and simply apply one or more to both sides of the trigger housing until you get more tension as the guard closes. BTW, if people decide to store their Garand with the trigger guard unlatched it would be best to remove the trigger housing from the rifle so that the hammer can be uncocked and tension eased on the hammer spring. Never a good idea to keep a spring under extra tension for a long period of time.
 
I make sure to oil the stock at least once a year. Usually twice. No more. Unless I had a bad year with an hunting rifle and the garand gets to go out deer hunting. It keeps it in good shape and I woory less about the wood drying out. I won't expand on the oil used. (There is allready a thread about that. ). šŸ˜
 
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