Storing rifles (Milsurps) in attic?

collector67

collector67

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Hi all
We are in the process of doing major restorations in our house, and to make space, I have stored some of my rifles in the attic. I am wondering if this would be an a good long term storage space? I went up there today, and the heat was pretty brutal-should I be getting them out of there ASAP, or is it anything to be worried about?
 
lyman54 said:
If it's humid up there, then yes I suppose rusting would be a problem. Can't see just the heat bothering them, the wood assuming they have some is probably as dry as it's going to get by now.
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It's actually quite dry up there, no signs of mold or anything. I was just afraid that the wood might get too dry and crack?
Thanks for your reply!
 
I once stored a couple of sportered 303's up in the ceiling trusses in my attic and forgot all about them for a couple of years. I had the roof replaced and the workers spotted them sitting there.They thought they'd discovered hidden treasure. I did too for a second until I remembered I put them there.
The bolts were on a shelf in a safe.The guns were fine, no rust.
Improper storage? Yes. I traded them for a case of 12 gauge trap loads.
 
I once stored a couple of sportered 303's up in the ceiling trusses in my attic and forgot all about them for a couple of years. I had the roof replaced and the workers spotted them sitting there.They thought they'd discovered hidden treasure. I did too for a second until I remembered I put them there.
The bolts were on a shelf in a safe.The guns were fine, no rust.
Improper storage? Yes. I traded them for a case of 12 gauge trap loads.
I'm just down the road from you. Same weather.
 
collector67 said:
Hi all
We are in the process of doing major restorations in our house, and to make space, I have stored some of my rifles in the attic. I am wondering if this would be an a good long term storage space? I went up there today, and the heat was pretty brutal-should I be getting them out of there ASAP, or is it anything to be worried about?
Click to expand...

You could oil or grease all metal parts,inside and out, bore included and you will be fine. I once stored a SKS in my attic for fews years, hot in summer and cold in winter. The grease preserved my SKS perfectly.
Jocelyn
 
svt1940 said:
You could oil or grease all metal parts,inside and out, bore included and you will be fine. I once stored a SKS in my attic for fews years, hot in summer and cold in winter. The grease preserved my SKS perfectly.
Jocelyn
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Thank you for the info, I have a good coat of CLP on all my firearms, so I can rest easy now!
 
I can't see excessive heat being good for a firearm or stock.

Hopefully you're storing $99 rifles and not $10K-20K rifles!
 
A few years ago, I was called to an estate where the deceased had stored all of his hunting rifles and ammo in his attic crawl space. It suffered the same problem the OP stated. Very hot and dry in the summer, very cold and dry during winter. Rust wasn't an issue from the heat, nor was warpage or excessive drying of the stocks. The real issue was insects and their bodily fluids. The rifles had been in the attic for at least 5 years without being disturbed. They had been properly lubricated and it showed. When the fellow had a massive stroke, no one knew where the firearms had disappeared to. They just assumed he had sold them on the black market and kept mum. No sense raising trouble after all.

They found the rifles while cleaning out the house for sale. Every rifle had small pits on the outside and dead critters in the bores. Nothing serious but all of them needed to be cleaned up. Surprisingly, only the shotgun had any real damage to the bore and I can't say for certain it was caused by the dead insect bodies in the bore.

IMHO, if you are going to use the attic for storage of firearms and I don't see any real reason for not doing so, just make sure the firearms are enclosed in something that will keep the bugs out and stop sweating issues if your area is quite humid. Another poster in your area stated he didn't have any problems but that may or may not apply to your situation. His house may have a dehumidifier and your's may not. For very little outlay of cash, you can easily protect your firearms from any damage if you take a little time and energy to do it properly.
 
Storing anything wood in such a place will result in the wood drying out and shrinking to a high degree. On some wood there's a good chance that the shrinking will produce enough stress to form cracks in the stocks.

Furniture made from natural wood that was produced in a more humid climate will often shrink and crack when transported to a very dry climate such as the desert of Arizona. There's no reason not to expect a rifle stock to do the same thing if subjected to high heat and low humidity.

I know this is counter to bearhunter's post above. But having been a wood worker for a number of years and seen what happens to wood under very dry conditions I would say that those rifle stocks from that estate survived more due to good luck than to good planning.

Certainly the metal isn't an issue. A bit of oil on it and it would be fine under such conditions. It's the wood which could suffer. In particular the more highly figured the wood the more stress it will generate internally when it shrinks and the more likely it would be to experience a crack or two from such a warm environment.
 
BCRider, your post isn't contrary at all. I agree with what you say other than the part about the metal. That's why I made the comment about enclosing the firearms.

Free roaming insects can be a disaster to metal. Dry heat can be a disaster to wood. Store accordingly.
 
Not a good place to store anything you value. Constant temperature and humidity are much more desirable. Personally I think you might as well shove them in a culvert as to keep them in your attic.
 
BCRider said:
Storing anything wood in such a place will result in the wood drying out and shrinking to a high degree. On some wood there's a good chance that the shrinking will produce enough stress to form cracks in the stocks.

Furniture made from natural wood that was produced in a more humid climate will often shrink and crack when transported to a very dry climate such as the desert of Arizona. There's no reason not to expect a rifle stock to do the same thing if subjected to high heat and low humidity.

I know this is counter to bearhunter's post above. But having been a wood worker for a number of years and seen what happens to wood under very dry conditions I would say that those rifle stocks from that estate survived more due to good luck than to good planning.

Certainly the metal isn't an issue. A bit of oil on it and it would be fine under such conditions. It's the wood which could suffer. In particular the more highly figured the wood the more stress it will generate internally when it shrinks and the more likely it would be to experience a crack or two from such a warm environment.
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X2. Super dry cracked stocks will break your heart.
 
During the American Civil War the triple mix of 1/3 raw linseed oil, 1/3 beeswax and 1/3 turpentine was used as a pre-petroleum age cosmoline.

The triple mix was also used to protect the rifle from the elements when in use. (metal and wood)

This mixture was also used by the lady of the house as furniture polish.

Guess what I use on the milsurps hanging below for protection. ;)

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I was thinking more about the effects of the heat on the metal than the bugs. But yeah, bug deposits from remains or other biological factors would certainly play a part. Even to the point you posted about the metal surfaces being ruined.

I know a few friends that store spare blankets and other things in the attic. On even goes so far as to build a raised plywood floor over the joists or engineered rafters to give him a good 8 feet all around the attic opening just for this. To me the harsh conditions seems like a terrible thing to do to most of my belongings. And if bugs were living in such conditions I FOR SURE would not store anything important up there.
 
Bigedp51, that's a very nice collection you have. And the mix you're using makes the stocks positively glow.

Your mix if a very common "oil" finish from the early days of wood working. When applied about annually it would do a nice job of both cleaning away the old dust and body oils that have stained the wood as well as feeding the existing underlaying finish for the next year.

There's an old saying about oil finishes on wood. And anything with boiled or raw linseed definetly qualifies. To produce a nice oil finish on wood you coat and buff once a week for a month. Then once a month for a year. Then once a year for the life of the wood. This implies living under good conditions. Such a finish on a firearm which sees some amounts of poor weather would require about a semi annual "polish" with such a mixture. But done in that manner the gun stock would look fantastic for the life of the gun.
 
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