Gun Storage: Muzzle Up or Muzzle Down?

[UTGrad]

I cleaned my .308 last night to put it up for the off season. I ran two oily patches through the bore to protect against corrosion.

Do y'all store your guns muzzle up or down? Had a guy told me one time to store it muzzle down so the excess oil can run out the muzzle. I've always stored them muzzle up with no ill effects.

What do you say friends and neighbors

 

[rdl65]

I store mine up. I think that if you have to store muzzle down so the oil can run out, you are doing it wrong.

 

[dh1984]

i always stored my up. when i get ready to shoot it i'll just run a clean dry patch threw it and bring all the oil out.

 

[Rubberduck270]

If you are worried about excess oil then you way over lubricated. Leaving a lot of oil in the barrel doesn't help anything and if you let it run out it can ruin your stock (muzzle up) or make a mess in your safe (muzzle down).

Oily patch followed by a dry patch will be plenty unless you store your rifle in the basement or your wood shed. In which case I suggest investing in a de humidifier for your safe.

 

[EastTNHunter]

If you are worried about excess oil then you way over lubricated. Leaving a lot of oil in the barrel doesn't help anything and if you let it run out it can ruin your stock (muzzle up) or make a mess in your safe (muzzle down).

Oily patch followed by a dry patch will be plenty unless you store your rifle in the basement or your wood shed. In which case I suggest investing in a de humidifier for your safe.

X2 on all of this ^^^^^^^^

 

[Jcalder]

If you are worried about excess oil then you way over lubricated. Leaving a lot of oil in the barrel doesn't help anything and if you let it run out it can ruin your stock (muzzle up) or make a mess in your safe (muzzle down).

Oily patch followed by a dry patch will be plenty unless you store your rifle in the basement or your wood shed. In which case I suggest investing in a de humidifier for your safe.

X2 on all of this ^^^^^^^^

X3. I've never understood cleaning one every time you take one out. I've never understood running an oily patch thru a barrel without running a few dry patches after. I do wipe them down regularly after handling tho

 

[bjohnson]

Mine never sit in the safe for more than 2 weeks. You can never have enough range time to improve upon your marksmanship skills.

 

[matt_brown]

Definitely muzzle up. I had an encore with a 25-06 barrel. I didnt have the barrel on the gun it was just sitting in the safe muzzle down. when I got it out it had rusted to the carpet of the safe and ruined about an inch of the barrel

 

[UTGrad]

Mine never sit in the safe for more than 2 weeks. You can never have enough range time to improve upon your marksmanship skills.

Don't laugh but that's what my pellet guns are for.

 

[UTGrad]

I really don't see how two patches of oil will "harm" anything. I keep mine in a case with a golden rod but still want to prevent corrosion.

 

[Rubberduck270]

I really don't see how two patches of oil will "harm" anything. I keep mine in a case with a golden rod but still want to prevent corrosion.

In a case or a safe?

Excess oil does more harm than good. Collets dust, gums up triggers and bolts, runs onto wooden stocks making them swell and discolor, etc. All a gun needs is a very light coat.

 

[Jcalder]

I really don't see how two patches of oil will "harm" anything. I keep mine in a case with a golden rod but still want to prevent corrosion.

It won't hurt anything. But if you forget to dry it out before you fire it can ruin your barrel. Especially if there's excessive oil in your bore. When you fire it the oil will build up in front of the bullet but eventually your bullet will pass the oil possibly swelling your barrel.

 

[UTGrad]

I do agree that oil left in the bore and not removed can damage the barrel if fired. I always clean the bore of oil before firing.

 

[huntinman]

I store up and down but only because I need more room in the safe, and for no other reason.

 

[infoman jr.]

Mine never sit in the safe for more than 2 weeks. You can never have enough range time to improve upon your marksmanship skills.

It's not feasible for most people to shoot all of their guns every two weeks. I'd be a busy guy.

 

[infoman jr.]

Muzzle up for me. Ammo? Depends on the moon phase.

 

[Gonefishing2]

Muzzle up for me. Ammo? Depends on the moon phase.

This. If it's a full moon ammo up. Half or new moon ammo flat :whistle:

 

[Anonymous]

Muzzle up. May be my military training, but I NEVER "put one up for the season" and ALWAYS clean after every range session. You should take the piece out and inspect for corrosion monthly if not shooting it. Light coat of oil is generally sufficient; if you're using enough for it to run back it needs to be out and monitored daily, as that's usually only done for removing copper fouling.

 

[Wobblyshot1]

I've heard storing a traditional muzzle loading caplock muzzle down might help in some cases to prevent those pesky hang fires. I would think a more diligent cleaning before storage would do the same thing.

 

[Kimber45]

Only guns I ever avoided storing muzzle up were my old side-lock ML's simply to avoid oil pooling in the flash-box area

 

[DIRTTRAX]

Definitely muzzle up. I had an encore with a 25-06 barrel. I didnt have the barrel on the gun it was just sitting in the safe muzzle down. when I got it out it had rusted to the carpet of the safe and ruined about an inch of the barrel

How would muzzle up have helped this situation? Assuming I read it right and your talking bout the barrel not the receiver.