OT Gun Storage

John T · Dec 5, 2009

When the sons were home Thanksgiving we did a lot of sport shooting and now its time to clean and oil and put the guns to bed for the winter.

Hypothetical Question is (ashamed I dont know this)

Is it better to "dry fire" (I know thats bad) a gun ORRRRRR leave the spring cocked under tension over long storage periods???????????????????

Some of my hammerless double barrell shotguns cock once broke down and re closed and I know on the rifles on some I can leave the bolt out etc and there are other ways to deal with this BUT IM JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE ANSWER IN GENERAL WHICH IS BEST, dry fire or store with the spring under tension..............IN THE EVENT THOSE WERE THE "ONLY" CHOICES i.e. its meant as a hypothetical question

John T

Rusty wheel · Dec 5, 2009

Dry fire the hammerless guns to relax the spring. I put a shell casing that's been fired in the hammer guns just in case someone picks it up and snaps it. Don't have to worry about that so much anymore since they're all under lock and key. The firing pins in a hammerless gun are different than a hammer gun and don't break near as easy. rw

MarkB_MI · Dec 5, 2009

I normally dry-fire my guns before I put them away. I do this more for safety than to remove the tension on the firing pin spring: It's impossible to accidentally discharge a gun that's already been "fired". If I need to leave a rifle out for ready access, I always leave the bolt open to ensure it's empty.

I think the only guns you really have to worry about dry-firing are older rimfires: the firing pin could damage the mouth of the chamber if dry-fired. (I don't happen to own any rimfires.)

I wouldn't worry too much about the spring, though: In most guns it's under tension even after firing.

Handyman · Dec 5, 2009

(quoted from post at 09:10:21 12/05/09) Isn't it ODD, that the Gun Industery would Not Make a dumby shell to put in a gun, and then dry fire the gun, and not hurt the dry fire action or operation, it's a No Brainer, but then,,, who has brains these days ?

There is a product out called Snap Caps that are a bullet shaped plastic insert with a spring loaded brass plug where the primer would be. they are designed to be used for practice firing of your gun without actually haveing an empty chamber.

lucas boy · Dec 5, 2009

i dont know, doesnt seem to hurt a good gun, ive seen some cheep guns break i fireing pin when dry fired. . was thinking about storeing guns in the plastic vacume bags but havent yet. you know,run a vacume on em and seal

TomH in PA · Dec 5, 2009

I don't know if it's "better" or not, but I always make a point of pointing it in a safe direction and pulling the trigger on an empty chamber after I unload a gun.

Only once did a gun discharge when I did that, scared the *&^% out of me and drove home the rule that a gun is always loaded, even if you just unloaded it and are absolutely sure it's not loaded...

old · Dec 5, 2009

Very easy fix to that. Take a shell that has been fired and put it in the gun then trip the trigger. Make 100% sure it is a fired shell that way you are not dry firing it and your also relaxing the spring. Now as for some blot action guns you can pull the trigger as you close the bolt and they will let to action un load the spring and those are the ones I like the best

TimV · Dec 5, 2009

John T: it's almost always better to relax the spring if possible. Most guns are not hurt by limited dry-firing (and some, like the Ruger Mark-series .22 pistols, are specifically designed to allow it) though there are other methods like Old mentioned, that work with most bolt-actions, and Snap-Caps have been doing this job for 20+ years. One other note--if possible, magazines should also be unloaded as magazine springs are even more susceptible to fatigue over time than firing pin springs are.

John T · Dec 5, 2009

Thats a method I've used, just curious as to the affects and trade offs of leaving a spring under tension versus dry firing.

John T

Hills of TN · Dec 5, 2009

Tim, the conventional wisdom on magazine springs is that they do not weaken from being compressed over a long period of time - they weaken from continually being compressed and relaxed from usage.

I can"t swear that it is true for all magazines, but I have several from a 30 cal. carbine that were stored loaded for about 40 years and they still work fine. (So did the ammo!)

Note: Dry firing any modern gun needs to be reviewed in the owner"s manual beforehand. Some say no problem - some say do NOT. The kel-tec pistols (and some rimfire pistols/rifles) are not supposed to be dry fired.

TimV · Dec 5, 2009

Hills of TN: Not sure where the "conventional wisdom" is coming from, but any other spring takes a compression set from being compressed, and I've never seen any other literature to say that magazine springs are different. The failure mode from compression/decompression is typically fatigue cracking, not compression set, though that can also happen. As I stated, it is typically advised not to store magazines loaded for long periods of time--replacing magazines due to multiple usage cycles (while certainly advisable) is another issue.

old · Dec 5, 2009

I dry fire my SKS all the time and never have had any problems and have done so for 10 plus years about 50 or more times each deer season. I will never leave one cocked since I figure it is most likely to hurt the spring over time

Hills of TN · Dec 5, 2009

Tim V,

Check on any of the respected gun forums on the internet and you will see the consensus is the compression effect on the life of the magazine springs is not a factor.

I own about 25 different semi-automatics and I have always left the magazines loaded in most of them and never had any problems, but I readily admit that is not scientific testing. However, those who have much more knowledge than I are adament in their belief. I guess I need to request they provide some source of testing for the benefit of both of us.

DJM75 · Dec 6, 2009

dry firing will not hurt any modern ceterfire gun but some rimfires on the other hand you can damage them depending on design.

Anonymous-0 · Dec 6, 2009

I use the shell heads from shot shells that have pin holed ,cut the paper off .Use real brass not steel.I use them in my old double.The rest are hammer guns.Bolt rifles can be let off cock.Coil springs do get tired over the years.I keep spares.I have had 2 firing pins break over the years.

1936 · Dec 7, 2009

Storage it self in the case can lead to a rusty gun exterior. To snap or not to snap is the old question such as the hen or the egg which came first? Nuf Sid.

magfarm · Dec 7, 2009

Don't forget to give your guns a proper final inner and outer coating to prevent any rust or corrosion to occur. I use this product and have never had a problem.

http://www.amsoil.com/catalog.aspx?GroupID=201&zo=1531609

OT Gun Storage

John T

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Rusty wheel

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MarkB_MI

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Handyman

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lucas boy

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TomH in PA

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old

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TimV

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John T

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Hills of TN

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old

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