Storage Question

[otisrush]

I recently inherited a longrifle.  For a variety of reasons I don't want to display it in my house.  It is currently in my gun safe.  I would appreciate any comments regarding whether my storage method could damage it.

It BARELY fits in my safe.  The gun is approximately 60-61 inches long.  Looking at the safe with the door open - the rifle is tucked up against the left side wall.  The butt is close to the lower-left-front corner of the safe.  The muzzle is in the upper-left-back corner of the safe.  The front-to-back dimension of the safe is 17".  The height of the safe is 56 1/2".    The gun is oriented with the action up.  I've placed a piece of wood in the concave portion of the butt plate so the gun is not resting on the two points created by the top and bottom of the concave butt.

My worry is whether the weight of the metal (barrel) could be torquing the wood too much - from the action rearword.  I have no indication whatsoever there is a problem - it's just a worry.

Any comments whether the setup is reasonable?

Thanks.

OR

[Ky-Flinter]

Hi Otis,

Welcome to ALR.  I remember seeing a picture of Joe Kindig standing in his gun room and all the guns were stored vertically, butt down in racks lining the walls.  I'll be interested to hear what others opine.

If the barrel is really heavy, perhaps store it muzzle down?

-Ron

[otisrush]

KyFlinter:

Muzzle down is a GREAT idea!  Put some nice padding for the muzzle to rest on.  I like that idea A LOT.

Thanks for the creative thought.  I, too, will be interested to hear what others have to say.

OR

[Tanselman]

Rifles standing straight up, or close to straight up, have no problem at all with weight distribution. Obviously, as the gun is stored at more and more of an angle, (i.e. the butt is moved farther out from under the muzzle) there is more strain applied to the weakest area of the gun, i.e. its wrist. You did not mention the weight of your gun, whether a lighter buck-and-ball type vs. a heavy barreled rifle, or even a heavy vs. light weight rifle, which probably plays into the equation...as does the heft of the stock in the wrist area.

While I do not know if the 17 inches out of line will eventually stress and possibly hurt your rifle, it's always better not to take chances with antique guns, even if in good, solid conditon. I'd suggest turning the gun over, presuming it will fit in the gun safe that way, so the muzzle is down and the hammer area may then contact the safe wall, and perhaps the butt lightly above it, to minimize stress on the wrist area.

The risk from storing the gun at an angle with muzzle up and wrist unsupported might not be as much from long term stress, as it is the more exposed condition that is more prone to crack or break if an accident occurs. In that position, if the gun is accidently hit by another gun, or something is dropped against it, the wrist is unsupported, stressed, and more prone to damage from impact than if stored differently. Shelby Gallien

[JTR]

Just store it muzzle down for no worries what so ever.

I've stored mine muzzle down for a long time, mostly to keep the weight off the butt stock, but also to minimize the chance of inadvertently scratching one of the stocks when shifting the guns around.

John

 

[mr. no gold]

There are many here who would like to know who the maker was, a general description of the gun and how it fits into your family history. If you would, please post some photos of your gun here on the Forum. If you have a security concern, the proprietors can assure you that this is a totally secure venue for display. Too, you may be surprised at what some members here may know about your rifle, and they will be happy to share.
As to your question; For many years, I stored my rifles upright in a vertical box, but in a muzzle down posture. Later, as the collection grew, I had a custom horizontal safe built that opens from the top and allows the items to be laid flat. All are in padded cases to protect them from abrasion and to allow for equalized weight distribution across the plane of rifles.   
Best-Dick

[otisrush]

Dick:

Wow - your storage setup sounds fantastic.  I was a bit dismayed at the lack of safe options for a gun like this.  I guess the niche is too small for a vendor to offer a solution as a standard product?

The gun in question is a Samuel Baum.  It was my father's and for many many years he didn't know what the SB on the barrel stood for.  I posted pics in this forum about 4 months back and I had an answer in 90 minutes.  It was incredible.  The people in this forum are fantastic.  He was a lover of antique guns and antiques in general.  He always had a special affinity for this piece.  I'm kickin' myself I didn't ask him more about where and how he got it before he died.  Guns (modern and antique) factored heavily into our relationship when I was growing up.  We shot and hunted and he taught me about guns.  He got it at least 45 years ago - and maybe before that.

I think what I've decided to do is not only put it muzzle down, but run a piece of wood (with soft covering on the end) up from the corner of the safe to mid-way on the gun to give it more support.  I need to do some fiddlin' with things this weekend.

Thanks a lot.

OR

[jdm]

I store mine muzzle down in padded cases inside a safe.  That being said I once bought a gun that was stored muzzle down in a barn for about a hundred years. They do better in a safe.
                                                                                                                   JIM

[mr. no gold]

Oh boy! Some dillies turn up in barns; everything from the good, the bad and the ugly. I did see an F. Sell once that turned up in a barrel over in Illinois, It was a number of years ago and Mike D'Ambra sold it for the owner. Seems that the farmer hired a man to clean out the barn and this old gun was stuck nose down into a barrel: owner said he didn't want it and gave it to the fellow. I think that it fetched maybe 10K; seemed a lot at the time, but a bargain today. It was a dandy with nice raised carving and some silver work. PB was great with nice engraving and design. Jim, you don't have that gun by any chance?
In my own family, there was rifle but it went down in the line of aother cousin. He kept it in the barn and used it for a door stop for his barn door. He was in his 80s when I last saw him and that is when he told me about the gun. Said that he got tired of it and hauled it off to the local dump around 1925. @!*%!!! He did tell me that it had s a lot of silver on it.
Since I wasn't barn back then, I didn't even get to see it. I still wonder about it. I don't image that it hung around the dump very long. Hope it's on someone's wall, somewhere.
Out here there aren't many barns and fewer rifles to go around. Anyway, OB if you want
some drawings based on my box I will be glad to funish them for you. It was profesionaly made and I had it made when I could still afford to do so. Just thinking about it, you could go to any size on one. If you are metals man, you could do it in your sleep. Let me know.
Yes, and I would like to say that a Baum is worth whatever it takes to protect it, most of all, if it is a family gun. Stop and think: this is the only gun like it in the world; it has your dad's finger prints all over it and he wanted you to have it. WOW!!
As it happens, we like Baums here and If you go to the Library, you can check out the ones on display. We try to be a friendly bunch hereabouts and are alway interested in looking at new guns. Glad you you came by Otis and we look forward to hearing a lot more from you. Don't know how you see yourself as a collector, but from my perspective (if you are a beginner), you can't do much better than than starting with a nice S. Baum. 
All the best-Dick