cleaning pistol in storage and in bank with pistol

pat · Nov 24, 2012

Questions, questions…How often should I clean & oil a handgun that I keep in a safety deposit box?
Should I bring into a bank in a paper bag, and tell them before hand? So they don’t go nuts?

Background: Wife and I are going to start traveling again, around the US in our RV and we usually stay at campgrounds at military bases as much as possible. In the past (not any more) used to pull up to the gate and get waved through the gate and drive to the campground. Over the years; times have changed. Now you have to get RV inspected and sometimes searched good at the commerical gate and they ask about firearms. If you say YA I have xyz you have to store your firearm at their armory, which is a hassle…to find and to pick up when leaving. A few bases have a big x-ray machines. So don't count on the cereal box. And yes some bases don’t allow private firearms at all. Just turning into a big hassle. In the past, I know a lot of folks used to say when asked…YA, I’ve got a firearm and it is secured in the RV. And they woulfd ask you if you read the rules and maybe sign something that you did understand. Not anymore. More and more it is aa big hassle. So If I put my firearms in a safety deposit box how often do you think I should oil down? And I was thinking about calling the bank before I bring it in to let them know and ask what do they want to put the pistol in, before waltzing in the front door.
Wow, this is my 4th or 5th post over the years. When I do see somebody open carry, I make it a point to say Hi and thanks. Some look at me like I’m some kind of nut case, others are happy somebody noticed.
Thanks

davidmcbeth · Nov 24, 2012

No banks that I know of will allow a gun in a box .... maybe you found one that would?

OrangeIsTrouble · Nov 25, 2012

I made the mistake of talking to someone at a bank about guns. I'll never do that again. Don't make a problem out of nothing. What's in your box is your business. Oil/clean the gun if it's dry and rough. Guns these days don't crumble and fall apart.

davidmcbeth · Nov 25, 2012

OrangeIsTrouble said:
I made the mistake of talking to someone at a bank about guns. I'll never do that again. Don't make a problem out of nothing. What's in your box is your business. Oil/clean the gun if it's dry and rough. Guns these days don't crumble and fall apart.

One still has to follow the rules of the bank ... it could be that if put something in there that is not allowed then the bank maybe able to just take it....read the contract if you do not wish to follow the rules.

You cannot put plutonium in a box ....

KBCraig · Nov 25, 2012

The bank doesn't know what you have in your box, isn't supposed to know (by design), and can't know unless they take extraordinary measures to break into the box.

If your plutonium sets off the DHS radiation alarms, or the body parts you collected start to leak into other boxes, they might have a reason to break in. For a gun? No way.

Don't ask, don't tell.

As for the gun(s), remove any magazines, lock open the action, hose everything down liberally with Birchwood-Casey "Sheath" preservative, then wrap it in VCI paper. It will be good for at least a couple of years. (In reality, it will be good for decades like that, but you will want to check on it and give it a fresh treatment at least every 2-3 years. Plus, you should shoot it when you're home; it's good karma.

)

RedRuger · Nov 25, 2012

Pistol Storage

When I put a pistol in storage I clean it THOROUGHLY and then lubricate it as if I was going to shoot it. Personally I use MILITEC-1 on the metal to metal contact points and Wilson gun grease on the slide to frame contact points. I then vacuum seal it in a seal-a-meal bag to protect it from the environment.

Just a note on using lubricating or preserving products that you are not intimately familiar with. Some of them do not mix well. To see whether they play well together place a couple of drops of each on a piece of metal and mix well. As a general rule you can see if you want to use them together simply by looking at the result.

amlevin · Nov 25, 2012

Every safe deposit box I ever rented was absolutely Private. The only time the bank employee touches it is to withdraw it from the "vault" and either hand it to you or deliver it to a private area where you can add, subtract, or maintain, the contents.

If you have a handgun in a safe deposit box just take your cleaning kit and clean away while in the private area. If the bank bitches about the smell of Hoppe's #9, just say the smell was from some old letters you saved from your old grandmother.

One thing to consider is that the biggest problem with safe deposit vaults is flooding. Many advise that documents or items you don't want to be water damaged should that happen be sealed in either tupperware containers or zip lock bags.

Only item you can't put in a safe deposit by law is cash and perhaps the obvious hazmat materials like radioactive, biological, or explosive items.

gogodawgs · Nov 25, 2012

Wait. What?

You want to travel around the country without your firearm in an RV? Why?

Why not join KOA, Good Sam or just find small campgrounds on the cheap? Are you staying at the military campgrounds because your a vet? IIRC vets can get discounts at state parks and national parks, including up to free camping depending upon the level of disability.

I personally would reconsider my travel plans and make it more gun friendly then leave my best ability to defend myself locked in a box hundreds or even thousands of miles away.

bmg50cal · Nov 25, 2012

If one is going to store things that might be moisture sensitive in a SAFE DEPOSIT BOX (notice there is no "TY") put in a desiccant of some kind. The cheapest readily available desiccant is silica gel cat litter, it is the same stuff put into those little pouchs that say, 'DO NOT EAT.' Shove some into a sock tie it shut and drop it in with whatever is put into the deposit box.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mimi-Litter-Cat-Litter-4-lb-Cats/12018928

Freedom1Man · Nov 25, 2012

bmg50cal said:
If one is going to store things that might be moisture sensitive in a SAFE DEPOSIT BOX (notice there is no "TY") put in a desiccant of some kind. The cheapest readily available desiccant is silica gel cat litter, it is the same stuff put into those little pouchs that say, 'DO NOT EAT.' Shove some into a sock tie it shut and drop it in with whatever is put into the deposit box.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mimi-Litter-Cat-Litter-4-lb-Cats/12018928

Dry rice is even cheaper.

bmg50cal · Nov 25, 2012

Freedom1Man said:
Dry rice is even cheaper.

Generally unless rice is purchased broken or in bulk it isn't cheaper than silica gel cat litter.

Silica Gel

does not mold
does not attract or provide sustenance for unwanted pests
non-reactive
non-flammable
non-toxic
adsorbs up to 40% of its own weight in water vapor
can be regenerated and reused

None of that applies to rice except toxicity.

Jeff Hayes · Nov 25, 2012

gogodawgs said:
Wait. What?

You want to travel around the country without your firearm in an RV? Why?

Why not join KOA, Good Sam or just find small campgrounds on the cheap? Are you staying at the military campgrounds because your a vet? IIRC vets can get discounts at state parks and national parks, including up to free camping depending upon the level of disability.

I personally would reconsider my travel plans and make it more gun friendly then leave my best ability to defend myself locked in a box hundreds or even thousands of miles away.

Beat me to it, no amount of monitory savings is worth my being unarmed.

golddigger14s · Nov 25, 2012

Here in WA with 30% or better disability rating gets me free camping at the state parks, to include the reservation fee.

Jayd1981 · Nov 25, 2012

golddigger14s said:
Here in WA with 30% or better disability rating gets me free camping at the state parks, to include the reservation fee.

I took my WA disabled veterans parks pass and disability paperwork into a national parks center and got the disabled veterans national park pass which gives you half off camping rates if I recall correctly. A group of friends and myself stayed at a national campground just ouside of Baker City, OR for 4 nights for under $50 a year ago.

EMNofSeattle · Nov 25, 2012

If you don't mind a little adventure and dirt roads are no problem most WA DNR campgrounds are free also, I'd imagine unimproved sites in most state forests in most of the western states have free sites too...

Difdi · Nov 26, 2012

RedRuger said:
I then vacuum seal it in a seal-a-meal bag to protect it from the environment.

Vacuum sealers can suck the lubricant out of the gun. Were it me, I'd use a vacuum sealable bag, use the vacuum to remove the normal air, then immediately replace it with dry nitrogen gas. Short of a hermetically sealed hard case, that's about as secure as you can make it against corrosion.

skidmark · Nov 26, 2012

Sounds like you want stuff like this:

http://www.zerustproducts.com/manuals/firearms-protection

http://www.ebay.com/itm/20-Qty-S-W-Handgun-Firearm-VCI-Protective-Storage-Paper-/220688416086

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=366704

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-316934.html

Brownells is supposed to sell it, but I did not find it in a quick on-line search.

stay safe.

massivedesign · Nov 26, 2012

Meh, just clean it well, lube as normal and throw it in a gun sock.

All these dry eze, anti humidifier, vacuum sealers work, but you are not going to be gone for 10 years.

How many people have inherited guns from their grandfather, uncle etc that has sat in a closet or shoebox for 30 years un-fired and uncleaned? 99% of those were just fine without all this extra crap.

deanf · Nov 26, 2012

Only item you can't put in a safe deposit by law is cash

What law is that?

davidmcbeth · Nov 26, 2012

Difdi said:
Vacuum sealers can suck the lubricant out of the gun. Were it me, I'd use a vacuum sealable bag, use the vacuum to remove the normal air, then immediately replace it with dry nitrogen gas. Short of a hermetically sealed hard case, that's about as secure as you can make it against corrosion.

If you want to seal it ... use a package that has 0.007" aluminum foiled pouch as a barrier ... below 0.007" will allow moisture to get into the pouch.

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