Mr. Rawles:
I want to pack a rifle and ammo in a grease/lubricant that would last for years. In hopes, that the gun and ammo would work say 10 to 20 years down the road. Can you tell me what grease is used for this type of packing? Thank You, – Steve A.
JWR Replies: Ammunition should NOT be coated with any sort of oil or grease. This is because oil and grease have been long-proven to deaden primers, not to mention the fact that all grease or oil would have to be entirely removed before firing, to avoid chambering problems. Ammo should simply be placed in a good quality military surplus ammo can with a soft lid seal. Include a freshly-dried 1/4-ounce packet of silica gel in each can (or two if you live in damp climate), to absorb any atmospheric moisture. That is al that you need to do. Stored in cans, most ammo will store for 80+ years, and still all go “bang.” But I’ve seen ammo that was stored in a paint cabinet (exposed to fusil vapors) where half of the primers were dead after just a few years of storage. Oil vapors kill primers!
Guns should be thoroughly cleaned and copiously oiled and then their bores, chambers, and then their bolt faces should get a coating of Rust Inhibitive Grease (RIG). This is available from Brownell’s and several other Internet other vendors. Unless you live in a very damp climate, the other metals surfaces should be safe from rust with just a light coat of gun oil, and wrapping in vapor phase corrosion inhibitive VCI paper (also available from Brownell’s). For very damp climates or for extremely long term storage, you can apply RIG (or other grease heavy oil if RIG is not available) to all of the metal pats. But if you do so, it is generally best to remove guns from their wooden stocks, so that oil and grease don’t soak and soften or discolor the wood.
When preparing guns for storage, be sure to attach a warning note to the barrel or trigger guard “WARNING: GREASE IN BORE AND CHAMBER. REMOVE GREASE BEFORE FIRING!” (If a cartridge is fired with grease in the bore, it could result result in a destroyed firearm and grievous injury to the shooter.)