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Space Bags for Gun Storage

slumlord44slumlord44 Member Posts: 3,702 ✭✭✭
edited May 2012 in Ask the Experts
The wife just bought some of these for clothes storage. Basicly a plastic zip lock bag with a special valve that lets you take all the air out for storing things. They don't have one long and skinny enough for a rifle but you could put handguns in them. I am thinking removing all the air and asscciated moisture would be a good thing along with them being air and water tight. Anybody tried these and what are your thoughts??

Comments

  • charliemeyer007charliemeyer007 Member Posts: 6,579 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    2.5 gal freezer ziplock, oil the gun, squeeze the air out. Put some ammo/mags in double quart freezer bag inside. The non zipper models seal better. Plastic rots, check often.
  • yoshmysteryoshmyster Member Posts: 20,985 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'd throw in a few decacents, too.
  • nononsensenononsense Member Posts: 10,928 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    slumlord44,

    Desiccant is what I think he means?

    Little packets of a product which removes moisture.

    I'm not sure how much air/moisture gets removed without trapping something inside the package but it's worth a try. Keep a close watch on the guns.

    I have used the vacuum sealing machines which are sold for food storage because the bag material is on a long roll which you meter out to the size you need and it's narrow from the start. Here the problem is to find the machine which actually has a great pump to remove the air/moisture, not the toys sold on the infomercials. I bought a 'commercial'-grade machine but I had to replace the pump with one I got off of an older SEM (scanning electron microscope). It's no longer portable but it does what I need it to do all the time.

    Best.

    ADDED:

    Well, the food storage bagging does work as I've been using it for testing sample for 4 years now. I have several products in various stages of storage time in the bags while a constant has been sealed for all 4 years now. The real trick is to have the firearm prepped for stage in the first place and this includes your 'vapor' problem. I chose not to write a book or even a complete description of the process as I'm trying to get some work done also.

    This is not a claim of permanent protection which will last to the end of the world but simply for the few firearms which need some extended protection while you have the ability to keep an eye on them. I have no intention of writing a complete research paper on this process nor will I continue to test for the next 20 years. But I will keep some firearms in the testing program for as long as deemed appropriate to my needs.

    Best.
  • nmyersnmyers Member Posts: 16,875 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    There are countless "recipes" used to make plastic bags. No food storage bag is designed or tested for safety to metals & wood. Even if you wrap the gun, the plasticizer vapors will still reach your gun inside the bag.

    OTOH, Brownells sells gun storage bags impregnated with VPCI, & used by the military for gun storage. They are designed to be vacuumed. Expensive, yes, but meant for the job. The question is, "Are you willing to take a chance?"

    Neal

    "You get what you pay for, sometimes less."
  • Emmett DunhamEmmett Dunham Member Posts: 1,418 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The Food Saver is great for gun parts and brass. Even if the seal leaks and the bag looses it vacuum it will still do a good job keeping the brass and metal part in good condition. The other nice thing about the bags is you can make a tube out of the ones on an roll. I just moved a set of barrel out of storage and they were still under vacuum after a year. If you have something you really want a seal on it you need to lay it out until you are sure that it is going to keep its seal then put it away.

    Emmett
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