Barrels bending

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I have this paranoia that if I don't store my guns properly the barrels will bend and they'll be rendered inaccurate. My mother in law told me a story of how her father used to keep his rifles under his bed and after years of doing so gravity caused the barrels to slightly bend and they were very inaccurate.

Is there any real cause for concern or am I just a guy obsessing about his guns?
 
Setting a gun in the corner or laying it on it's side is not going to bend the barrel. In a humid environment the wood can warp into or away from the barrel, changing the pressure exerted on the barrel by the forend thus affecting accuracy. If your grandfather-in-law had the rifle(s) between the mattress and the frame/box spring, his weight could defiantly bend a barrel.
 
Unless you are storing them on their side on a plant where gravity is much much higher you are okay.....or if someone changes the gravitational constant of the universe......
 
My mother in law told me a story of how her father used to keep his rifles under his bed and after years of doing so gravity caused the barrels to slightly bend and they were very inaccurate.

She was wrong.

Hell, my dad's guns have spent their entire lives leaned up in corners with the weight of the gun leaning on the barrel for 40+ years and they'll shoot MOA right now. Don't sweat it.
 
Steel needs to bend several percent (depending on the alloy) before it will deform. That number can be over 10% for some alloys but it is never less than 2% for even the hardest. Now way this will happen under a gun's own weight no matter how it is stored.

Mike
 
My mother in law told me a story of how her father used to keep his rifles under his bed and after years of doing so gravity caused the barrels to slightly bend and they were very inaccurate.

Perhaps the location was more active then realized ! :D
 
If your that concerned about it, send them to me for safe keeping...
 
I was trying to think up a pithy,g rated reply. But then, as a thr member, eternal round couldn't be that crazy/dumb. There are guns with bent barrels. That nazi gun that they designed for clearing tanks and shooting around corners comes to mind. Oneeternalround, can you post a picture of your grandpappy's guns?
 
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OneEternalRound had a legitimate question about a possible myth. S/he did not know whether it was a myth or not and was correct in asking in this, one of the best firearms boards around.

This is The High Road, folks.

Welcome aboard, OneEternalRound !

Ask away!

Terry, 230RN
 
Just an "old mother in law tale" very similiar to an "old wives tale", could even be the same thing.

But since you asked, the centrifugal force cause by the earths rotation will offset any gravitational pull on firearms, thus negating the gravitational bending effect your mother in law was referring to. No need to thank me.
 
^
But since you asked, the centrifugal force caused by the earth's rotation will offset any gravitational pull on firearms, thus negating the gravitational bending effect your mother in law was referring to. No need to thank me.

^:D ROFL

But doesn't that depend on latitude and on what wall (N or S or in between) on which you lean the rifle? :D ;)

Terry, 230RN
 
I've developed a lot of excuses for my bad shooting... bird flew right in front of my scope... a fly landed on my scope lens... "sighting shot" at that rock 3 feet away from the target... sudden gust of crosswind...

... many of these even at indoor ranges. :)

But I never used the "bent barrel" excuse.

(An exception was a .243 barrel which apparently had been straightened at the factory and would walk shots to the upper left as it warmed up. But that was consistent over several shooters and it shot to POA when cold just fine.)

The old boy's gun probably just got knocked over and one of the sights got pushed out of line.

Terry, 230RN
 
This isn't cool guys. This is someone who is seemingly just joining the ranks of firearm ownership. He has heard a myth related to firearms, and asking for someone to resolve it, not make fun of him, or berate him.

Welcome to The High Road!

GS
 
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