Corking a barrel

[Red Label]

Here is something I don't think has been discussed, at least for a long time. I was reading another thread about finding a shotgun with a cork in the barrel. I have heard old timers say that this was the best way to preserve the bore of a gun whether rifle or shotgun. Keeps the moisture out. I have also heard the opposite that it keeps the moisture in, same as keeping an entire gun in one of those vinyl cases. OK guys, which is it. I really want to know and I will start with my own little story. No barrel corking but I had four shotguns given to me that had not seen the light of day in 25 years. They had been stored in vinyl gun cases and did not have a spot of rust on them. One of those guns now resides in my gun cabinet where air can fully surround it and I was inspecting the guns the other day and found to my horror that this particular gun had several small rust spots starting to form. I am a fanatic about cleaning and oiling and not touching the metal surfaces after the oil so you can rule that out. I'm beginning to think its just dumb luck To cork or not to cork. That is the question

 

[sm]

I'm in the "corks are for fishing and moonshine jugs" camp

Depending on the part of the country , condensation forms as a result of temp changes , humidity and such.

IMO/IME better to use Cosmoline, Vaseline ( poor man's cosmoline) Rig...Lithium grease...etc. some fabrics will "wick" the preservative away from gun and 'whisk" - allow moisture to adhere to gun.

One example that I know works is RIG inside and out, and lightley oiled sack around the removed bbl ( if can) or whole gun. Check often and take note of seasonal changes.

Take a look sometime at milsurps and how they are stored...heck the darn things are still preserved after much cleaning.

 

[Dave McCracken]

I don't think there's a preponderance of evidence either way. Some of the shotguns here are 50 years old or more. None have been corked, and none have rust.

 

[JJohnston015]

Well, it worked for Sammy Sosa.

 

[Smoke]

Most guns with an empty chamber are not airtight from the breech. What the hell good would a cork do?

Might help if you left it propped against a tree in a rainstorm.

Don't forget to remove it before you shoot.

Smoke

 

[JNewell]

Don't forget to remove it before you shoot.

That alone is reason enough (and then some) not to do this. Even if you're sure it's not a problem for you, I don't think you can guarantee that it won't cause somebody a problem some time in the future...

 

[Traveler]

Guns in storage often used to be corked to keep out mud daubing wasps. Those critters can ruin a set of barrels, or worse.

 

[Red Label]

I like the idea of keeping out the wasps best. Maybe thats where it came from. Some of these old guys are really set in their ways. To me, long term storage with a lot of grease would probably work the best. I just couldn't figure out where this corking idea came from.

 

[M Jager]

I too a agree that corking a barrel probably won't work but if it does it would offer a theory of why the gun suddenly started rusting on you assuming the rust was inside the bore.

Rust is simply a form of oxidation and thus requires oxigen. If an area if deprived of oxygen then it can not rust. (Well actually it can, if it loses hydrogen but thats another story) In theory if something have been deprived of oxigen for an extended period of time and then is subjected to oxygen, then oxidation can occur at an excellerated rate. Theoretically possible I guess but I have yet to see it in a real life situation and I highly doubt that it would apply to your case.
Disclaimer: I do know for a fact that anything above it one hundred percent correct, its just something I remember from a by gone chemistry class that I probably should have skipped in the first place.
Matt