Have you ever lost guns in a fire?

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I have seen a few safes post fire.

I have seen some opened and everything inside was ok, but the vast majority of the safes had some sort of damaged contents.

Between the heat, water, hot gasses, etc.... there is always bound to be some damage. Many people believe that a fire rated safe will keep its contents in pristine condition, but don't count on it. The purpose of a fire safe is to keep the contents in readable/salvagable condition.
 
Long ago, my Daddy won a Winchester 94 in some kind of raffle or some such. Before he got around to shooting it, his parents' house burned down, and all his guns went with it. This, and moving to the big city to find a job, ended his interest in hunting. Later, he bought a cheapo, .22 SA revolver that he now thinks was probably stolen, just due to the price. Worst of all, it had pearl stocks. :barf:

I don't think it ever served any purpose besides "aborting," unwanted puppies and kittens. Come to think of it, though, there were always .22 cartridges on the night-stand. Maybe he kept it in the bedroom for HD. I should ask him.
 
Grandparents house was struck by lightning....burnt to the ground. Lost some highly collectible Winchester lever actions and pump shotguns. Heirlooms that will never be passed along. (sad)

Old gentleman in next town collected guns all his life had new Winchester model 12's and model 70's ( still in the boxes) stuffed in closets, under beds, and throughout his house. Old wiring started the fire.....he and his son carried out arm loads of receivers and actions after the fire. Estimates were he lost nearly $150,000 in guns. That incident got several of us thinking about fire safes....five new safes arrived a month later.
 
I lost a browning light twelve belgium made in a house fire, but the worst part is it was my uncle's house and i let him borrow it the night before to go hunting the next day.:banghead:
 
I had a house fire in 2004. My safe was 20 yr old and not fire rated. A kerosene lamp on top of the safe broke and the kero went up. The steel of the safe warped about aon 1/8 in. I checked my guns several hours after the fire but did not remove them. That was Sat. morning by Monday Pm there was considerable damage to the guns. It was from humidity and water to the tune of $7800. Luckily it was covered by insurance and only 2 guns were total losses. My new safe is fire rated for 1 hr at 1300°F. I truly hope I never test it.

Bob
 
I lent my grandfather's Marlin 336A Deluxe .35rem to an uncle for a few weeks back in 2002. As luck would have it, his house burnt to the ground along with my rifle:barf: :barf: :barf: . Talk about sick to your stomach. Even worse, another heirloom gun that belonged to my uncle was lost (a Remington M-11 Sportsman, which was that same grandfathers first gun).
 
Just Remember Don't Use a Gun That Has Been in A Fire - The Temper is Gone

Just in case remember do not shoot a gun that has been in a fire, the temper of the metal will very often be gone. I don't have the exact physics at hand but beyond a certain time/heat exposure the gun isn't safe to shoot. Period.

If you have guns that have been in a fire you can salvage the non-pressure bearing parts, but the frame, cylinder, slide, bbl. should not be reused. Remember that smokeless powder pressures are in the 20000 psi range even for a .22.
 
I lost seven guns in a shop fire.
No gun safe.

The cost of the guns was nothing compared to the rest of the loss but it was all paid for by homeowner's insurance.
I actually made a lot of money but lost a lot of unreplaceable things.
 
My uncles house burnt down and every item in his rifle safe was destroyed. It did not even get directly in the fire and was firerated but still nothing was salvagable. My other uncles motor home caught fire and burnt to the ground. Almost nothing was left but a Ruger revolver he had in a small firerated document safe that somehow made it though undamaged. I guess those little safes are tough.
 
My brother's house, formerly my grandparents' house, burned to the ground about 10 years ago. He had a cheapie uninsulated safe in his closet which helped charcoal the stocks of all it held. None of the ammunition inside the safe cooked off, however, from what I recall. He had a Remington 700, an SKS, and a couple of Winchester lever actions under the bed, which did not burn through. They were heavily scorched, and the optics on the Remington cooked and popped. The only item I know he recovered and resurrected was a nickled 1911, but Ihaven't seen it since then. I do have a pair of Colt Lord derringers which grossly survived, although the stocks are charcoaled. The wooden case they were in was destroyed.

Regards,
Rabbit.
 
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