Holstered in the safe

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Trunk Monkey

Trunk Monkey

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I have a Ruger LC9 that I carry at the gym. I don't like the idea of loading and unloading it every time I go but I also don't like leaving it just laying on the shelf loaded in my safe.

I have a nylon pocket holster for it with a closed bottom and my safe is usually around 16% humidity. Would leaving it holstered in the safe cause rust problems?

After I typed this out I remembered that they make door hangers for handgun storage in safes that amount to holstering the gun but I'm going to post anyway in case someone more knowledgeable wants to chime in
 
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I took some bluing off my 2.5” Model 19 when I left it for too long in a leather Bianchi shoulder rig in the safe.

I know leather holsters are tanned with chemicals that can react with metals, and can also hold moisture, but the nylon can also absorb sweat or outside moisture and hold it next to your gun.

It’s better than keeping it in leather, but personally I’d rather keep it unholstersd in the safe even if it is loaded.

Stay safe!
 
Both my safes have some shelves in them where I park handguns. I've never kept handguns in leather for an extended time because of some of the bad stories I've heard. All the handguns stay on the shelves in those soft, zippered handgun storage cases that are mostly cloth over foam padding. I don't zip them up so they don't trap air and check them at least every few months if they aren't being used. It's also a good idea to monitor the humidity level in the safe with a small temperature / humidity gauge. Mine are the small ones from Wal-Mart that run on a single AA battery. Mine have never been as low as 16% humidity but if they were I wouldn't worry too much about a gun in a nylon holster.... But I'd still check occasionally just for my own peace of mind.
 
I keep my extra pocket carry guns holstered in the safe at all times. That way I can just grab which gun that fits which pocket each day. All my pocket holsters are leather except for one which is reinforced nylon.

None of my pocket guns have rusted from sitting holstered in the safe as long as the holster is dry. If the holster is wet or damp, I remove the gun from the holster until the holster is dry. I'll wipe off the gun with a lightly oiled rag on occasion, too.

I live near the Gulf Coast with the typical 80 to 90% humidity, but we do have that high technology device called air conditioning that lowers humidity in the house to maybe 50%. :)
 
So, a loaded & holstered gun is somewhat safer than a loaded & unholstered one? That's new to me...

P.S. Yes, a holster might cause rust if the weapon is stored in it.
 
Mizar said:
So, a loaded & holstered gun is somewhat safer than a loaded & unholstered one? That's new to me...

P.S. Yes, a holster might cause rust if the weapon is stored in it.
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Kind of hard to discharge a holstered weapon with the trigger guard covered I would think. So yes, I would say it is "somewhat safer".


As to the OP question, I leave my LCP in it's nylon pocket holster but we are in high desert country here, we don't know what humidity is, well besides when in the heat of the summer and all the crops are being watered at their peak.
 
The ONLY time a gun in my safe is in a holster of any type is because it is loaded; just my little way of knowing (still use all basic precautions, of course). All of my other guns that are unloaded are in silicone socks - and that includes rifles and shotguns. Besides rust, they help prevent safe dings

Those holsters are not leather ones, BTW
 
Mizar said:
So, a loaded & holstered gun is somewhat safer than a loaded & unholstered one? That's new to me...
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to be rude but you understand the purpose of the holster right? It's to protect the trigger from being pulled.

I would think a loaded, holstered handgun locked in my safe is a whole lot safer than the loaded, holstered Glock that's currently sitting on my nightstand. I mean I keep loaded guns in my house it's a thing. Occasionally I even walk around outside my house with them on my person. That's a thing too
 
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I long ago learned the hard way not to leave any handguns in holsters (rust !!)- so wherever my weapons are they're simply wrapped loosely in a silicone gun cloth next to the holster. If I know the sidearm will be sitting for some time before being handled again I'll even take the time to work some RIG into every exterior surface then carefully polish if off the surface to leave just the slightest film. Since I started using the RIG I've not seen the slightest rust on a blued steel pistol (and before it was always a long term problem...).

Yes, you can leave a sidearm in a holster then just pick it up and go - but I much prefer to open the action, check the loads, then holster if that's how it will be carried - old habits die hard. Since I'm in south Florida I never take my ammo for granted either, preferring to carefully wipe down each cartridge with a clean, dry cloth while inspecting each round before re-loading the handgun.
 
Just clean and lube every one a a while. I keep a chambered P3AT in a pocket holster all the time. I kinda abuse this backup/around the house gun since I don't clean or oil it as much as I should. The holster is nylon and after many years of EDC it has no signs of rust. It gets dry and dirty from pocket lint and all I do is a quick wipe down with oil after blowing the lint out with compressed air.
 
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i have 2 guns that reside in holsters in the safe, and they're not stored on the pistol racks but on hangers. those are the only 2 hand guns in the safe that are always loaded. the rest are (supposed!) to be unloaded; of course I check every time I take one out anyways (rule #1.) they're also my carry guns. the holsters are desanti nemsis (s&w 442) and Safariland ALS (H&K P30). the safe has humidity control.
 
If you leave a loaded gun in a safe and have a house fire, there’s a possibility that the rounds in the mag cook off and really mess up your safe and contents. A round in the chamber might exit your safe or “safe”/RSC.

There’s never any ammo in my safe. Never a loaded gun in the safe. I have a separate small pistol lock box for keeping a loaded gun around when not carried on me.
 
The longest any firearm will reside untouched in a safe around here is 6 months, ( and that's rare). I have a log book with every firearm listed and the date on which it was last used or just checked. Had a few this month that haven't been used or checked since last November, ( 6 months ago) so this month they get a check up and what I call a routine minor cleaning. Next month I'll see if there's any that have been idle since December and they'll get cleaned, etc. and the cycle goes on.....
 
Walkalong said:
Why not?

Pardon my ignorance, what is a SFA gun?
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Striker Fired action?
I don't want to load and unload and load and unload the gun because I try to minimize unnecessary administrative handling but really that's my decision to make. The question I asked was pretty straightforward do you think the gun will be okay sitting in a holster in my safe? That really doesn't call for a lot of editorializing on whether or not I should load and unload the gun
 
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Okay so just so we're clear this gun is going to go in and out of the safe at least 4 times a week. That's one of the big reasons I don't want to be loading it and unloading it everyday.
 
Wisco said:
If you leave a loaded gun in a safe and have a house fire, there’s a possibility that the rounds in the mag cook off and really mess up your safe and contents. A round in the chamber might exit your safe or “safe”/RSC.

There’s never any ammo in my safe. Never a loaded gun in the safe. I have a separate small pistol lock box for keeping a loaded gun around when not carried on me.
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If it gets hot enough to "cook off" ammo in a gun stored in the safe the contents are going to be really messed up anyhow. My understanding is that ammo that cooks off doesn't really go zinging around, so bullets aren't going to be exiting the safe.
 
You gotta love THR.

In my mind I asked a pretty straightforward question. I have a Striker Fired gun that I use to carry to the gym. I don't want to load and unload it everyday and I don't want to leave it just laying in my gun safe unloaded with the trigger unprotected.

Do you think a NYLON holster will cause issues with rust?

And while one or two people did tell me that they leave their pocket guns in holsters in their safe with no problems what I mostly got was

People questioning why I would keep a loaded gun in my house

People questioning why I don't want to load or unload the gun every day

People telling me about their experiences with LEATHER holsters.

And people warning me about my house burning down.

Do you people read what you're responding to at all?
 
Trunk Monkey said:
And people warning me about my house burning down.

Do you people read what you're responding to at all?
Click to expand...

I just figured someone with your zeal for safety, whether the threat is real or imagined, would appreciate some more safety info. I figured wrong.

You should do whatever you have to do to keep that trigger from getting pulled while the gun sits in the safe.
 
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