Long term storage - desiccant or oxygen absorbers?

I've had an 18 watt Goldenrod heating in the back of the safe continuously since 1987. Not a speck of rust ever. In this swamp (6mos/yr) that's something. Heater pushes moisture out, dessicants draw it in or so I've been told. Joe

 

I think that's sayin' something. Warm up the box just a little bit and no rust. My experience too.

 

The survivalists that I was dealing with in southern Oregon prepared their guns for long-term storage (burial) by separating wood, plastic and metal parts, oiling/greasing the metal parts and vacuum-packing the gun parts, waxing the wood parts, vacuum-packing the plastic, optics and the ammunition separately, packing all of this in PVC pipes, sealing them and putting them in their carefully selected hides, usually vertically in deep post holes. Some liked to flood the tubes with nitrogen, like they did with food caches.
All I can say is that the process worked.

 

Same here, even when my legal residency was middle TN where humidity is constantly high. And now living in ID, VERY light oil on guns stored in save.But very dry here, most of the time.

 

Dessicant not only absorbs moisture, but it will also RELEASE moisture.

 

LTS for food is mylar bag and oxygen absorber, don’t believe I’d go to that extreme for firearms.