Rifle Storage Question

[Boaterguy]

How do you store your rifles: Barrel Up or Barrel Down? I have heard that storing a wood stocked rifle barrel up can lead to the stock being warped. I have always stored my rifles barrel up and have never noticed a problem. I was asked this question by my son-in-law (relatively new to firearms). I would think that the humidity in the storage area (safe, closet, etc) would have a lot to do with it.

Your thoughts?

 

[Titan6]

Barrel down mostly. If the rifling is close to the end of barrel I store it barrel up.

 

[Sam1911]

Having a poor quality blank, with a lot of internal tensions, from which your stock was cut could lead to warpage, and would be exacerbated by high humidity fluctuations.

Standing the rifle on its muzzle or on its butt couldn't make the slightest difference. We aren't talking about laying the rifle across saw horses and hanging 50 lbs from the wrist or bedding area. The stresses produced by the weight of the 4-10 lb. barreled action and scope (not counting the weight of the buttstock itself) pressing almost perfectly straight down along the recoil-bearing axis of the stock as it stands in a gun safe are so minuscule as to be without consequence.

I'm sure that a few very high-precision target shooters will have a very specific storage regimen (just like they have a very specific everything regimen) but even then it's more superstition than science.

And seriously, you'd stand it on it's muzzle? Don't you know you'll warp your barrel that way?

-Sam

 

[crazy-mp]

Which ever way I can get the most in the gun safe.