Trunk Gun Question

[mattw]

I don't know about car trunks but I kept a 1911 in condition 3 (thats full mag nothing in the pipe, right?) under the seat of the truck for about 5 months and it never showed any signs of rust or anything. I took it out about once every month, looked it over, and shoved it back under the seat. It might've helped that I had it zipped up in a handgun case. It wasn't anything weather proof though, just $10 zipper canvas deal from Academy.

I live in south Mississippi, btw. The most humid place you can be in the US.

 

[de]

A soft case actually holds moisture. Lack of air circulation is the problem in the trunk especially in a humid climate (like where I live). If there was a small fan (which would eventually run the batter down) in the trunk, there would almost never be a rust issue. An open mount in the trunk would be far better than a zipped up soft case which will absorb humidity. Cold is not that much of a problem by itself, unless you warm the trunk up quickly which will cause the rifle to sweat. Heat on the other hand, will play hell with wood or plastic stocks in some cases causing them to warp.JM2CW

 

[accomplice]

I use an FN FS2000 with Eotech as my trunk gun. I may switch up to the Sig 556 if it does well at the range.

 

[MJ]

Only one?

OK then a mix.


Remember you can't drive around loaded even in the trunk, you will look like the bad guy.

 

[ceetee]

I would think something like this would be just what you need. Oil the crap out of your rifle, and stick it in here:

Not cheap, but it's supposed to keep water out. I'd presume that would include water vapor, too, no?

Link to item

 

[RedAlert]

Vacuum Pack it

Well, this might be a bit off the wall. I've not done it but think that if you were to properly clean your weapon, toss in several bags of silica gell in the bag then vacuum seal it.

The bags for home vacuum sealing food comes in rolls and you can cut the bag to any desired length. So, take one clean, dry weapon wrapped with some padding on the sharp sights, etc and then cut a bag a foot or so longer than needed. Double seal each end, and store in your soft or hard side case. The food wrap is transparent, so you could give it a visual inspection as often as desired. By cutting the bag extra long, you could cut it open, inspect and then reseal the bag several times.

RDF

 

[B.D. Turner]

I hauled rifles and shotguns in the trunk of my patrol car for over 14 years without nearly any problems. I am sure that there are many thousands of shotguns riding in the trunks of police and sheriff cars day in and day out right now. Living on the coast of North Carolina we get our share of humidity heat,cold and changing weather (today it's in the 70's).
If your weapon is wiped down with a coat of oil and you have a good seal on your trunk lid you have little of nothing to worry about. A gun case will only cause rust. The foam filled gun cases are the worse.

I have only had one rifle that was prone to with rust it was a Romanian AK. It would rust almost over night if left in the car and demamded more attention than should have been required.
Solution: I went to WalMart and got a spray can of truck bedliner. I stripped the rifle down and did a good degrease on everything. I removed the upper and lower handguards and the top cover. I removed the bolt and taped over the top of the lower. I taped over the top of the rear sight and flipped it up so the underside would be coated too. I hung the rifle up by a wire and gave it a even coat all over. After about three coats I let it dry overnight. The next day it was given a good final spray. This gave the AK a wrinkled black finish that is tough,durable and weather proof. The stock, pistol grip and handguards were also sprayed and looked like plastic replacement stocks. The can of spray was about eight dollars and would have been enough to do two or more rifles.

 

[de]

Mr. Turner, I kept a shotgun (and at times an M4 I usually kept up front) along with a lot of other rustable tac gear in the trunk of my patrol units for 20 years. I would think the difference would be a patrol unit gets driven many more miles a day than a civilian vehicle. Not always but mostly always. The difference I guess would be that as a retired tactical K-9 Sgt. I also realize most vehicles made after 1970 have a vent system from passenger compartment to trunk that constantly circulates fresh air if the vehicle is moving. I found this very helpful on windy days when searching a vehicle with a K-9 for "contraband" I believe is the poplular term now. So, if you have a vehicle that is not driven very far at a time or very often, and you put a weapon made of metal in the trunk, you had better monitor it's condition. If you trap humid air inside anything, metal will rust. That is God's gift to the gun owner.

 

[AStone]

I didn't read Meef's original question closely enough in my haste.
(I just bought a new rifle and am so excited that I'm shouting
about it from the roof tops ... er, every thread I can )

I've omitted my original post in this spot
now that I understand the intent of the thread.

I'm reading with interest because I live in the same region
(which this year is "unseasonably" dry ... we're in a draught
compared to our normal wet January...) and
that new rifle is sometimes going to be a "trunk gun".

(Well not really for me, since I drive a truck,
but it'll still be exposed to some "trunk-like" conditions
of humidity and bumps on occasion ... I want to protect it for the long haul...)

 

[pipboy]

go with rdf's plan