Storing Mil-Surp rifles

[Mitch Rapp]

Been reading a lot about Enfield rifles, and one of the things I read was talking about storing them muzzle down, and said that not doing this will cause damage due to oil settling. Anyone ever heard things similar to this concerning other rifles, or is it mainly with the Enfields?

 

[drmitchgibson]

Oil settling on what? And what kind of oil is doing this damage, and why is anyone using it if it's harmful?

 

[Mitch Rapp]

Oil settling on what? And what kind of oil is doing this damage, and why is anyone using it if it's harmful?

What I read didn't go into great detail, but said that the oil would settle into the back of the for-end and cause it to get soft. The oil would be boiled linseed oil.

 

[argyle64]

I used to have an Enfield and read the same thing. Just stored mine horizontally and never worried about it.

 

[coolhandluke]

If the stock is so saturated in oil that it is not drying and settling in the rear of the fore end, that sounds more like an issue with over application of oil more than a storage issue. I'll bet if we found old photos of storage racks at British armories and barracks we'd see plenty of Enfields being stored barrel up.

 

[dennishoddy]

I pretty much have to agree with this.
I have guns that have been oiled since the 1800's, and I'll bet they have been stored barrel up. There have been no issues with them.

 

[Mitch Rapp]

So, I guess maybe it's just an Enfield thing.