After the hunting season is over you need to make sure that you protect your hunting guns. Whether they are rifles, pistols or bows, they can deteriorate quickly if not stored properly.


I am fortunate to have a room set aside just as a gun room. When I bought my house I hasn’t planned to use this room for this purpose, but due to it’s location, size and lack of windows it became a great place to store all of my hunting and fishing gear. Inside this room I have my gun safe, a loading bench that I built in there and a few shelves to help keep everything organized.





However, having this room is not enough to protect my hunting equipment. Sure they are safe from people getting into them due to the different locks involved, but they weren’t protected from what can happen when your guns sit unattended.


Most people put their guns up thinking that they will pull them out every now and then to clean them up. Unfortunately that usually doesn’t happen. I do get my shotguns and my .22 out more because I take these to the range almost every time I go. However, the muzzle loaders and larger rifles usually don’t get any attention it’s time to go out and zero it in again.


There are a few things that I do to protect my guns during the off season. First of all I have a dehumidifier in my gun room. This not only protects my guns, but it also helps lengthen the life of ammunition that I keep up there as well. You can pick these up cheap. Just remember to empty the water every now and then.


The next step is very important. You must thoroughly clean and protect your guns before putting them away. Black powder is especially corrosive if you don’t get your muzzle loaders clean.


After cleaning them I always put a coat of oil on all of my guns except for my muzzle loaders. On these I apply a generous coat of Bore Butter. This stuff is tougher to get off when cleaning, but it does a much better job of protecting your more sensitive weapons.


When I apply my final coat of oil or bore butter I always make sure that I either have on a pair of gloves, or am holding my weapon in a towel. If you leave any oily fingerprints on your barrel or any metal, that one spot can start to rust easily. The oil from your fingers contain an acid that can create unwanted rust.


Checking your equipment every month or two thereafter is a good idea just in case. A gun that has developed rust during the off season can lead to a dangerous accident the following year. At the minimum, it can cause pits in your barrel which will make your gun a lot less accurate and inconsistent.


Remember to take care of your guns and they will be ready when you need them.

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