Triple seven has it right. Any good gun oil in the barrel and a good coating outside as well will bring years of good service. I store with nipple in the gun though and turned barrel up but plugged with a cotten rag. Of course at the end of the hunting season my TC goes through a cleaning like no other time of year. This also includes nipple replacement each year and with a slight lube applied and I have yet to have a trouble when I light the fire in the new year. Of course I always make sure all that excess oil is out of the breach area after storing though.