Guns in house fire
 

I have some guns that were in a house fire and was wondering how to go about cleaning them. Should I know anything before I get started or anybody have any comments or expierances?

RE: Guns in house fire
 

Don't wait.
I had a fire in my garage a few years back. Anything that was metal that did not get cleaned and oiled is now very rusty.

RE: Guns in house fire
 

:eek:You are lucky anything is left. I was up hunting at inlaws several years ago and the people's house next door burn't down. We were over the next day checking it out and could see what was left of the gun cabinet and the guns that were inside it, or what was left of them for that matter. Funny got an education of how well guns are made. The guns like the mossberg shotguns, the metal was all melted. But the remington gunsthe stocks were burnt off but the barrels and recievers were still solid.

RE: Guns in house fire
 

How much damage did they sustain? Is the wood severely burnt and/or charred? New stocks may be in order, or at the very least, refinished. If they were subjected to intense heat, hardness tests may be required for the barrels and/or actions. A good gunsmith should be contacted for their expertise. The restoration costs, unless you are able to do them youself, may not be worth it, depending on the actual value of the gun.

RE: Guns in house fire
 

I'd be willing to bet that the temper in the steel of any of those guns was destroyed by the heat treatment they got in the fire. It only takes 400-600 degrees F to do this.

I would NOT ATTEMPT to fire any gun that went through a fire, unless it was protected in a heat-reistant safe that was rated to temps higher than the fire produced, and that came out of the safe with NO VISIBLE DAMAGE to the wood or plastic components!!

RE: Guns in house fire
 

Ditto - Clean them ASAP. But at the same time you have family issues to deal with first. Perhaps you should just get them into a gunsmith and have them cleaned up there.

The Rockwell hardness testing is VERY IMPORTANT. Perhaps your insurance co will take care of things for you.

Don

RE: Guns in house fire
 

I had a house fire 30yrs ago and had 4 guns in a cabinet. None of the guns were burnt but suffered heavy smoke, the cabinet was on fire when we got them out though.I sent them to a gunsmith and had them thoughly cleaned for around $30 apiece. I am still using 3 of the guns,the other sold off as parts. It was just wore out. Tell the smith that they were in a fire though. Zeak

RE: Guns in house fire
 

Thaksn guys. One winchester semi is gone. The fire caused the bolt to expand and crack the reciever actually. One .22 is old and covered with soot and charred. I think the heat messed with the internal parts cause the trigger is hanging out and the bolt no longer works and is stuck in the open postion. The last one was a 70 dollar CVA muzzle loader which is covered in rust inside and out. Was in a deep puddle of water for days and we never saw it. Fire is nothing to mess with it spread quick and alot was lost but the hose was saved. Thanks for everyones help again.

RE: Guns in house fire
 

I sold Gun Safes for over 15yrs and tried to explain this to pepole all the time. In one ear and out the other!:D
They thought I was full ot it![:'(]

RE: Guns in house fire
 

Rebel Hog, have you ever seen any of your safes go thru a fire? I have a browning medallion. Wished I would have got a liberty due to the extra fire protection.

RE: Guns in house fire
 

BC, in theBRN Medallion'sare made in Slim, Standard and Wide Boy. They have 1500* fire protection rating. I have the Wide Boy. It's hard to beat theMedallion for being a Duo gun safe. Where it gets hard to open a safe after a fire, is some safe's have a fusable link on the cables going to the relockers. That protection is in case someone tries to use a torch to rob you!;)What keeps papers from burning inside a insulated safe is the condensation that's created inside the safe when the heat outside gets above the 150-200*.I don't keep cameras in the safe, it can ruin a camera.

Edit: I much rather opena Liberty safe than a Browning!:)

RE: Guns in house fire
 

Speaking of safes, which do you like better, the Brownings or the Liberty or Heritage safes? We're looking for one right now...

RE: Guns in house fire
 

Power, when buying a gun safe check the spec's on construction (door thickness, wall and topthickness),resistant to attack (15min, 30min or 60min) TL=Tool, TR=Torch, TX=explosives. Compare rate of fire proofing ( Amount of degrees for 30min, 45min, 1hr), compare locking devices, compare combo locks( My preference is Sargent&Greenleaf three brass tumbler's key change.....that will give you 1 million possible combinations...100X100X100.....Also, if you have your home alarmed, incorparate it into your safe.
Pick three that you like and compare the above! I prefer Diebold and Mosler, but those are precious stone safe's and cost what most guys can't afford! $6000-$9000 and above!:D:D:D:DI have been doing this since 1976-2006, 30yrs. I don't actuallydo openings anymore, but get a percentage on different safe jobs that the young guys don't know how to do. My phone is always ringing!:D:DI still have all the drilling rigs, scopes, tools and manuels.

I own a Browning Medallion Wide Boy!

Edit:Always check the weight and what type of flooring you are going to place it on!

RE: Guns in house fire
 

Thanks RH. I have a concrete basement right off my garage so I'm planning on bolting it to the floor when it's installed. I don't have that much value in guns right now (probably less than $3000) so I'm not worried about some big attack, just the common house theif kind of thing. I will probably look for a safe with good fire rating for the day when we move to the country and I like the 72" tall safes they have now, nice with the extra shelves. The Heritage safes we looked at were pretty nice, 3/8" plate door, 75 minutes at 1250 degrees, internal hinges. I'll look for those other features too, don't want to spend more than a couple grand if I can avoid it.

RE: Guns in house fire
 

The Browning Medallion's are1500* fire rating and better built thanmost of them!:)