Best thing you can do is get a dehumidifying rod for a safe or gun cabinet. It raises the temperature a few degrees about the ambient room temperature and lowers the relative humidity. I never have to oil my rifles in the safe and I live in on the windward side. Putting a desiccant pack in a safe is just going to make things worse-they only work well in a sealed environment like an ammo can. Otherwise they just constantly pull moisture into whatever container you keep them in.

I also keep a large VCI canister like the following one in my safe, just for additional protection. Since I have installed the dehumidifying rod and the canister I have ZERO rust issues, and I learned that lesson the hard way by having to send a rifle off to be refinished due to rust.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0058VSK3K/?tag=2ahawaii-20

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001IEALYW/?tag=2ahawaii-20

Hope this helps.

well, i dont have a safe, yet, so i guess i'll just have to use the packs.

well, i dont have a safe, yet, so i guess i'll just have to use the packs.

get a safe ASAP!

im going to get one, but i just dont have money for one right now.

get a safe ASAP!

The thing is, if you don't have a large collection or if your collection is not that valuable, it's cheaper just to buy more guns or save the money for new guns.  Lets say I have a single .22lr handgun which cost me 200 bucks used, are you saying it would be worth it for me to even buy even a cheap desktop handgun safe which cost just about the same amount as this gun does?  I live alone with no kids in my home ever.  A good safe not only takes up money but precious real estate in your home (not everyone in hawaii has a big house or even a house.  Some of us live in a studio/one bedroom apartment...).  Transporting a large dedicated gun safe is also a problem, espeically up stairs or up places which don't have elevators.  Ideally yes, you should get a safe but you should realize that a safe is not for everyone. 

The thing is, if you don't have a large collection or if your collection is not that valuable, it's cheaper just to buy more guns or save the money for new guns.  Lets say I have a single .22lr handgun which cost me 200 bucks used, are you saying it would be worth it for me to even buy even a cheap desktop handgun safe which cost just about the same amount as this gun does?  I live alone with no kids in my home ever.  A good safe not only takes up money but precious real estate in your home (not everyone in hawaii has a big house or even a house.  Some of us live in a studio/one bedroom apartment...).  Transporting a large dedicated gun safe is also a problem, espeically up stairs or up places which don't have elevators.  Ideally yes, you should get a safe but you should realize that a safe is not for everyone.

right, like, i currently own one rifle, i would need to get a lot of people out here to move a safe up the steps, have no kids in the house, and happen to have a reaqlly nice location on my street which would make a robbery PRETTY unlikely.  i just dont really have the budget right now.  i cant justify purchasing a safe as of yet.

im on the look out for one, but i have to save up for it as of now.

I've been reading this thread carefully thanks for all the input and info guys.

You can find a gun cabinet at Sports Authority for less than $200. That is what I started out with before upgrading to a fire-resistant safe.

You can find a gun cabinet at Sports Authority for less than $200. That is what I started out with before upgrading to a fire-resistant safe.

how heavy are they?  i need to be able to this this as a two man job up stairs.

how heavy are they?  i need to be able to this this as a two man job up stairs.

Easy two man job. I was able to move mine without assistance. Probably weighed around 60-80 pounds.

All of the things mentioned here are all good ideas. Safe placement is often overlooked. Think about it most people place a safe in a cool, dark, damp corner in their house where the air is stagnant just cause its a convienient place to put. Use some common sense. I messed around with an old 10 gun safe and put a bead of silicone sealer around the door edges and use damp rid. Gotta say works pretty good for the upstairs safe. My 64 gunsafe downstairs has all the other gadgets and really I see no difference.

Easy two man job. I was able to move mine without assistance. Probably weighed around 60-80 pounds.

Yep. I picked up and installed my 8 gun cabinet by myself. I used a dolly to help move it since the box is a little wide making it awkward to carry. One out of the box, the safe/cabinet is easy to move around.

Hunter1007 u have a 64 gun safe??  That's more like a small bedroom or a prison armory.... I'm jealous.... Hahaha

Hunter1007 u have a 64 gun safe??  That's more like a small bedroom or a prison armory.... I'm jealous.... Hahaha

I got the safe yeah, don't mean I got 64. The wife would put 64 pairs of shoes in their before I get half that in guns

I got the safe yeah, don't mean I got 64. The wife would put 64 pairs of shoes in their before I get half that in guns

don't forget handbags you know how women love those too... LOL

Figure i put my input on this since i've been around guns my whole life. I take out all the guns at least once a year to fully disassemble, clean, and oil. Many of them do not see range time, antiques already lol. Anyway, i've had those bags in the safe to help with the humidity and still get light rust over time. Got a new house about 5 years ago with central ac and to me that made a huge difference. Nothing in the safes except the guns and the rust is literally kept to a bare minimum now. Even the guns that are over a 100 years old are holding up just fine.

Do the fabric gun socks really work? I know people who have used them for years and have no rust issues.... These days guys are saying its worthless....

Do the fabric gun socks really work? I know people who have used them for years and have no rust issues.... These days guys are saying its worthless....

Had one on a rifle and it did nothing. The smaller ones seem to work better on pistols if you are keeping them in a nightstand or similar location.

I'm not so sure about those socks.

A friend of mine stored a shotgun in one and the gun still rusted.

Admittedly I don't know any more details. ( where it was stored, what circumstances, etc...)

Do the fabric gun socks really work? I know people who have used them for years and have no rust issues.... These days guys are saying its worthless....

I have all of my longarms and about half of my handguns stored in silicon-impregnated fabric socks.  Not only do I have no issues with rust, it keeps the guns from banging against each other in a seriously overcrowded safe.