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I do a lot of backcountry travel during the course of fishing and hunting adventures. I have been thinking of creating semi permanent safe vehicle storage for a 12" braced ar pistol in 7.62x39. This gun is short and handy, yet powerful enough for most situations that may arise. So yesterday I took a surplus 81mm mortar can and modified it by welding angle iron feet to bolt it behind the back seat of my crew cab pickup. I also welded a 7/16" ss ubolt to the interior and clearanced the lid so it comes out the top and can be locked with one of those circular type padlocks. Now I have been thinking about how to pad the weapon and keep it from rusting. Barrel is supposedly nitrided but looks to be more like a phosphate finish to me and I am sure it will rust if measures are not taken. I am thinking about taking a foam roll up sleeping pad cut and folded in half to fashion a custom fit protective sheath. I also would spray the interior of said sheath with boeshield or some other hi tech rust preventative. To hedge my bet I am also going to use one of those rechargeable eva dry desiccant type dehumidifier doohickeys. Anybody else do anything similar? Thoughts or comments?
 
Is this going to be takin in and out a lot? Or simply stored in the vehicle and removed when absolutely needed?

If stored until absolutely needed. There is usually sizable gaps in between plastic panels and outside panels. I'm certain that would be a better place to store something of says nature.

If in and out, I wouldn't worry too much about rust and stuff as it shouldn't be kept in one place long enough to get rusted.

Orherwise a silicone treated sock would keep any concerns of moisture at bay while temporarily being store in the container you made.

Or if deep storing. Sock, oil, and a sealable bag should keep it safe for years.
 
It will be in and out fairly often. Here is what I got so far. Sleeping pad sheath is sewn shut with kevlar thread and then sealed with 100 mph tape. Sprayed in a good dose of corrosion block.


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Probably would be easier to line the inside with that material or something like that instead of wrapping it. That way it's easier to get in and out.
 
Looks like a nice idea. With Reno on the lining. If you just like the inside the gun can just slip in and out easy. Just put a rechargeable Desiccant in there with it. They are very cheap and you can keep one ready to go while the other is being dried again. Nice idea. Good piece of mind that some smash and grab scum could not just take it and run. Would be some real work to get it now.
 
Probably would be easier to line the inside with that material or something like that instead of wrapping it. That way it's easier to get in and out.
Maybe so but this sleeve full of anti corrosion goo is fairly tight fitting and will protect the gun better. I will defer judgement after I use it for awhile and may end up modifying it more like you are talking about. It is a work in progress.:cool:
 
It only took a few times of trying to wrangle the thing out and then having it all gooed up to realize my folly. I lined the thing with some reflective foam insulation and put an evadri in with the ar pistol and it is is much easier to remove. We shall see how often I have to regen the evadri. 9056406E-1B4D-4D66-B081-F003F866011B.jpeg
 
It only took a few times of trying to wrangle the thing out and then having it all gooed up to realize my folly. I lined the thing with some reflective foam insulation and put an evadri in with the ar pistol and it is is much easier to remove. We shall see how often I have to regen the evadri.View attachment 658515
Looks like a much easier way. Nice idea and should work great. Those are the same desicant deals I use for our safes. Love them. I for a long time used ones you had to put in the oven to dry. Saw these one day and as soon as I tried them I wondered why I waited so long. I just keep a couple ready to do in ziploc bags. When one needs recharge pop a new one in and plug the other in till it's done.
 
I'm interested in something like this that doesn't require me to rely on my terrible welding skills.
If you can grind you can weld lol. Learning to run a mig on mild steel is fairly easy. I could teach someone the basics in a couple hrs. If all you have is a buzz box it still can be done but a bit harder getting set right to not burn through with stick. Get some practice materials out and give it a go!
 
I do a lot of backcountry travel during the course of fishing and hunting adventures. I have been thinking of creating semi permanent safe vehicle storage for a 12" braced ar pistol in 7.62x39. This gun is short and handy, yet powerful enough for most situations that may arise. So yesterday I took a surplus 81mm mortar can and modified it by welding angle iron feet to bolt it behind the back seat of my crew cab pickup. I also welded a 7/16" ss ubolt to the interior and clearanced the lid so it comes out the top and can be locked with one of those circular type padlocks. Now I have been thinking about how to pad the weapon and keep it from rusting. Barrel is supposedly nitrided but looks to be more like a phosphate finish to me and I am sure it will rust if measures are not taken. I am thinking about taking a foam roll up sleeping pad cut and folded in half to fashion a custom fit protective sheath. I also would spray the interior of said sheath with boeshield or some other hi tech rust preventative. To hedge my bet I am also going to use one of those rechargeable eva dry desiccant type dehumidifier doohickeys. Anybody else do anything similar? Thoughts or comments?
May be too late but I would have the box powder coated inside and out
 
I enjoyed welding during high school, but haven't in 20 years. To be honest with myself I'd be best served buying a ready made lockbox. I need to explore my car with a flashlight to find a solid connection point for a chain to anchor one.
 
I actually looked at some pre made options but none would really work with the space I had available. Military surplus cans come in a plethora of sizes and the price was right. There seems to be quite a few decent pre made options for $300-600 if you can find one that dimensionally will work. Through bolting is better but a cable locked around a seat bases could work as well. We are mostly talking smash and grabbers here so anything that makes them invest more than a few minutes will probably deter them. Face it, if somebody really wants something bad enough and has enough time and the right tools they can foil about any measure. A thin wheel on a cordless grinder will defeat about any lock or metal container, albeit a bit noisily.
 
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May be too late but I would have the box powder coated inside and out

Or TRUCK BED LINER.

I too am workin on a setup for my AR10 pistol. My thought is a small carry gun bag, the kind with backpac straps. Plenty of room for spare ammo/mags. I don't plan on leaving the vehicle with it in there.

Nice setup though. I'm sure that you'll keep "polishing" it as you get more seat time.
 
With regards to the rust issue, closed cell foam (polyethylene or PE) does not retain moisture (or at least as much) as open celled foam does. I would probably line the case with a layer of PE and then store the actual weapon in a silicone treated Bore Store. The Bore Store itself is pretty padded so you may not even need the foam.

I would also give the weapon a generous coat of Renaissance Wax before it went inside and then include a good sized bag of desiccant. Remember you will likely need to refresh the desiccant from time to time.
 
I took my truck gun out of the storage box to take it to the range today. It had been in the box for eight days with 5 or 6 openings in that time period. The Evadry is still showing orange and no sign of rust on weapon so back in it went after a couple mags run through it. :)
 
Just an update on the eva-dry. It went an entire month and still was showing orange although starting to get some greenish tint so I regenerated it. This is pretty good service as it has been the wettest part of the year and box was opened probably 3 times a week on average. Gun shows no signs of rust.
 
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