Stored guns

[Frankie-boy]

Can anyone tell me if airguns that have been stored in their boxes in a suitable location and un-used for a long time will fire ok without any servicing or anything please?

[I. J.]

Depends really on the type of piston head. FWB and some Original nylon/plastic seals have been know to deteriorate with age. Leather, on the other hand can shrink slightly but respond to a bit of oil.
Perhaps it better to strip, check and re-lube the rifle (which is ) in question.

ATB
Ian

[Hsing-ee]

Can anyone tell me if airguns that have been stored in their boxes in a suitable location and un-used for a long time will fire ok without any servicing or anything please?

Best to strip them down, inspect and re-lube after lengthy storage (>1.5 years). You may end up damaging the insides if you use them and the lube has dried up or piston washers etc have crumbled.

Same as a car really.

(Possibly with the exception of the FWB150/300 series and their pistol sisters the FWB65/80, which are almost maintenance-free).

[edbear2]

As the others have said.......On a personal experience note...I got a BSA rifle a couple of years ago that had been in a gunsmiths storage room for over 25 years......although the outside was fine, the leather piston washer was dust........I would highly recommend a strip and lube, even after a year or so........even a month in a damp attic can wreak havoc, as I seem to remember from an old thread on here

[bluesman]

I had this experience personally with a BSA Scorpion pistol,the nylon piston seal turned to mush,making the stripdown even more difficult.
atb Glyn

[keith66]

The worst stored gun i ever saw was in an abandoned motor yacht. The boat had been left for 30 years and filled with rain water to a depth of 4 feet, I was tasked to help dispose of it & i drilled several large holes to let the water out.
When we went inside it was a ruin with all the bulkheads & woodwork literally disintegrating. In a wardrobe i found a Diana G80 which had been standing up to its trigger guard in stagnant water all those years, it was red with rust.
Once stripped & cleaned it actually wasnt too bad & actually shoots quite well.
It won't win any beauty contests though!

[Frankie-boy]

Thanks everyone for the advice - the gun in question is a Webley Tempest I've just bought off here - I haven't actually received it yet, but the seller says it's been stored from new and never been fired! I believe they stopped making these in 2005, so it's been stored for at least 4 years.
I'll take your advice and get it stripped and re-lubed.
Thanks again chaps.
Frank.