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February 19, 2026
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Hello, looking to get some insights on best way to preserve and value a near pristine Model 12 (shot 3 times) 16Ga in original box with original tape still holding top to bottom and original wax paper packing material. I bought from an Army Colonel that had purchased in Korea in 1959 PX store. Oh, I have an original box of shells purchased at the same time as the shotgun! Gun is in pristine original condition. SN is 17808xx.
I have kept in a gun safe, albeit not a climate controlled safe. Recommendations as to best preservation methods (gun in original box, gun and box separate…?) and valuation.
Thanks all,
MD
August 27, 2014
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Welcome Michael
If your M12 is in pristine, original condition keep on doing what you’ve been doing
“If you can’t convince them, confuse them”
President Harry S. Truman
January 20, 2023
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Consult information available online about preserving paper and cardboard. Both require a certain amount of atmospheric water. A common reason for the deterioration of cardboard is a too-dry environment like a gun safe with a dehumidifier. I don’t know whether wrapping a box in plastic wrap to deprive it of Oxgen is a good idea or not but I would find out. Too much humidity is bad for paper and cardboard, too.
Do not keep the gun in the original box. Despite old anti-rust wrapping (which wears out), the cardboard will eventually emit corrosive vapors as it ages. There are collectors who insist the gun should have a “dry look” but I put my faith in R.I.G. – a thin coat wiped in and on.
Where you live makes a difference whether you should try to control humidity. If you live in Tucson ( unless the golf courses and swimming pools have modified the atmosphere), a GoldenRod can be hard on stocks. In Houston, you need one. Everywhere, you want to make certain storage temp is a couple of degrees warmer than the outside ambient air, so water doesn’t condense on cold steel like an ice tea glass in Summer.
Because the Model 12 is a takedown, I would leave it disassembled to avoid marking it and make it easier to apply preservative inside the breech. If it were mine, I’d store it in two separate Bore Store bags.
That is what I would do for myself and, thus far, have not suffered any deteriorated cardboard except that which occurred before it came to me. What arms I own haven’t rusted, some of which have been in my custody for a half-Century. But none of them are “unfired”.
There are people who would rather see a gun corrode rather than touch it and operate its action less some evidence of “use” appear. The idea repels me but it’s (so far, still) a free country.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
February 19, 2026
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Zebulon said
Consult information available online about preserving paper and cardboard. Both require a certain amount of atmospheric water. A common reason for the deterioration of cardboard is a too-dry environment like a gun safe with a dehumidifier. I don’t know whether wrapping a box in plastic wrap to deprive it of Oxgen is a good idea or not but I would find out. Too much humidity is bad for paper and cardboard, too.
Do not keep the gun in the original box. Despite old anti-rust wrapping (which wears out), the cardboard will eventually emit corrosive vapors as it ages. There are collectors who insist the gun should have a “dry look” but I put my faith in R.I.G. – a thin coat wiped in and on.
Where you live makes a difference whether you should try to control humidity. If you live in Tucson ( unless the golf courses and swimming pools have modified the atmosphere), a GoldenRod can be hard on stocks. In Houston, you need one. Everywhere, you want to make certain storage temp is a couple of degrees warmer than the outside ambient air, so water doesn’t condense on cold steel like an ice tea glass in Summer.
Because the Model 12 is a takedown, I would leave it disassembled to avoid marking it and make it easier to apply preservative inside the breech. If it were mine, I’d store it in two separate Bore Store bags.
That is what I would do for myself and, thus far, have not suffered any deteriorated cardboard except that which occurred before it came to me. What arms I own haven’t rusted, some of which have been in my custody for a half-Century. But none of them are “unfired”.
There are people who would rather see a gun corrode rather than touch it and operate its action less some evidence of “use” appear. The idea repels me but it’s (so far, still) a free country.
It is and absolutely respect your opinion and appreciate your recommendations. Truth be told, I have an exact duplicate of this Model 12 that my father used most of his life and while well used is in great shooting condition. i’m dove hunting with it every season. This appreciation for the Model 12th was what brought me to possess this “pristine” 12 I have today. Again, your recommendations are greatly appreciated. BTW, I grew up northwest side of Houston…kindred spirits.
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