I recall when I first joined someone cautioned me not to store my rifle in the foam-lined case the previous owners gave me to take it home in. I also read something somewhere about constant long term contact with the metal by anything other than oil would/could eventually attract enough moisture to create a speck of rust and a pit, or worse. Jim's comment above seems to contradict any problems with the canvas case in a safe but he wipes down with oil periodically. Without that personal attention Inland44 is right on the point methinks.