Absolutely worst bore I've ever seen...

[ilcop22]

'Afternoon,

Long-time customer of mine came over yesterday to fill out a 4473, and he brought me a Ruger Mini-30 he purchased off someone he knows a year or so back. He couldn't get the bolt open and wanted me to take a look at it.

I did the old mallet to the bolt handle trick and it popped right open. The reason for the lock-up: Rust. I saw some rust on the bolt face (the kind indicative of shooting corrosive ammo - You know the stuff), so I stripped it down. Found surface rust on the piston guide and in the port. Saw a little in the chamber, so I took a bore light to it.

Tried looking down the bore, couldn't see any light. The bore had been completely constricted with rust. He told me he only shot maybe 100 rounds of store-bought Winchester before putting it up. I guess the guy he bought it from was shooting corrosive stuff and neither of them decided to clean the gun...

Needless to say, I put a lot of time cleaning out the bore (chemical and mechanical). I got it as clean as I could, so I slugged it today using two different size slugs. I found no discernible grooves in the slugs.

I've not yet seen such terrible rust inside a bore before (and I restore mil-surps!). He's not gonna be a happy customer when he calls me back and I get to tell him about his brand new paper weight... I've shot some pretty pitted bores, but I wouldn't put my face next to this rifle, that's for sure.

[Me not you]

What a shame. The sad thing is, the potassium chloride (salt) from the primers rinses right out with plain hot water. I pour a couple cups of hot tap water through the barrel of my Mini-30 after shooting corrosive stuff. Dry it, oil it after and it's good.

I suppose you could try a few jacketed loads and see what it does. What did the (unrifled) slugs mike out to? I have gotten surprising accuracy from corroded barrels, though the roughness can run pressures up.

[kywoodwrkr]

It's a little late for this one maybe, but I'd have used the electrolysis method on it were it mine.
I recently tried this on some molds, wood plane, and dies.
Cannot believe how well this process works.
For barrel, take a 36-48" piece of piano wire, wrap electrical tape every 3-5 inches, plug chamber with rubber stop, fill bore with solution of water and washing soda, place wire in bore and hook up to battery charger. Red connector to wire in bore, black connector to frame. 1-1 1/2 hrs and then clean the black crud(old rust) out. This is at 2-10 amps.
Setting up large tank for submerging whole rifles next.
Having a welding class close by for my 'tank designs' helps a lot also.
FWIW

[3006guns]

I think I'd give your customer an instructional lecture about potassum chlorate, what it is, what it does, etc. THEN show him the damage and list his options. A new barrel is obvious, but are any parts of the gas system salvageable? Will the bolt face clean up? Point out that the gun is worth saving, but it's going to cost money.......period.

Finally(and be humorous about this) suggest he might "want to have a talk" with the previous owner. In my humble opinion, anyone who doesn't know about the problems of corrosive priming in this day and age is a bit of a fool.

[izzyjoe]

i've seen a few sks bores ruined by not cleaning them after shooting corosive ammo. it is a shame.

[higgins]

Take a close look at any used .30/06 you consider buying. I've also seen a few .30/06 commercial bolt rifles that weren't that old that were so rusted that they had to have been fired with corrosive milsurp ammo and not properly cleaned. In addition to the old U.S. ammo floating around, there has been a lot of corrosive .30/06 imported from Europe and Korea over the years.

[Ernest]

Put er in a box and off the Ruger. I thinks that's about all that is left to do. On the other hand if he really want to spend some money he could have it rebored to .358 and make a wild cat on the 7.62 x 39 case.

[Ernest]

[QUOTE=kywoodwrkr;1446705]It's a little late for this one maybe, but I'd have used the electrolysis method on it were it mine.
I recently tried this on some molds, wood plane, and dies.
Cannot believe how well this process works.
For barrel, take a 36-48" piece of piano wire, wrap electrical tape every 3-5 inches, plug chamber with rubber stop, fill bore with solution of water and washing soda,

What is washing soda? Baking soda.???

[JIMinPHX]

I haven't messed with a mini 30 before. Can you not rebarrel them?

[BombDoc]

[QUOTE=Ernest;1456275]

It's a little late for this one maybe, but I'd have used the electrolysis method on it were it mine.
I recently tried this on some molds, wood plane, and dies.
Cannot believe how well this process works.
For barrel, take a 36-48" piece of piano wire, wrap electrical tape every 3-5 inches, plug chamber with rubber stop, fill bore with solution of water and washing soda,

What is washing soda? Baking soda.???

Nope.. Washing Soda is Sodium Carbonate Na2CO3

Baking Soda is Sodium Bicarbonate NaHCO3

.. both sodas, but I suggest washing soda is a tad more agressive..

[nanuk]

you can get "Washing Soda" in the laundry aisle in the supermarkets

it is a detergent enhancer/whitener, I think

Arm and Hammer brand is in a blue box IIRC

Check This Out

[Milsurp Junkie]

If you only need a couple of ounces, heat up some Arm and Hammer baking soda over the stove slowly, and it will liberate CO2 and water forming Sodium Carbonate. Decomposition starts at 70 deg C and is quickest at 200 deg C.

[Bullet Caster]

That piece of piano wire, which note?

Good thing he (the guy shooting & NOT cleaning) wasn't in the USMC. You CLEAN your weapon yourself and after every firing and ocassionally clean it just for the fun of it. At least that's what I do with any weapon hand guns included. Eventhough a manufacture of firearms that I won't mention here, suggests you not clean your pistol (autoloader) until after 5000 rounds. At least not disassemble to clean. What idiot doesn't clean his weapon after firing it? BC

[jblee10]

Heck, as long as a bullet (sp?) will go down the barrel without spitting in his face, let him shoot it. If he bought the *** without looking in one end or the other he won't know the difference anyway. As long as he is making lots of noise, he'll probably be hooked.

[uscra112]

Electrolytic won't put metal back - but it's a whole lot less work that scrubbing and scrubbing!

[wayne.d]

Does anyone know the outcome on this piece?

There is wildcat .358 x 39mm, (.358 gremlin) something like a 9 x 39 Russian thingie..

Info here: http://www.bfgcartridges.com/358Gremlin.html

Wayne

[Multigunner]

Years ago in Knoxville TN a gunsmith was asked to clean up a Colt 1911 that had lain in a drawer since Moses was a pup.
He couldn't get a rod down the muzzle and the slide was rusted shut so he clamped the pistol in a vice squirted some oil on it and tapped it with a mallet.
The pistol fired, the bullet went high through a thin section of wall under the eves, and then traveled across a four lane, went through the front window of a convenience store, and drilled a customer at the counter through the head killing him instantly.

Since hearing of this on the news I'm very leery of tapping a rusted up slide or bolt with a mallet.

[MBTcustom]

Since hearing of this on the news I'm very leery of tapping a rusted up slide or bolt with a mallet.

I'm very leery of doing anything to a gun that hasn't been cleared. It should have been pointed in a safe direction.

[ilcop22]

Whoops, forgot about this thread.

Long story short, I was able to clear it completely and get the bore as shiny as can be again, but the rifling was all but gone, and it had pretty extensive micropitting throughout. The customer didn't seem to mind, as he took it back gleefully and sold it to another gent for $450, if memory serves. It was a mess, through and through, and the original customer received it with the caveat that it's not safe to fire. Worked out for me, though, as he came back and bought a new firearm with the proceeds.

[newcastter]

It's a little late for this one maybe, but I'd have used the electrolysis method on it were it mine.
I recently tried this on some molds, wood plane, and dies.
Cannot believe how well this process works.
For barrel, take a 36-48" piece of piano wire, wrap electrical tape every 3-5 inches, plug chamber with rubber stop, fill bore with solution of water and washing soda, place wire in bore and hook up to battery charger. Red connector to wire in bore, black connector to frame. 1-1 1/2 hrs and then clean the black crud(old rust) out. This is at 2-10 amps.
Setting up large tank for submerging whole rifles next.
Having a welding class close by for my 'tank designs' helps a lot also.
FWIW

Will this hurt the bluing at all ?