Rust and chrome

[fatelk]

Well, I pulled the old FAL out of the safe today, for the first time in several years. I was surprised to see what looked like a tiny bit of rust in the bore. I cleaned it good, even took it out and shot a few rounds, then cleaned it again. Sure enough, using bright light it sure looks like slight pits in the bore.

I showed it to the friend I went shooting with and he didn't see it at first. To the untrained eye it still looks nice and shiny perfect.

Funny thing is, I've never before had a rust issue in my safe. I even shot corrosive in a CZ52 once and forgot to clean it for a week- no rust.

I learned my lesson on cleaning and oiling bores when they go in the safe. I've never been real particular about cleaning if I didn't use corrosive ammo. I suppose a quick clean and coat of oil is better than nothing.

I'm a little unsure about the chrome thing, though. This is just an old frankenFAL, nothing special, with what I thought was a surplus Argentine chrome-lined barrel. I know for a fact that it used to be mirror-perfect. I'm surprised at how easily the rust came through the chrome (assuming it is chrome). It's not the end of the world, it's really not bad and I almost never shoot it anyhow, but it's disgusting to have something that was perfect that's now blemished due to my own negligence.:(

[Ragnarok]

Can rust through nicks or cracks in the chrome I suppose. That or the bore ain't chromed.

Could be copper fouling getting furry too

[fatelk]

Maybe it wasn't chrome lined to start with. I sure thought it was. I had it replaced a decade or so ago because the original was pitted. It was cheap at the time, but it was supposed to be a chrome lined Argentine barrel, if I remember right. Might have been Brazil but I'm pretty sure it was Argentina. I do know the bore was shiny like a mirror.

[gew98]

If your barrel is a surplus 7,62 FAL military barrel it will have a chromed chamber and not the bore. It's fairly a given chromed bores are not as accurate as stell bores , but chromed chambers sure do help save a rifle in bad environments.
My enterprise metric FAL has a US made barrel - chromed chamber only. My Inch pattern pre 1994 Enterprise L1A1 has a 1984 dated brit barrel - chromed chamber only.

[fatelk]

gew98- Thank you for that info! I did not know that at all, but it sure explains some things. I actually don't feel near as bad now. Some very minor damage to a regular bore is not a real big deal, other than that it will be more prone to rust in the future and I'll still mad at myself for letting it happen.

I have a rifle in 5.45mm that I loaned to a friend last year, warning him strictly that if he shot corrosive ammo in it he must clean it right away or it would rust. When I got it back it was rusted up solid. I had to use a hammer and a 2x4 to open the bolt. The chrome has now started to peel in the throat area of the bore. Accuracy is out the window, even for an AK, pretty much ruined.

[junkbug]

I've seen Japanese Type 99 rifles with chrome bores peeling away like the plating on an old car's bumper. Chrome helps, but is not indestructible.

Also have a Type 99 that is a very early rifle (1941 I think). The bore was a mass of rust when I was looking to buy it. The store owner allowed me to scrub it a little, so on a hunch I bought it. It was chrom plated, there are still traces of it at the muzzle. But the plating must have been very thin, not suprising on a rilfe built using a new process (at the time). Using a steel bristle brush, I was able to scrub out most of the rust. The remaining rifling is slightly pitted but shoots OK with jacketed. I will try my new 316299 group buy mold on it hopefully this spring. The crown is not bad.

Sorry to hear about the ruined 5.45mm AK. Thats a pitty. Don't know how tough it is to re-barrel them.

Take care.