Well, I really screwed up!

[redbear705]

The last time I shot my Mosin Nagant I cleaned it along with all my other military shooters....but I guess I did not oil down the bore and the bore is completly rusted....:( I use brake cleaner to get the crud out so all protection (oil) was removed, At least I didnt forget to oil the rest of them, Thank goodness!

Is there a way to save the barrel or is this now a wall hanger? If it is a wallhanger It will be too bad because it was a shooter and in pretty good condition.

JR

Anyone ever try Naval Jelly in the bore to remove rust? :)

[The Double D]

Wrap 4 ought steel wool around a bore brush add oil and clean. Do it now and noty later. rust is not always fatal.

[Jim]

There's a poll in the Shooter's.com room asking how often people clean their firearms. THAT'S why I clean my guns after every shoot.

[jonk]

Were you shooting corrosive military ammo?

If so, hot boiling water is best to remove the corrosive salts.

If not you have me stumped on why it rusted.

All may not be lost. Scrub the worst of the rust out, then shoot it with some jacketed bullets to knock any remainder out. Then see how it looks.

[redbear705]

If you read my post I did clean all of my guns that I used that day .

I just forgot to oil it up thats all.

Brakleen brake cleaner cuts all the crud and oils out really well but ya have to oil it up well or it will rust because there is no oil left to protect the bare metal.

As far as using hot water....this is the first time I have had an issue using brakleen to clean my firearms.....I have used hot water before but since using the brake cleaner I have not had an issue till now and it seems it was a brain phart on my end.

JR

[armoredman]

Clean it throughly and shoot it, Uncle Ivan built his rifles to withstand ignorant peasants. if not clean enough, buy another, before the prices go over $100 each.

[JMax]

My M38 has a pitted bore from Ivan and it shoots fine. Just clean it completely and use soapy water. When finished on the range w/corrosive ammo (7.62X54R, 303 Brit and 8mm) I always run a patch of black powder solvent down each bore several times and then run a couple of dry patches followed by a saturated patch of Break Free then pack up and go home. A little extra time for these old goodies but they deserve it.

[RU shooter]

Clean it throughly and shoot it, Uncle Ivan built his rifles to withstand ignorant peasants. .Hey Watch it now!We prefer to be classified as "Less educated People of Working Class"!Dosent mean we can not properly clean a rifle barrel,Just pour some vodka down it:-D Plus after you clean it you can deploy your bayonet and dig potato's! Red Army designed and built the M44 for just that purpose..........

[Mk42gunner]

"Just pour some vodka down it"


Man, I thought that in 20 years in the Navy I had heard (or maybe done[smilie=1:) all the ways to abuse alcohol. But cleaning rifles????????:kidding:

Tht ranks up there with knocking over your running mate's beer.


Robert, GM1 (ret)

[John Taylor]

I think I would start with some naval jelly. It will take most of the rust out quick. Get it at the hardware store.

[junkbug]

Navel Jelly is some BAD stuff. It is mostly acid, and if used improperly, can cause more damage than it removes. After you use it, you have to flush long and thoughouly to clean it completely off. I only use it (hesitatingly) on cars. The situation would have to be drastic to use it on a gun.

How long did it sit, unprotected. If it was only a few days, or even a few weeks, the rust may be mostly surficial. I have had rust show up on me in my younger years, using only commercial civilian solvents and oil on rifles shooting corrosive ammo. At first glance, the look of the rusted bore is SICKENING. However, with a lot of work with Hoppe's, and an oversized (1 caliber) bronze brush, the rifle looked shootable. So I preserved it with a better oil, and took it shooting as soon as possibe. The accuracy was not noticeably different. After a few sessions of shooting (and getting the barrel hot) and cleaning with Sweets 7.62 copper solvent, and oiling with a high quality preserving oil, the bore looked OK. It was not as good as it had been, but certainly usable. There was a light frosting, where there had been none before.

Don't give up hope. The crown is the most important thing for accuracy in these rifles. Thousands upon thousands of service rifles had had this happen to them, in many different countries. I assure you they were not scrapped, just because of a little bore rust.

Clean it well, and shoot it alot, before you say its done for.

Sean

[Buckshot]

.............Rust can be funny stuff. It can just be a fine powdery residue and bright orange over a large surface that wiped off with a finger leaves no trace it was there. On the other hand it can form a scab over a virtual crater in the metal. I had a cheap ole Zouave that wouldn't shoot (I didn't know anything about what I was doing) so I just tossed it into a corner without cleaning and there it sat for several years.

A buddies son mentioned being interested in shooting BP so I thought I'd give it to him. It had rust growing out of the muzzle. I clamped it into a benchvise, pulled the breechplug and got after it with a wad of steel wool and diesel fuel. Danged if the barrel didn't come up bright and shiny. A couple years later it was given back to me (and I now knew what to do) and sonuvagun if she didn't shoot really well!

...............Buckshot

[redbear705]

If I build one of those electric foul out gadgets, what solution would I need to use to remove rust instead of the copper/lead?

JR

[junkbug]

The solution I mixed for copper fouling also removes steel from the barrel, if left in too long. 15 minutes tops is what I run my 2 "D" cell "Flashlight foul out" gadget for. Any longer, and the rod starts to turn black, indicating reduced iron building up on the rod.

After 2 or three 15 minute runs, you will have likely removed all the rust that is removable. After that, clean it well, oil it with quality rust preventative gun oil, and then shoot it ALOT, as soon as you can. That will give you the real answer. Don't forget to clean again, at least with Sweets 762 solvent, and re-apply a rust preventative, afterwards.

Also, it may shoot wild for the first few dozen cartridges after a thourough barrel cleaning. This is common, and not something to worry about.

Sean