93 spanish mauser question

[twc1964]

Ok guys, i finally got the tust off this old rifle and am in the process of scrubbing the barrel. does the rifleing of these old mausers look different than newer guns that are not military? the grooves look real shallow or its filled up with lead fouling. I'm just not sure as this is my first old mil type rifle. thanks for any replies.

[Multigunner]

If you are used to seeing Enfield rifling or the modern equivalent used by Remington and some other manufacturers the older Mauser rifling can look like its a bit worn.
Could be hardened carbon or metal fouling in the grooves though, I'm more surprised when I find no hardened fouling in the grooves than when I do.

[twc1964]

Thanks multigunner, i believe i have a lot of hardened fouling in there. i have used several doses of shooters choice svent and a brass bore brush along with about 50 passes and its still not good. any suggestions?

[pworley1]

I have had good luck getting most of the junk out by shooting one a few times and cleaning it while the barrel is hot. I will leave it to soak a day or to by running a wet patch of Ed's Red oil last.

[twc1964]

I keep hearing about eds red so it must be good stuff. where do i get some or do i make it? oh, thanks again for all the help folks. i ended up soaking the gun in rust remover and then sanding with super fine wet or dry and oil to remove fine pits. a friend is going to powdercoat it matte black. ought to be fine as that finish has held up well on another semi auto i have. this is a great learning experience. next time, i will try a non-basketcase to play with. lol

[shredder]

Ed's Red is homebrew. Easy to make in quantity and really works well. I too have found that shooting an old fouled rifle bore then cleaning it right away is a good way to get going at the old compacted fouling. I have a Lee Enfield rifle that I was pretty sure had no vestiges of rifling left on first inspection. After much firing and cleaning, soaking in Ed's Red etc. rifling was revealed. In the end it has quite a bit of deep rifling. She shoots much better now too!

[UBER7MM]

TWC1964,

You might try plugging your chamber with a rubber stopper or cork and filling the barrel with bore solvent. Let it sit a couple of days. You'll be surprised what comes out. It doesn't take much to fill a 7mm barrel.

I hope this helps,

[Buckshot]

..............Wrap some '0' steel wool around a worn bristle brush. Dunk in most any bore cleaner and go after it. The wool wrapped brush should be a good snug fit to begin with. Every once in awhile push a patch through to see what it looks like. When it becomes easy to push and pull in the barrel wrap some more steel wool on it. Before using the the 2nd brush try an application of a good copper remover and see what you get.

Years ago I got a $69 Turk Mauser and resorted to the above method after wearing out a few new bristle brushes without much progress. The steel wool will cut anything that was shot through the barrel but is much milder then the barrel steel and will cause no harm.

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

[shredder]

..............Wrap some '0' steel wool around a worn bristle brush. Dunk in most any bore cleaner and go after it. The wool wrapped brush should be a good snug fit to begin with. Every once in awhile push a patch through to see what it looks like. When it becomes easy to push and pull in the barrel wrap some more steel wool on it. Before using the the 2nd brush try an application of a good copper remover and see what you get.

Years ago I got a $69 Turk Mauser and resorted to the above method after wearing out a few new bristle brushes without much progress. The steel wool will cut anything that was shot through the barrel but is much milder then the barrel steel and will cause no harm.

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

I have done that too but I got blasted here for mentioning it in a post! It did no harm to the rifle but sure helped pull the junk out of the barrell!

[Buckshot]

I have done that too but I got blasted here for mentioning it in a post! It did no harm to the rifle but sure helped pull the junk out of the barrell!

..............Well SHAME on them! :-) Guess all their rifles come new in the box with no 'background', eh?

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

[T-Man]

I bought a Spanish 95 in 7x57 that suffered from that very issue. I solved it by melting candle wax and plugging the chamber with it. Filled the barrel up with straight household ammonia and let it set for a couple days. Dumped it, took my handy little propane torch and melted the wax out. Then wrapped a 270 bore brush with 4ought steel wool, screwed it into a steel cleaning rod section. Chucked it up into my 1/2" drill, and went to work....very slowly and carefully. Changing the steel wool every 30 seconds of run time. Finally, got out the Ed's Red and some heavy flannel patches. A while later, I had am extremely clean bore and nice lands and grooves. It goes without saying that one can ruin a barrel really quick with impatience.

[twc1964]

Well, looks like i have several options to try, lol. thsnks for the replies folks.

[Multigunner]

To make a chamber plug for a .303 I used a 45 ACP case as a cookie cutter and cut a thick disc from a large rubber eraser.

I also used 0000 Steel Wool wrapped around a patch, but loosely, not to scrubb the bore but to break up whatever metal fouling was softened by the copper solvent I was using. I think I was using Sweets at the time, but I've used other strong ammonia based copper solvents as well.

Rather than fill the entire bore I poured it around the rod to several inches above the chamber, the patch being already pushed all the way down to the chamber.
I then slowly pulled the rod up to just below the muzzle and slowly pushed it back down. I repeated this about once every half hour keeping the bore wet with solvent the whole time.
After doing this a few times the solvent pours out looking like burnt crankcase oil.
Wipe out the residue and repeat till you see that you've gotten most of the worst out then finish up by cleaning normally. Whatever you didn't get will come out after a few range sessions and cleaning while the barrel is still warm.


You should never let the solvent dry or sit undisturbed for long, otherwise a tide line will form with air reaching the interface and possibly causing a ring of corrosion.

I've also used the fill it to the muzzle method, but my method allows me to break up the worst deposits better without hard scrubbing.

[nekshot]

Maybe I should reconsider my wrapping scouring pad (from the kitchen) around old bore brushes? Sure gets the junk out!

[leadman]

I have been using Purple Power soap from the auto section of WalMart. About $11 for 2 1/2 gallons! I have a coffee can I fill 1/2 with this and stick the muzzle in it and use a stainless brush from the chamber end and pump it up and down. The crud really comes out this way. You can let the soap set in the barrel for 15 minutes or so if needed. This is an alkali soap so it will degrease it and it will rust if not oiled. I usually use Hoppe's #9 to finish up. Do not get it on anodized parts either as it tends to remove it. Found this out cleaning a shotgun that was real nasty.

[Multigunner]

Maybe I should reconsider my wrapping scouring pad (from the kitchen) around old bore brushes? Sure gets the junk out!
Don't use the cheap copper pads, they aren't really copper just copper plated steel.

Dacron hair pad such as used in upholstery and saddle repair is the best and safest bore scrubber I've used. I had several partial sheets of this stuff, still have some left.

If you use any type of metal wool use only 0000 steel wool. The steel of this grade is softer than bore steel. Bronze or copper wool reacts to the solvent, eating up the wool faster than the fouling.

[T-Man]

No doubt...I love that purple stuff, but am scared to death to get it anywhere near my guns after a similar experience...

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Here's an effective method that will work and work well. I've never failed to clean a bore of all carbon and copper using the following methods.

1. Mix up a batch of Ed's Red per online instructions you googled. Save your money and don't use the Lanolin.

2. Soak a patch to dripping, run down bore. Let sit for a while.

3. Hit with a scrub brush several times.

4. Repeat soaked patch, then a couple dry patches to get a bunch of crud out.

5. Make home made electric bore cleaner with a cheap flash light, some 12-14 gauge wire (black and red) and two alligator clips. Google home made electronic bore cleaner to get instructions to build. Buy a gallon of industrial strength ammonia from Ace Hardware or local outfit that sells it. Buy a length of 1/8 or thinner steel rod (approximately 30 inches long) and some head shrink. Starting at one end, place 1" long sections of the heat shrink "doubled up" along the length to keep the rod from touching the inside of the barrel.

Note: Rifle should be stripped of wood stocks during the following operation.

6. Plug chamber end of barrel with rubber plug from Ace Hardware. Place partially insulated rod into rifle bore. Clip flash light to rifle metal and to metal rod. Add enough ammonia to bore to fill up to the muzzle. Turn flash light on. Note bubbles starting in ammonia. Wait approximately 45 minutes or until ammonia stops fizzing.

7. Remove flash light from rifle. Take rifle to bathroom along with five gallon bucket. Remove rod and place in bucket. Invert rifle and pour ammonia into toilet. Remove rubber chamber plug only when muzzle is pointed into toilet. Note blue copper color of sludgy liquid coming from bore. Rinse bore thoroughly using as hot a water as you have.

8. Run several dry patches down bore to soak up any remaining water. Dry exterior of barrel and action as needed. Repeat Ed's Red method above to clean next layer of carbon if needed or just to insure barrel is clean of water and lubricated.

Repeat cycles of two types of cleaning until all layers of carbon and copper are cleaned out. This method is effective and if done per instructions, will not damage bore in any way.

Hope this helps,