Is my Mosin with corroded barrel useless? (Pics)

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Is my Mosin with corroded barrel useless? (Pics)

Posted: 10/2/2011 10:21:55 AM EDT

I bought a Mosin Nagant about 8 months ago and have shot it maybe twice.

Clearly, I forgot to clean it after the last time I took it out, as looking the barrel now shows a dark, corroded bore.

It was never a bright bore, I bought it because it was cheap and in decent, cosmolined condition.

Is it now useless because I forgot to clean it?

Or will it still be OK for plinking?

Any thoughts?

Posted: 10/2/2011 10:32:00 AM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:
I bought a Mosin Nagant about 8 months ago and have shot it maybe twice.

Clearly, I forgot to clean it after the last time I took it out, as looking the barrel now shows a dark, corroded bore.

It was never a bright bore, I bought it because it was cheap and in decent, cosmolined condition.

Is it now useless because I forgot to clean it?

Or will it still be OK for plinking?

Any thoughts?

it is hard to tell without seeing the bore

Posted: 10/2/2011 11:03:27 AM EDT

[#2]

Why not clean, as best you can, shoot it and see if it hits anything.

Posted: 10/2/2011 11:07:43 AM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
Why not clean, as best you can, shoot it and see if it hits anything.

This. Clean it and give it a shot. It's probably not the first time it's been neglected.

Posted: 10/2/2011 11:13:38 AM EDT

[#4]

These are the best pictures of the bore I can get at the moment.

That pitting you see didnt used to be there, although dark it used to be a very smooth bore. Also that pitting on the crown didnt used to be there.

I'd rather find out now if its a lost cause than going out and shooting ammo and finding out if its a lost cause...If thats the case I'll just buy another Mosin

Posted: 10/2/2011 11:39:07 AM EDT

[#5]

Clean it as best as possible.

It will shoot in the cardinal direction you point it. Use it for plinking. You weren't going to use a mosin for benchrest anyway.

Posted: 10/2/2011 11:46:08 AM EDT

[#6]

Clean it and shoot it. Then look at it again.

Posted: 10/2/2011 12:07:06 PM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
Clean it and shoot it. Then look at it again.

This.

Posted: 10/2/2011 12:11:19 PM EDT

[#8]

The pictures above are after a overnight soak in CLP, going through two brass brushes and about 30 patches.

Not sure its going to get any cleaner, but I may well shoot it and see how it fares...

Posted: 10/2/2011 1:15:29 PM EDT

[#9]

Stainless steel 30 cal bore brush and some Kroil.

A rough Mosin bore will eat a copper brush in no time... its best to just step up to a SS one that will last a long time and actually do some cleaning. Most Mosins with ugly bores will still shoot good but will foul and get very hot easily and no matter how much you clean you will never get all the corrosive salts out of the pits etc so it is a good Idea to check them every couple of weeks for rust esp if you live in a humid area..

Posted: 10/2/2011 1:19:16 PM EDT

[#10]

I've seen barrels WAYYYYY worse...bbl's that looked like 10 miles of bad road on old totally beat Korean War Garands, and they shot 4" groups @ 100 yds. I've seen bad Enfields do the same.

Posted: 10/2/2011 1:26:18 PM EDT

[#11]

If you decide to sell it please let me know.

Posted: 10/2/2011 4:09:18 PM EDT

[#12]

Shoot it and find out. I had a Mosion with a very worn bore that shot better than my M1A at 100 yards. Talking close to 1 to 2" groups.

Posted: 10/2/2011 5:25:21 PM EDT

[#13]

I read somewhere, some time ago. To clean an old mossin barrel. Plug the barrel fill it with trans fluid let it sit for 24 hours.
I have never tried this.

Posted: 10/2/2011 5:47:32 PM EDT

[#14]

Yes you have mucked it up some.

After you shoot it some it will still likely shoot ok.

You can get the rust out by cleaning,shooting and/or polishing

The pits from the rust will still be there and will collect dirt and make it more work to clean

I hope this isn't some high end collectable Moisen but rather a $99 or $129 special.

Live and learn

Posted: 10/2/2011 6:11:35 PM EDT

[#15]

JB bore paste.

Posted: 10/2/2011 7:57:08 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:

I hope this isn't some high end collectable Moisen but rather a $99 or $129 special.

Live and learn

$89.

But yeah, I need to be less lazy and clean my guns when I get in from a session, I guess the Mosin just got forgotten about.

I'll be shooting it this week and will be thorough cleaning, see if it gets any better.

Yup, live and learn!

Posted: 10/2/2011 7:59:13 PM EDT

[#17]

CLP is NOT intended to clean corrosive salts.

When you are cleaning from the range you need to run warm soapy water down the barrel to dissolve the corrosive salts. Get yourself some Sweets 7.62 or Blue wonder and follow the directions to get the gunk and shit out of your bore.

I have one that looks totally washed out and holds 3-4 inches@ 100. See what it'll do.

Posted: 10/2/2011 8:16:04 PM EDT

[#18]

Clean it good and if it shoots lousy you might consider fire lapping it.

After a shooting corrosive primed ammo I rise the bore with cheap generic windex (with amonia) to kill the salts then rinse with WD-40 folowed.
When I get home I give it a good cleaning with Hoppes, G.I. bore solvent or Sweets.

Posted: 10/2/2011 8:24:15 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
I have one that looks totally washed out and holds 3-4 inches@ 100.

Good enough for hunting White Tails and on par with the average production sporting rifle 40 years ago

Posted: 10/3/2011 4:55:39 AM EDT

[#20]

Try to find some Shooters Choice, I found that stuff cleaned up after surplus ammo better than most of the other solvents out there. CLP wont do shit for cleaning weapons. Also have some Windex handy to spray on the bolt and down the bore right after you shoot. That will neutralize the corrosive elements of surplus 7.62. Then when you get home wipe down, punch the bore with a dry patch and then go at the bore with some Shooters Choice and you're good to go.

Posted: 10/3/2011 5:39:10 AM EDT

[#21]

i have seen and owned worse than that. clean it. shoot the piss out of it and drive on. they weren't really tack drivers to begin with and that won't make them significantly worse.

Posted: 10/3/2011 7:07:08 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
i have seen and owned worse than that. clean it. shoot the piss out of it and drive on. they weren't really tack drivers to begin with and that won't make them significantly worse.

This about sums it up.

Posted: 10/3/2011 8:03:24 AM EDT

[#23]

for the record CLP is SHIT for deep cleaning especially for crusty caked on carbon like i see in your pick. if you want clean get some bore paste and scrub the shit out of it. you will be dumping crud out of that bore like crazy. or just shoo the piss out of it and forget it. it won't hurt anything.

Posted: 10/3/2011 8:32:05 AM EDT

[#24]

With the quality of most x54r ammo, you won't notice a difference. Still a very shootable bore.

Eta: always clean after corrosive ammo.

Posted: 10/3/2011 8:34:52 AM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
Why not clean, as best you can, shoot it and see if it hits anything.

I had a Mosin and Enfield 20 years ago. Both with pepper bores. Both shot very well
with correctly sized cast bullets with copper base with 16 grains of Herculess 2400.

Posted: 10/3/2011 9:07:24 AM EDT

[#26]

http://www.sorbentsystems.com/smallpacketstable.html
I use the 1 gram packs on my rifles, with a couple rubber plugs I picked up at the local hardware store. I give the barrel a good cleaning, plug the muzzle, drop a desiccant pack in the chamber (takes some messing with it to get it to fit) and put a plug in the chamber to seal it up. On my Mini 14 I completely disassemble it when I put it away after hunting season, that way I don't have to worry about the bolt cramming the plug too far into the chamber (and also release the tension of the recoil spring, since i would have to lock the bolt back otherwise).

Posted: 10/3/2011 4:30:13 PM EDT

[#27]

My Chinese T53 I bought for $35.00 had the bore completely blocked with rust. A little work with a bronze brush, some CLP, Boiling water, more brushing with CLP lather, rinse, repeat, etc, and it looks OK and shoots great! Don't give up on a rifle because of a little pitting, sometimes its not as bad as it seems.

Posted: 10/3/2011 6:42:22 PM EDT

[#28]

M1917 is about that bad and though its very ammo picky, it can shoot very well. I suspect that the reciever-stock fit is more critical in Mosins for accuracy than bore condition, in most cases.

Posted: 10/6/2011 8:19:09 PM EDT

[#29]

I'd put $100 on that rifle shooting just as good as before just by loading it and shooting it. It's got rifling and it wasn't a finely tuned precision instrument before the rust. If you run a few patches of brasso through it and then thoroughly clean with water it will probably look brighter and display less perfections than before you bought it. I cleaned up an old rifle I thought I ruined with Brasso and went from sewer pipe to bright and shiny without damaging anything. don't sweat it.

Posted: 10/7/2011 8:36:00 AM EDT

[#30]

Electrolysis Bore Cleaning

Made a thread about it when I had a rusty M91/30 bore.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_14/287356_How_the_heck_do_I_get_a_rusty_bore_clean__RESOLVED.html

Posted: 10/8/2011 4:55:57 AM EDT

[#31]

Well, I took it out and shot it, then immediately afterwards put windex down the bore, brought it home, ran a couple brushes through it, and something like 40 patches (until it ran clean).

Then looked down the barrel and its sparkly!!

I think the years of accumulated crud before I owned it had saved the bore from corrosion because there is no pitting.

Thanks for the advice guys, I really appreciate it!!!

Posted: 10/8/2011 9:10:29 AM EDT

[#32]

Quoted:

Well, I took it out and shot it, then immediately afterwards put windex down the bore, brought it home, ran a couple brushes through it, and something like 40 patches (until it ran clean).

Then looked down the barrel and its sparkly!!

I think the years of accumulated crud before I owned it had saved the bore from corrosion because there is no pitting.

Thanks for the advice guys, I really appreciate it!!!

Awesome!

Posted: 10/8/2011 9:32:33 AM EDT

[#33]

Glad to hear it worked out. I've learned not to judge what I'm seeing in a bore right away as looks can be very deceiving.

Posted: 10/8/2011 9:49:52 AM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:
Clean it and shoot it. Then look at it again.

This. You'd be suprised what a copper lap will do at 46,000 CUP.

If the pits are bad enough, the copper will fill some of the voids and likely your rifle will shoot like crap until then.

ETA- Now that I read page 2 - Excellent.

i've seen that plating before.....my best bud got a Peter the Great Mosin and that damn thing had layers and layers of crud in it. It looked like a smoothbore when he got it. He went through about 6 bore brushes before it looked respectable. Shooting it and some JB bore paste really cleaned it up for him. That 100 years of crud I'm sure protected to bore to an extent. Obviously their cleaning regimen over there wasn't quite perfect.

Posted: 10/9/2011 7:29:38 AM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:
I bought a Mosin Nagant about 8 months ago and have shot it maybe twice.

Clearly, I forgot to clean it after the last time I took it out, as looking the barrel now shows a dark, corroded bore.

It was never a bright bore, I bought it because it was cheap and in decent, cosmolined condition.

Is it now useless because I forgot to clean it?

Or will it still be OK for plinking?

Any thoughts?

Obviously, you need to get out and shoot it more then you'll be able to answer your own question.

Posted: 10/23/2011 5:59:18 PM EDT

[#36]

Wow. what a story. Just got an M44 at an auction and took the bolt out....rust can be measured for depth in the barrel. I can see rifling in there. So I am trying a 24hr. soak with JB blaster penetrating rusted nut loosening stuff. The barrel filled up after plugging muzzle with a plastic bag piece wrapped around a golf tee. Hit it with a brick to set in in the muzzle (hammer). Took about a half of a spray can to fill the bore. We'll see tomorrow if the copper bore brush can hold up... I have 3 for the occasion. Degunked the bolt with brake cleaner. That went well. Re lube when done with the barrel. Wish me luck.

Posted: 10/24/2011 4:05:56 PM EDT

[#37]

Check the chamber for major rust/pitting.

Fire some modern soft brass cases through it and check for any bulges/deforming. If the chamber is severely pitted then it should be a wall hanger IMO.

As far as the barrel, just let scrub it with Sweets until the blue is gone.

Posted: 10/24/2011 7:27:03 PM EDT

[#38]

I used to be big into buying junk milsurps for little money, cleaning them, bringing them back to life and reselling them.
I have had mausers with so called rusted out sewer pipe barrels that I brought back to life with a simple solution. An old timer who collected milsurps told me to use a 50/50 mix of peroxide and vinegar. It costs pennies compared to the name brand stuff being marketed.
Plug the barrel and let it soak for awhile. Try overnight then clean with brushes then patches. If its not totally cleaned let it soak longer, maybe two days or three.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Is my Mosin with corroded barrel useless? (Pics)

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