Help me help a rifle in need....

M

mdd

New member
No, I'm not asking you to send me less than the price of a cup of coffee to feed a needy rifle. :rolleyes: I do, however, have in my possession what was once a truly beautiful rifle. It is an older model remington 700 in 25-06. It has very nicely checkered & finished furniture, very attractive scroll work on the action and floor plate, and a nicely jeweled bolt. Problem is it has been neglected and allowed to develop surface rust on virtually all blued steel. Some of it wipes away with plain old rem-oil and elbow grease but most of it does not. What can I do to remove this rust without further compromising the finish? If nothing will do, I have a very competent gunsmith who would re-blue it for me. I am concerned though about losing the jeweling on the bolt and the scroll work in the process of buffing out the rust. I can post pictures if that would help narrow down the options.

Thanks,
Michael
 
M

mdd

New member
Snowy, crappy evening here in central KS so I mixed a drink and sat down with this 700. I've determined that it is in fact a BDL model (forgive me, ruger m77 MK II's are my forte) and with natman's suggestion of the 0000 steel wool and lots of gun oil, it seems to be cleaning up nicely. Obviously it will always wear the scars of it's neglect but overall I'm happy with the turnout. The scroll work on the receiver which I was concerned about is virtually perfect without a trace of rust left on it. The bolt won't be so lucky as the corrosion has left it's footprint possibly indelibly for the extent of my purposes. Short of having it re-jeweled, I'd say it's about as good as it will get although I'll probably mix another one and give it another go. I know excrement occurs but it's a shame to see a rifle this nice left unattended for too long. I need to get after this thing with some Q-tips and hoppe's 9. Damn thing is not only rusty but absolutely filthy. I guess I am too anal about my firearms; they are meticulously maintained and in immaculate condition. Perhaps that is not a good thing because, on occasion, I'm hesitant to use them under certain conditions in the field for concern of the rifle itself.
As for Remington BDL's...I like it. It's a very nice rifle and, with the raised cheek comb, seems to come to the shoulder very naturally & with perfect alignment on the line of sight. I don't know how it shoots yet or even what the rifling twist is to work up a proper load for it. If anyone is familiar with these enough to give me a twist rate, I would appreciate it.

More to come......
 
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