Rust in Bore Help 1903 A3 !

TX Hunter

New member
I am worried my Remington 1903 A3 has a strong Rifeling but I shined a flashlight down the muzzel and It has what looks like rust in the grooves near the muzzel. I have not fired corrosive amunition and It had an oiled patch run through it before storage. I ran a patch through the bore and It came out black, so I scrubbed It out with Shooters Choice, patched it till the patches came out clean, fired it three times. (it grouped tight) re cleaned it, shined the flashlight again and Its still there. What should I do ?
 

mehavey

New member
...patched it till the patches came out clean, fired it three times. (it grouped tight) ...

What should I do ?
Absolutely nothing. Keep it protected w/ BreakFree, WeaponShield or the like -- and don't mess with it further.
 

Malamute

New member
What you're seeing may be copper fouling, not rust. Copper looks orange-ish in a bore. Try a good copper removal cleaning, maybe using a special copper solvent, and follow their directions.
 

TX Hunter

New member
Mehavey

Curious why do You say this ? Is this active Rust or a discoloration ? When I remove the bolt and look through the Barrel into a light the bore looks shiney and the two groove Rifeling is very pronounced and new looking. But the discoloration has me worried.
 

TX Hunter

New member
Malimute

You may be right, when I scrubbed the bore yesterday afternoon with a new bore brush and Shooters choice, I got some bluish tinting on the cotton patches. I used a good one piece coated cleaning rod to protect the bore and cleaned from the breach going through a nice pile of patches, still have that rusty red color though. Its a 1943 barrel on an unmolested 1903 A3 Remington. (my favorite Rifle)
 

mehavey

New member
...new bore brush and Shooters choice, I got some bluish tinting on the cotton patches.... still have that rusty red color though.
You will always get some "bluish tinting" because the Shooter's Choice is eating a bit of the bore brush as you use it.
Hence the "tint" when you patch it out.

Shove a thoroughly sopping wet patch through the bore, and drop it out the muzzle. Let things just soak for 20 minutes
then scrub a dry patch through to see if the blue is still there.

But in the end -- if the rifle loves shooting the way it is -- well, don't fix it further. Just protect it.
 

tahunua001

New member
agree with malamute. sounds like copper fouling. unless your patches are coming out brown then I don't think it's rust.
 

TX Hunter

New member
Tahuna

No the first patch was black, then blue after shooting and brushing. It looked like surface rust in the groves, lands looked good . I figured it would have come out from cleaning and bullet friction. Now it just looks like oiled rust.
 

50 shooter

New member
I know most will have a heart attack about this but... try a stainless steel bore brush if its bothering you that bad. Get some Boretech Eliminator, its a surfectant and will lift carbon, copper....

Stainless brushes are softer then barrel steel and won't hurt them, let the barrel soak for about 15 mins, scrub and then patch it out.
 

tahunua001

New member
I know most will have a heart attack about this but... try a stainless steel bore brush if its bothering you that bad. Get some Boretech Eliminator, its a surfectant and will lift carbon, copper....

Stainless brushes are softer then barrel steel and won't hurt them, let the barrel soak for about 15 mins, scrub and then patch it out.
:eek: clutches left arm...:rolleyes:
 

TX Hunter

New member
Thats exactly what I am going to do, shoot it ocasionaly then clean It like a friend instructed me. I have been letting this fine Rifle waiste away in a Gun Cabinet, and for what so someone can make a buck off it after I am dead and gone. No Sir I will enjoy it and the that Someone Someday can have whats left. Thanks for all the help fellows I apreciate it.
 

robmkivseries70

New member
It's copper from the bullets or the bore brush.:D It's generally harmless and the rifle may shoot a bit better with it there. Don't sweat it!
 

HiBC

New member
Go easy.

I suggest you not use aggressive means to clean it.

A little copper wash hurts nothing.

The trick is "do no harm"

A LOT of harm has been done by "cleaning"

We went a long time with Hoppes #9,cloth patches,and an occasional bronze brush.

Now we have Bore Tec Eliminator,Wipe Out,etc.I think the Montana black nylon brushes work good with modern solvents.

For preservation,a light coat of RIG rust inhibitive grease is great in the bore,but develop a habit of always running a dry patch or two through the bore before shooting.

Grease in the bore can increase pressure or even act as an obstruction.
 

JD0x0

New member
It's most likely copper fouling. Use a product that is meant to deal with copper fouling. IF it is rust, which I doubt it is, just shoot it out and then make sure to clean and oil the bore to prevent it from happening again.
 

tahoe2

New member
Shoot it !!

I have a 1941 German M98k with a badly corroded and rusted barrel, (it wasn't cared for very well, before me). I shoots fantastic, I have put 3 shots into 1" and 5 into 2 @ 100 with iron sights (Mojo rear).
When I clean the barrel; the patches (after brushing) keep coming out dirty grey, I can run 20 patches and they all come out the same, I have even cleaned it with a hot barrel, same thing.
I gave up getting upset about it, it shoots so good, I just clean it and accept it.
Maybe the rifling is tighter cause of the corrosion! ha ha !
 

Ben Dover

New member
Unless it's actually pitting, a phosphor bronze brush, wrapped with bronze wool and wetted with light oil should remove it.

Since the A3 is a WW2 riflke, 0000 steel wool should also be safe.
 

Kolns

New member
Bore Rust Removal Success

To remove light rust from a Ruger Mini 30 stainless barrel bore I did the following
1. Cleaned barrel then de-greased
2. Cut a Scotch Brite red pad strip to fit into jag, about 3" long
3. Ran jag up and down barrel with short twisting strokes until pad was worn and very black
4. Repeated step 2 & 3 until rust was gone, took 5 times
5. Cleaned bore and chamber to remove Scotch Brite fragments w de greaser
6. Polished bore w Brasso
7. Degreased bore
8. Applied light coat of oil to bore

How rust formed is a mystery as I always carefully clean after firing and apply oil to bore afterwards
 
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