Rust in the bore?

[P-35]

As I was cleaning a new rifle I just bought I shined a strong light, Streamlight flashlight, into the muzzle and noticed red (rust?) streaks next to the grooves in the barrel. Shining a light from the breech end doesn't show it. This stuff won't clean out with normal cleaning and patches come out clean but I think it's rust. I've noticed this same thing on other barrels, pistols etc. and even on new guns on the shelf in stores.

Is this rusting normal and what, if anything, can be done about it now that it's there? Anyone else notice this?

Is this going to really mess up accuracy? Seems unfair since this is on brand new guns.

 

[Herodotus]

Rust does come out. It will come out all at once with an Outer's Foul Out electrolytic system and come out slowly with normal cleaning. Brushing certainly helps to speed this up. Rust shows up as a brownish deposit on your cleaning rags. It tends to make a bore look "dark", not red.
The stuff you are seeing may be copper fouling. To my eye, it usally looks like what I would call "coopery" streaks. People are very imprecise in their discriptions of color as it is not a verbal phenomena. It comes out the same as noted for rust above, but you need to be using a cleaning solvent made to take it out, which types are not usually good to leave in the bore for a long time. Most rifles have these streaks, as it hard to get the bore truely clean of them and they have little or no effect on performance unless it really gets bad.

 

[Rainbow Six]

If you don't mind using a little JB bore paste, a patch soaked with Break Free CLP and a light coating of JB will remove most, if not all of it in about 50 passes or so. I have used this combo to remove what you are describing.

I had similar fouling in a new rifle bore and thought it was copper from the test firing at the factory. I tried Shooter's Choice Copper Solvent and it didn't even touch it. Didn't have any blue-green on the first patch through after five minutes of soak with the copper solvent. If SC copper solvent don't pull at least some of it up and pull blue-green on the first patch, it definitely ain't copper. That stuff is vicious on copper fouling.

I don't know what it is in the barrel. I don't think it is rust, but then again it ain't copper either. Anyone else care to take a stab at telling us what this stuff really is?

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The Glock freak formerly known as Chris...

 

[Rainbow Six]

Just curious, P-35, was it a Remington rifle that you saw this in? I've seen it in two Remingtons. Maybe it's something that Remington puts in the barrels?? I think I'll call Remington next week and see what they say it is.


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The Glock freak formerly known as Chris...

 

[P-35]

Rainbow-Six, the rifle is a Steyr, however, after noticing this I went to the local gun store and I noticed the same thing in the barrels of Remington, Winchester and Marlin rifles. Also, in the barrels of Sig and HK handguns.

All of the above guns were new. To me it looks like an orange/coppery streak running along the edge of the groove (almost all of them) although there is some in the lands.

I hate to resort to the electrolytic foul-out on new guns, plus I can't afford one right now. Can't afford a Hawk-Eye bore scope either. As I mentioned, the bores are bright and shiny when held up to the light and looking from the breech end. This stuff really only shows up when shining a strong light directly onto the side of the rifling from the muzzle end.

I'd be curious to hear what Remington has to say, please keep us posted Rainbow-Six. Anyone have recommendations as to a cleaner for taking out rust? I've tried RB-17.

 

[Rainbow Six]

P-35,

The CLP/JB combo I mentioned above works well for removing light bore rust...*IF* you don't mind a light abrasive. It also works well for removing light surface rust on the exterior finish of some guns.

If you are still referring to the copper looking smearing I'd hold off until we find out exactly what it is. I'll try Remington tomorrow (holiday though) or Tuesday and let you know something.

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The Glock freak formerly known as Chris...