Milsurp Bore Conditions?

[mlehtovaara]

I recently bought a Mosin M44 and when I got it the bore was black and full of crap, and I was horrified.

After the dust settled and I got it all cleaned up I found a still shiny, but what I have been referring to as a pitted bore.

Now I had a friend tell me my bore was very good, and that rifles this old usually have bores that look like mine.

He referred to it as Frosted.

Like I said, it isn't dark at all, and there is no deep pitting more like an even rougher texture to the bore, while still having sharp rifling, and shines when a light is put in the chamber.

This is the first Milsurp I have ever bought(aside from an unissued sks) and am only used to seeing mint factory new bores, so I don't know what to think.

Thanks
Mark

 

[mlehtovaara]

This is a pic I found on the net. Mine looks about the same, but without the big pit, or scratch, whatever that is.

 

[y2k]

looks alright.

 

[davemccarthy707]

Looks fine to me. How does it shoot?

 

[cosmic]

A bore can display frosting, and still be low mileage. It only takes one corrosive round to compromise a mirror bore. Signs of higher mileage would be rounding of the leading edge of the rifling.
Looks like you have a low mileage bore. You will find that is shines up a bit with shooting. Dont get too concerned about getting it spotless between firing rounds...

 

[lanshoka]

This is a pic I found on the net. Mine looks about the same, but without the big pit, or scratch, whatever that is.

The bore in that picture is in excellent condition except for that spot you mention. I bought 18 M91/30's this year and only one had a frosted bore. Another was corroded in the grooves badly and I sent that one back for an exchange. The others were all in new condition. The frosted bore looks like it has an evenly dispersed light corrosion or pitting throughout the entire length.

About 12 years ago I bought for $60 what I thought was an unissued Finnish M91 until I inspected the bore. It was full of hardened debris and looked like a sewer pipe until I put the Sweet's 7.62 bore cleaner to work and that made it shine like a mirror. Most of the crud was just accumulated dust and oil.

In 1997 I bought a complete externally near mint Hungarian 91/30 sniper at the Ancaster Show that had a so-so bore. I took hours cleaning it with the Sweet's and the blue stuff just kept pouring out of it. When it was all finished the bore was actually in excellent shape with no pitting or frosting at all.

 

[svt1940]

I recently bought a Mosin M44 and when I got it the bore was black and full of crap, and I was horrified.

After the dust settled and I got it all cleaned up I found a still shiny, but what I have been referring to as a pitted bore.

Now I had a friend tell me my bore was very good, and that rifles this old usually have bores that look like mine.

He referred to it as Frosted.

Like I said, it isn't dark at all, and there is no deep pitting more like an even rougher texture to the bore, while still having sharp rifling, and shines when a light is put in the chamber.

This is the first Milsurp I have ever bought(aside from an unissued sks) and am only used to seeing mint factory new bores, so I don't know what to think.

Thanks
Mark

A post i make fews months ago about bore description vs condition,with pics. Maybe could be helpfull.
Jocelyn

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...ighlight=milsurp+caveat+bore+condition&page=5

 

[Hawkshadow]

If all you are used to seeing is brand-new factory bores, or chrome-lined sks bores then a standard milsurp bore will look somewhat sub-par. Keep in mind that these rifles fought a war before they arrived at your doorstep and all kinds of crap gets stuck in the bore which will leach out for eternity. If there isn't obvious corrosion and pitting, and your rifling isn't worn, you're set with a good-quality milsurp bore.

Check out Jocelyn's post, it's a good quick reference for understanding the difference in bore conditions.

Shoot it, Love it.

 

[mac100]

I recently bought a M! Garand and had the same thing as what your describing. I scrubbed the bore and wore out 3 brushes and no matter how many patches I put through it, I could not get one that was clean, it would always be a light blue color from the copper. The lands and grooves look deep and there is frosting to it. I was alittle dissapointed in the conition of it but it is expected from a gun this old.
When I shot some reloads at the range with it, I was not dissappointed. It was just as accurate as my M14 that I had bedded.
So I am not bothered by it and am now shooting 168gr Moly's

 

[bigedp51]

I recently bought a M! Garand and had the same thing as what your describing. I scrubbed the bore and wore out 3 brushes and no matter how many patches I put through it, I could not get one that was clean, it would always be a light blue color from the copper. The lands and grooves look deep and there is frosting to it. I was alittle dissapointed in the conition of it but it is expected from a gun this old.
When I shot some reloads at the range with it, I was not dissappointed. It was just as accurate as my M14 that I had bedded.
So I am not bothered by it and am now shooting 168gr Moly's

A frosted bore is like sandpaper and will eat a copper bore brush and give false copper readings due to the copper residue from the bore brush.

Spare the rod and spoil your bore.........use foam bore cleaner.

Above a 1943 Maltby with a frosted and slightly pitted bore, the foam bore cleaner was allowed to soak overnight after firing 50 rounds. The bore was 100% cleaner with the foam than after hours of scrubbing the bore with a copper bore brush and using a strong copper cleaner solvent.

And you think a shiny new barrel is better? Look at a brand new button rifled bore that looks like a roller coaster inside.

Imagine firelapping a new barrel to help smooth the bore.

Now watch this video at the link below and see what a brand new Remington barrel looks like and then a custom hand lapped Lilja barrel. In reality a frosted milsurp barrel isn't that bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf9zZqn00CA

This is what you do not want to see in a milsurp barrel, the long term effects of not properly cleaning corrosive ammunition.

The British cure, at least two pints of boiling water down the bore.
(remember to save some for tea)

Used by the U.S. Military from small arms to tanks and field pieces.

Before

After

 

[mac100]

Excellent, I will try the foam next time.