rough / pitted bbl - polishing?

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farshot

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I have a nice old pre / WWII mauser 98 (one nazi marking) in 9.3 x 57 with a nice slim sporter bbl and stock and side mount. I like it a lot.

But the bbl is rough, micro-pitted and dark. I cleaned and scubbed with brushes and all sorts of solvents for weeks - the lands are relatively good - with darker grooves.

i shot it with good results about 3/4" at 50 yds (hey - its winter here)

i would be satisfied at this point - but when i go to clean it after 10 rounds (with Speer 270 gr) it is REALLY dirty, i assume from the roughness collecting the residue -- again that is ok, but when i clean with patches I notice that lint from the patches hang up on the lands. So a good rifle friend says that being so rough that the gilding will build up and eventually cause high pressures unless I clean often.

Is there a way / should I - polish with fine valve grinding compound or something else to get rid of some of this roughness. Or is it this way it is for good?

I really dont want to change out the bbl cause thats the charm of the rifle.
 
Don't bother cleaning it until the groups open up. If you get to the point of over pressure by having a barrel that is too fouled, chances are you will notice you are not hitting that target anymore.
 
Well - Any polishing will be done at the expense of dimensionality... FWIW, the bore can still be relatively low mileage - its just seen the effects of corrosive ammo.
I wouldnt be too worried about it - particularly if it shoots well. And there is no need to be pre-occupied about keeping it clean, as Maynard said
 
J B Bore cleaning paste will remove fouling (that's what is is designed to do) but it does not smooth out steel ... it really has no effect on steel as a polishing agent.

Anything you do to smooth out the rifling at this stage in it's life will probably decrease accuracy.

I would simply clean it every 40 rounds or so if it needs it...
 
Use a boresnake. Quick, easy and no lint to catch in the barrel. I carry mine with me no matter what I shoot, and give it a pull through every so often. At home after shooting give it copper fouling solvent with patches.

Rob
 
stovepipe699 said:
Use a boresnake. Quick, easy and no lint to catch in the barrel. I carry mine with me no matter what I shoot, and give it a pull through every so often. At home after shooting give it copper fouling solvent with patches.

Rob
Click to expand...

I often wonder how much the rifling and crown are worn by pulling a dirty flexible "pull through" off center out the muzzle?

Anybody else ever have that thought?
 
thanks for the input -- i believe i will just clean it real good with JB's and keep shooting it as is -- not like it will shoot hundreds of rounds or anything. And I agree that if the pressures start getting too hi, I should notice it by accuracy.

BTW - I agree with you Guntech -- I never liked pull thoughs -- if i have to once in a while or for shotguns - fine , put eben in the field i prefer a breakdown rod for pushing - and it can be used to push out a stuck case (hopefully) if the need arises (esp with break action rifles that may slip a rimless cartidge)

I have sen and read where years of pull thru has worn away the edge of military service rifles -- in the mud and grit of the field , I can see that.
 
At the risk of turning this into a highjack-
I tend to agree with Dennis....although carefully pulling a boresnake straight out may prevent wear to the muzzle, I tend to view them as a all-purpose, shortcut tool, which does several things, but none of them really well.
In my view, if you wanna run a brush, use a rod and brush. Wanna run a patch, run a rod and patch...and throw it away....I question the wisdom in washing a snake and using it over many times.
I know that many, for their own reasons, believe cleaning to be over rated, and perhaps it is for some firearms, but I want mine CLEAN, and I think proper cleaning with the right equipment is the way to do it.

My take only.
 
If it was MY barrel, I would wrap some steel wool around abrush and charge it with Clover compound (400 grit would be good) and scrub that barrel for about 50 strokes. This won't make any real dimensional change but it will knock off the rough edges. It should be enough to make it clean up better.
I've done this often and it has worked out for me but then, it's not mine! Regards, Bill.
 
guntech said:
I often wonder how much the rifling and crown are worn by pulling a dirty flexible "pull through" off center out the muzzle?

Anybody else ever have that thought?
Click to expand...

I've used two of them since they first came along. A .22 and .30 cal size.
I keep them clean , and do my best to do a straight pull.
No noticeable wear on the guns they are used on. Used properly they are an excellent tool. Watching and LISTENING to guys at the range rubbing aluminum and fiberglass rods against the barrels can't be any better.....:)
 
tonyg said:
I've used two of them since they first came along. A .22 and .30 cal size.
I keep them clean , and do my best to do a straight pull.
No noticeable wear on the guns they are used on. Used properly they are an excellent tool. Watching and LISTENING to guys at the range rubbing aluminum and fiberglass rods against the barrels can't be any better.....:)
Click to expand...

Anyone into accuracy uses a good quality bore guide in the action and a quality stiff rod... I don't believe there is a Benchrest Shooter in the world who would pull anything out the muzzle as pulls throughs have to be done...

Not to say that pull throughs don't satisfy a lot of shooters... but it isn't good for your crown.
 
guntech said:
Anyone into accuracy uses a good quality bore guide in the action and a quality stiff rod... I don't believe there is a Benchrest Shooter in the world who would pull anything out the muzzle...........
Click to expand...


Yup, you'd be laughed right out of the competition (unless you were kicking butt) but still lot's of people would wonder why you are not doing the same thing as everyone else....
I use boresnakes as one more tool in the cleaning kit and I pull them straight through.....but I'm pretty good with my hands.
Having said that it is hard to deny that a good rod with a guide is the safest way to avoid dammage and achieve repeatability for most people!:)

I find boresnakes especially good for shotgun barrels.....
 
guntech said:
Anyone into accuracy uses a good quality bore guide in the action and a quality stiff rod... I don't believe there is a Benchrest Shooter in the world who would pull anything out the muzzle as pulls throughs have to be done...

Not to say that pull throughs don't satisfy a lot of shooters... but it isn't good for your crown.
Click to expand...

Not to be a smart ass guys, just curious. How would a fabric material like a Boresnake damage your crown? I know that using a cleaning rod crown first is diffinetly a no no, but a piece of fabric? Having said that, I have a Boresnake that I bought just to try, and when you run it through the bore it may look clean, but when you run a brush and a patch through, the patch comes out black. So I don't think they are very good anyway.
 
It's not the fabric but the abrasive carbon and primer residue it picks up which can do damage (after a considerable length of time mind you). Regards, Bill
 
I don't use mine instead of proper cleaning, I use it for convenience in between, when it's not convenient to carry around a cleaning kit. Since we're off topic anyway, how do you avoid damaging the rifling and crown with your cleaning rod?
 
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