Is my rifle knackered

[ArchieHicks]

Went stalking at the weekend, got home and cleaning the rifle as per usual; Patch with eliminator to begin then run dry patches through until clean and a little wipe over the crown with a rag, put it by the radiator to warm up then into the cabinet. Got it out the cabinet about 3 days later and noticed slight rust in the bore near the crown (photo attached), I haven’t had the chance yet to get it out and see if I should now start using pattern plates instead of targets. Is this the end of the world and my rifle is now a useless cabinet ornament, or am I worrying too much? What can I do to clean it (ie. Send half a box down the barrel or a good scrub with a brush?) and what can I do in future to avoid this? Go easy on my this is my first proper go at rifling, any help is appreciated.

 

[Utectok]

It’s fine

 

[Stevie/P]

That’s nothing to be worrying about first shot it’ll be gone go shooting

 

[HonestJohn]

That pitting didn’t happen overnight! More likely from leaving a moderator on in the cabinet

If it still groups well, what’s to worry about, worst case, get it shortened by 1/2” and re-crowned

That pitting, as said, has been there for a while, so if it shot well last time, it will do so again next time

 

[ArchieHicks]

That pitting didn’t happen overnight! More likely from leaving a moderator on in the cabinet

If it still groups well, what’s to worry about, worst case, get it shortened by 1/2” and re-crowned

That pitting, as said, has been there for a while, so if it shot well last time, it will do so again next time

I’ve always had it drilled into me about never putting it away with the mod on so I’m normally quite pedantic about that, the longest I can think I’ve left it on is maybe a couple hours after coming in while it was warming up, can’t imagine that would be enough time for corrosion to begin or am I mistaken?

 

[Utectok]

Get a bore scope then you can scare yourself **itless seeing cruddy barrels with bits missing, potholes, cratering and scrapes and that still shoot fine.

 

[Hunter300]

What oil are you using?
If you look into gun oil’s pros and cons Synthetic oil wins every time. If you haven’t yet, do yourself a favour and look into it
Kind regards

 

[Malxwal]

Eliminator has instructions on the bottle, which will lead to a more thorough cleaning and better likelihood of not developing anything more serious. Modern steel from almost any source requires a slightly more rigorous attention to detail in maintenance.

 

[HonestJohn]

I’ve always had it drilled into me about never putting it away with the mod on so I’m normally quite pedantic about that, the longest I can think I’ve left it on is maybe a couple hours after coming in while it was warming up, can’t imagine that would be enough time for corrosion to begin or am I mistaken?

If you left it on damp and some residue ran back in the barrel and then was left there, this can cause pitting. Always take mod off asap, or stand muzzle down on the mod whilst bringing back up to room temp.

As noted, it will likely shoot as it used to, but worst case get it slightly shortened and re-crowned, it’s a £50-£75 job unless someone pulls your pants down.

 

[Stevie/P]

Is it a Bergara

 

[HonestJohn]

Is it a Bergara

Ooohh, contentious

 

[VSS]

Went stalking at the weekend, got home and cleaning the rifle as per usual; Patch with eliminator to begin then run dry patches through until clean and a little wipe over the crown with a rag, put it by the radiator to warm up then into the cabinet. Got it out the cabinet about 3 days later and noticed slight rust in the bore near the crown (photo attached), I haven’t had the chance yet to get it out and see if I should now start using pattern plates instead of targets. Is this the end of the world and my rifle is now a useless cabinet ornament, or am I worrying too much? What can I do to clean it (ie. Send half a box down the barrel or a good scrub with a brush?) and what can I do in future to avoid this? Go easy on my this is my first proper go at rifling, any help is appreciated.View attachment 394165

You worry too much.

 

[Klenchblaize]

K

 

[ArchieHicks]

Is it a Bergara

Indeed

 

[Stevie/P]

Indeed

Seriously that tiny bit corrosion is nothing it won’t effect your accuracy just go shoot ya rifle.

 

[Long drag]

****ed, I'd say its worth about £300, can I have first refusal.

 

[Fair Hill]

View attachment 394168
K

Actually just cleaned my .308 3 days ago and the difference Autosol makes is unbelievable.

I'd forgotten how good it was, she needed a small bit of TLC so I gave her the works because she's worth it.

I was actually thinking of selling it to upgrade but after a couple of hours of getting it spotless and as smooth as sh*t to cycle and then thinking about how accurate it is I reckon Autosol saved me a grand and a half, low water.

 

[Selous]

The corrosion is in a bad place close to the end of the barrel. I had something similar which opened groups up to 2 inches plus at 100m. I had the barrel shortened and re threaded and it’s back to sub 1/2 inch groups.

 

[ruger77]

Temperature change can cause that

 

[HandB]

All my rifles are pre-owned and they all have pitting, some to a horrendous degree but they all shoot better than I can so if your rifle continues to shoot well then it's fine.