Pitted Barrel Maintenance

dickmills

Well-Known Member
Hi all,
Have this barrell on a .17HMR I purchased recently. Its a little pitted & I am worried about it rusting. Seems to be external only & not under stock or anything, whats the best way to remove/restore without damaging further.
Many thanksIMG_9639.webp
 

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Thanks that sounds the sort of thing I was thinking might work. Visually looks ok internally, the cheap cleaning rods I bought broke as soon as I offered it up to the barrel, so waiting on a new one to arrive. Seems to be shooting ok after a quick zero session, but didn’t want to go overboard until its had a clean
 
Soak the wire wool in oil before you start and go VERY lightly. That removes the raised surface rust but won’t do anything for pitting. As long as pits are filled with oil it’s not going anywhere. The alternative is painting/ cerracoat/ guncoat.
 
Thanks that sounds the sort of thing I was thinking might work. Visually looks ok internally, the cheap cleaning rods I bought broke as soon as I offered it up to the barrel, so waiting on a new one to arrive. Seems to be shooting ok after a quick zero session, but didn’t want to go overboard until its had a clean
Poor cleaning rods will ruin your barrel as soon as rust. Decent rods aren’t expensive. Can’t go wrong with Parker hale
 
Poor cleaning rods will ruin your barrel as soon as rust. Decent rods aren’t expensive. Can’t go wrong with Parker hale
It was in a Jack Pyke set I had for the shotguns. To be fair I don’t use them for the shotguns anymore as they are naff so should have know better. Once I have rodded it & given it a good check I was planning on bore snaking after an outing so as not over maintaining, but the thought of putting it away in the cabinet with zero maintenance makes me a bit itchy!
 
It was in a Jack Pyke set I had for the shotguns. To be fair I don’t use them for the shotguns anymore as they are naff so should have know better. Once I have rodded it & given it a good check I was planning on bore snaking after an outing so as not over maintaining, but the thought of putting it away in the cabinet with zero maintenance makes me a bit itchy!
Same here. I don't go in for deep cleaning every five minutes, but I do like to make sure my barrel has been pulled through 👍
 
Can’t do shjite about pitting unless you want to start investing in filling them, rebluing and or cerakoating. Polish with very fine wire wool and ballistol/other, carefully a few times with time left in between to let oil penetrate any rust and loosen it. Then keep oiled and live with the pitting.
 
Looking at your photo I’d say that your barrel has been painted as the surface finish is not like any bluing I’ve ever seen. My guess is that it’s got pitted in the past so has been cleaned up & painted (ceracote). If you start using wire wool on it don’t be surprised if you suddenly find you’ve removed the surface coating… if you want to try wire wool then I’d suggest you remove the barrelled action from the stock & test out a small area that is hidden when they are sat in the stock.
 
Looking at your photo I’d say that your barrel has been painted as the surface finish is not like any bluing I’ve ever seen. My guess is that it’s got pitted in the past so has been cleaned up & painted (ceracote). If you start using wire wool on it don’t be surprised if you suddenly find you’ve removed the surface coating… if you want to try wire wool then I’d suggest you remove the barrelled action from the stock & test out a small area that is hidden when they are sat in the stock.
Good idea thanks, will do a test area
 
As Donkey Basher points out, that doesn’t look like blueing - more some kind of weatherproof finish like Cerakote that’s been compromised and pitted as a result. If the rifle is going to be an all weather knockabout tool I’d be tempted to leave it well alone if it shoots well. Obviously don’t put it away wet or damp and you should be OK. As for 17 HMR barrel cleaning, in my experience they tend to fall into two camps: either they need to be clean to group or they literally thrive on being filthy so if you do clean it (as you should do if it’s a new rifle that seemingly hasn’t been well looked after externally) accept that it may take a while to settle down grouping wise afterwards.
 
As Donkey Basher points out, that doesn’t look like blueing - more some kind of weatherproof finish like Cerakote that’s been compromised and pitted as a result. If the rifle is going to be an all weather knockabout tool I’d be tempted to leave it well alone if it shoots well. Obviously don’t put it away wet or damp and you should be OK. As for 17 HMR barrel cleaning, in my experience they tend to fall into two camps: either they need to be clean to group or they literally thrive on being filthy so if you do clean it (as you should do if it’s a new rifle that seemingly hasn’t been well looked after externally) accept that it may take a while to settle down grouping wise afterwards.
Good to know thanks, will be interested to see how it fairs after a clean. Cheers
 
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