Stainless Steel Barrel Care

jpot17 · 01-05-2006, 05:38 PM

i just got a rifle with a stainless steel barrel this fall and now that hunting season is over i was wondering what the best way to store it would be. i dont know if there is anything special i should put on the barrel so that it doesnt rust or corrode.

also it was only shot about 7 times, should i still take it apart and thoroughly clean it?

thanks for yalls time.

Duckbutter48 · 01-05-2006, 05:54 PM

IF you dont have a safe orgun cabinetthen just keep it in a dry place. Dontput it in a case and justleave it somewhere. Sometimes the cases can hold moisture whichcan lead to problems.

I always take my guns apart and wipe them down after every season. Even a gun thats in my safe and doesnt get used. I actually enjoy cleaning\oiling the guns. I wouldnt treat the stainless barrel any different then a blued barrel in how ofter you clean or lube the gun. Its usually better to put the oil(or whateveryou use) on a cloth then apply it to the gun, instead of spraying it on and it not get it all wiped off.

There are many oils that work fine. Remoil is pretty cheap and easy to obtain(Walmart--Kmart) and seems to work good. Any lube thats designed for firearms will prob work just fine. Balistol is another good one and it even smells good.

Soilarch · 01-05-2006, 06:01 PM

No expert here but these are my thoughts:

Wipe it down regular gun oil (this takes what? 1 minute) Get the inside of the barrel clean before it sits awhile. Take the thing apart and give it a thorough cleaning...not because it's necessary but because 1. It can't hurt (just don't over oil things so that it get gummed up later) 2. Its good to "get to know your rifle" (however corny that may sound) and three because, again, this will take what? 20 minutes tops. I see it this way...once a year making a 1/2hour investment of time on a product/tool/heirloom that you invested 500+ maybe 1000+ dollars in doesn't sound foolish at all. As to the question about "special" care for stainless. I'm not aware of any special treatment needed.

trailer · 01-05-2006, 08:44 PM

Just apply a little bit of oil after cleaning the rifle and it should be good. I don"™t do anything special for my S/S barrels...

FastShootingCarts · 01-05-2006, 10:12 PM

I own a SS Winchester M70 7mm mag.(Walnut stock) and store it in a gun safe. A thin wipe of gun oil on the outside of barrel is all that's needed. Not much to care for on the outside of a SS barrel.

Clean the inside of barrel as usual and light oil patch through it and store it.

skeeter 7MM · 01-05-2006, 11:37 PM

Like mentioned treat it like any blued barrel...clean, thin layer of oil on inner/outer and make sure it is stored in a dry area out of a case.

Roskoe · 01-06-2006, 12:33 PM

On a stainless steel barrel, it is particularly important to use a bore guide and to have quality one piece cleaning rod - like a Dewey. It is also more important to wipe off the cleaning rod during the process frequently, so that dirty solvent isn't rubbing between the rod and the barrel as the rod flexes. For some reason, stainless steel barrels can be ruined a lot quicker than chrome moly barrels if the cleaning process is lax. NEVER use a stainless steel brush on a stainless steel barrel.

When you are finished, you should be able to leavethe barrelwet with shooter's choiceovernight without any blue showing up on the patch. I usually store the barrel with a light coating of Break Free on it - hang a tag on the barrel that says "Oiled Bore" so I don't forget to run a couple patches wet with Shooter's Choice through the barrel before taking it out to shoot again.

Solitary Man · 01-06-2006, 03:27 PM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Roskoe

I usually store the barrel with a light coating of Break Free on it - hang a tag on the barrel that says "Oiled Bore" so I don't forget to run a couple patches wet with Shooter's Choice through the barrel before taking it out to shoot again.

Iunderstand notshootingthrough a barrel that possibly has excess oil in it (I've seen what that can do), butare you saying you wet the bore with Shooter's Choiceand then shoot it while it's still wet? Or do you dry patch the Shooter's Choice out before shooting it? Personally I run two dry patches through the bore before shooting any rifle to make sure there's no obtructions, especially excess oil.

To the original poster, I've got a couple of stainless barreled rifles and I just treat them the same as all my others. Of course, I use the proper equipment (bore guides, one piece rods, etc...) withboth.