I've got a Savage 24F (.223/12Ga.) that's sort of a kick-around gun. Take it with me whenever I head to the farm in case something needs shooting. I don't fire it much and usually only clean it once or twicea year. Ialwaysshoot my own handloads in it. Since new, the bores have always seemed a bit rough as it always took many patches to getthem clean, even after just a few shots....but never any sign of rust. When it wore a scopethe rifle bbl.was a MOA shooter...no less, no more.
Lent it to the neighbor for a coyote hunt and just put it back in the corner when he brought it back. He did shoot it some. After looking down the rifle barrel the other day, I decided to clean it.
What a mess [
]. The barrel was so full of rust I could hardly get a patch down it at first. After working at it with a bore brush, WD-40, Rem-Oil, and H#9 I finally got it cleaned up to where it 'LOOKS' & feelsas good as before...though I'm not kidding myself, there's probably plenty of pits in there. FWIW, the shotgun barrel, though a bit dirty, had no rust at all.
The questions are these:
1)If this thing was shot using cheap ammo with corrosive primers (possibly on the coyote hunt), how do I make sure I got the corrosive compound cleaned out? Is what I've done already sufficient, or do I have to swab it out with soapy water or some other solvent?
2)Is there any chance this thing will shoot as well as before? I plan to put the scope back on and find out but, if the barrel is pitted, it'll probably pick up fouling fasterand be harder to clean than ever.
BTW, I blame all this on my muzzleloaders. If Ihadn't becomeso addicted to them, I'd be taking better care of my CF arms.
Sorry I was so long-winded.
Bob
Barrel Rust-Savage 24
