I ran into another hunter new to ML hunting with a fairly new TC Triumph and the end of the barrel looked kind of funny. It was a camo finish and about 8" of the business end of the barrel had what looked like just beige primer paint. I asked what happened and he said while cleaning he noticed some residue on the end of the barrel so he put some of the cleaning solvent on a rag and wiped the barrel. He was shocked to see the factory paint just wipe off. I asked what type of solvent he used and said it was what was suggested by the gun shop where he bought the gun but couldn't remember the brand. I told him to check the container and see if there are any warnings about applications on either painted or plastic surfaces. He was sick about it and I told him to either repaint the barrel or perhaps in the off season send back to TC for a repair. I told him I always wipe down my guns after barrel cleaning but use a rag sprayed with gun oil not a barrel solvent then again with a silicone rag. They go into a climate controlled safe. Anyone have any input on this in case I see him again.

Any time you have a camo barrel,keep solvents off it. It sounds like tc didn't use a solvent resistant clear or the solvent was just harsh enough to eat through.

The only camo barrel I own is a Benelli SBE used for turkey and always figured the finish was anodized or heat treated and more than just a painted product. The solvents I use to clean a shotgun are different that probably what that guy used for his ML. I would be curious to find out what he used. If I see him again I'll ask. Both of my ML are TC and both have blued barrels and wood stocks. I felt bad for him because it is a nice gun. If it were mine I would send it in for repair.

A lot of camo is put on by dipping, but still needs a clear coat to protect it.

I don't think TC is known for durable camo.

Ever since S&W took over TC isn't known for much of any damn thing anymore. That place is falling apart. I've been reading more and more reports on shoddy craftsmanship from TC for the past 3 or so years now. I think my daughter has her head set on getting a new TC Impact so I guess I will be going along with her to check the thing over well before she buys it. Hopefully S&W will take their head out of their butts and start realizing they are destroying the reputation of one of the finest gun makers in the production line.

I never liked camo painted anything to be honest. Never saw the need for it. I sold the only camo rifle I had. But hunted with blued and stainless and never once saw a critter bolt from either of them. I always thought it a gimmick to sell something at a more expensive price.

it is a shame about the man's rifle though. I think I would just wipe it all off and if he didn't like it, paint it flat black and learn a lesson. Or he could maybe blue the thing.

Same thing happened to Marlin when Remington bought them. It made the price of pre-Rem Marlins go up.

Yeah Marlin was just really getting back to making high quality rifles before the Rem buyout. They had problems from 1964 to around 1990 or so then they started making good rifles again. Then along comes Freedom Group to screw things up again! I have all together 7 Marlin rifles with 5 of them pre 64 and the other 2 are from 94 and 96 I believe.

I bought my PH and all but one or 2 barrels (can't remember what year I bought the .338fed barrel) just before the S&W takeover and after I did some tuning (Bellum) every singe one of those barrels are tack driving machines. They weren't perfect since I had to do that with all the barrels but getting perfect headspacing and such in a barrel swapping type frame is near impossible. You can get "close enough for guvment work" and they were quite acceptable for the average shooter but a picky SOB like me has to tinker I was really lucky though when all of my barrels had perfectly centered throats and were correct diameter.

64? Are you thinking about Winchester?

Nothing happened to Marlin in 64.

Sure it did, Winchester and Marlin both screwed the pooch the same year. Cost overruns and the stupidity of new "management" made Winchester start using some "stamped" parts for the 94 and Marlins 336's suffered a drop in quality as well. Not sure if there were severe changes in quality of the 336 but you will find pre 64 Marlins fetch a premium just like the pre 64 94's and Model 70's. While Winchester was the one that suffered seriously bad drops in quality, Marlin suffered as well. Remington ramped up with the 700 an came out with it cheaper than the new junker model 70.