swatts

I just picked up a Thompson Hawken 50 cal, and another made in Italy that look almost exactly like the thompson. The exterior of the barrel and the wood on both guns are excellent, the only problem is there is some rust inside the barrel of each, doesn't appear to be very bad. For the price, I stole both of them, rust and all. They haven't been shot in a couple of years. Does anyone have any suggestion for a safe way to remove the rust from the barrells of them. I have washed them out with hot soapy water and have plugged the nipple then fill the barrells with penatrating oil until I can get a good suggestion.

HELP PLEASE

Swatts

Oneball61

Relax, your problem is very common. First drain all the oil out of the barrel. Get a good solvent like Hoppes #9 or Sweets Bore cleaner and run a couple wet patches down the bore. Let it sit and work for about 5 mins. Use a wire bore brush about 20 times up and down. Follow up with dry patches until they come out clean.
By now all the rust should be out of the barrel and you can look for pitting in the bore. If the pitting isnt to bad J-B Bore Paste works very well. use a clean patch and about 100 up and down strokes ( add paste as needed) then use your solvent again.
Good luck and let me know how it works out.

cayugad

Many times if it is only surface rust only minor steps need be taken to remove it. You could try something as simple as swabbing with a quality solvent and then oil the barrel but that might not do the trick depending on the degree of the surface rust.

Get some J-B Bore Paste and a scotch brite scrub pad. Cut off a small amount of the scrub pad and put that on your patch worm. Then coat the outside of the pad with the bore paste and scrub the bore about 15 strokes. Add more paste and do another 15 strokes. After that clean the barrel with soap and water, then some solvent patches and apply a high quality gun oil like Birchwood Casey Sheath, REM OIL w/teflon or Breakfree CLP. Let it sit with a heavy coating of oil muzzle end down for a couple days then swab the excess oil out with some dry patches. The surface rust should be gone and the barrel should shine bright now....

Triple Se7en

JB Bore Compund on a cloth patch wrapped around a brass brush. One patch gun oil.. one patch JB. Keep rotating each one for several patches using complete up & down strokes... avoiding short strokes. Give each patch around five strokes up & down with JB's... only a couple with the oil. After every oil patch, use one side of a dry patch to remove excess oil before starting another patch with JB. You want to leave a little trace of oil in the bore for the next JB patch.

Then switch to a regular gun solvent to remove the JB from the bore.... even if a few traces of rust remain. Oiling the bore & leaving it soaked for a couple months usually loosens the rest of the rust.... provided it's not rusted too bad with some pitting.

That's the method I used to remove rust in a garage sale rifle I purchased. Oil her using two patches with Rem-Oil, Birchwood Sheath or Break-Free CLP type gun oil when finished.... everything with a bore brush. No dry patch to remove excess oil... just stand the rifle on the muzzle for a day or two to release any drips... then turn her over for storage without the nipple in it. In a couple months, see if solvent & new oil turns the patches white. If not.... give the bore another JB treatment.