Barrel Rust-Savage 24
 

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 [:o]. 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

RE: Barrel Rust-Savage 24
 

Warm soapy water should take care of any corrosive compounds leftover from firing. Although I doubt any 223 ammo would be corrosive,it sounds like the rust was definitely linked to firing the gun. If you don't see any significant pitting, it'll probably shoot like it did before. Minor cosmetic pitting wouldn't have a noticable affect on accuracy.