mosin barrel questions

**billy870m9** · August 2nd, 2009, 08:58 PM

i got a t53 mosin and i just cleaned the bore ....the groves are fine but the barrel isnt smooth and shiney, seems a little rough.....my questions are......1 what could have caused it? 2 will it affect how the gun functions? 3 how can i fix it or should i just leave it? the gun will be just an extra gun i hope to take it out tomarrow to see how it fires, thanks guys

**zachomega** · August 2nd, 2009, 09:28 PM

Just throwing this out as a possibility but those guns have probably seen a lot of use and nearly all of the ammo for them is corrosive. If it isn't cleaned in a timely fashion, it will cause the barrel to pit and rust.

Make sure you use something with ammonia in it to neutralize the corrosive elements from the ammo when cleaning. Copper solvent comes to mind although some people just use straight ammonia cut with water.

I'm sure others will chime in. Congrats on the Mosin!

-Zach

**PA Rifleman** · August 2nd, 2009, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by billy870m9

...my questions are......1 what could have caused it? 2 will it affect how the gun functions? 3 how can i fix it or should i just leave it? the gun will be just an extra gun i hope to take it out tomarrow to see how it fires, thanks guys

1. Firing corrosive primed ammunition. Answer >link<

2. You won't know until you fire it, and with several different brands of ammunition.

3. It isn't cost-effective to rebarrel Mosins -- yet. If it shoots okay, leave it be and clean per #1 above.

And do clean it immediately after firing per the corrosive ammo cleaning guidelines, or it will sustain additional pitting.

**Joe H** · August 3rd, 2009, 06:49 AM

Billy,

I'll have to agree that the problem you describe is the result of the corrosive primers in the 7.62x54 military ammo. New commercial boxer primed ammo is not corrosive. Any Berdan primed military surplus, no matter what the date, and what the ad says is probably corrosive.

In addition to the info already posted, if you run across some US military surplus bore cleaner, the milky white stuff, use it to clean the bore (instructions are on the can). It works great for cleaning out the corrosive salts from the primer. I'm not sure that the current bore cleaners for removing copper fouling will remove the corrosive salt deposits.

That said, your rifle may shoot just fine.

Good Luck,

Joe

**billy870m9** · August 3rd, 2009, 10:56 AM

thanks for the info guys....yea i figured it was from improper cleaning from previous owner, im hoping to shoot it tonight and if it all goes well, ill be happy......im the type to always clean my guns after firing but this gun has been neglected and i feel bad for it, hopefully it hasnet affected the way it works too much ill post how it goes when i get to fire it, and again thanks for the input

billyj

**Agent Ronin** · August 3rd, 2009, 11:16 AM

Out of the many various Mosin's i own, only a few actually have shiny bores. But they all shoot better than I can. Most of the time, some aggressive cleaning with copper solvent (Sweets 7.62, Shooters Choice, etc.) gets alot of what i've described as fossilized copper out. Surprisingly, after many trips to the range and agressive cleaning they actually clean up nicely. It just take time and patience...

You think you get all the copper out, go shoot it... You'll uncover another layer copper. I have a Remington M1917 with a 1919 dated barrel. I still havent been able to get all the copper out of it yet even after 12+ times to the range and countless applications of Sweets. But it sure shoots better than when i first got it

**billy870m9** · August 10th, 2009, 10:55 AM

i shot it the other day and it shoots great, i cleaned it at the range while barrel still hot and i got a lot of the crap i was worried about out of the barrel, ill clean it while at the range everytime to see if it gets even better....thanks guys

**bigcory18951** · August 10th, 2009, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by billy870m9

i shot it the other day and it shoots great, i cleaned it at the range while barrel still hot and i got a lot of the crap i was worried about out of the barrel, ill clean it while at the range everytime to see if it gets even better....thanks guys

the heat is A great factor when you clean your mosin, helps with the scrubbing

I was recently turned onto Hopps #9 for cleaning my rifles. AND I LOVE IT! My barrel is as clean as a whistle now.. And shoots great! Glad to hear yours is working as well!