Garand Mistake

[anapex]

So I made a couple of mistakes with my Garand these past couple weeks. First I shot what I thought was non-corrosive ammo through it when it was actually corrosive. Second I put off cleaning it for two weeks because I was busy and thought I could let it sit. Well now that I got to it, it was nice and rusty in the barrel. I've so far used hoppes and a brass brush on a rod from the front to clean it out (being careful not to ding the crown). It's to the point where I think I've gotten 98% of the rust out and only a few spots in the barrel aren't as shiny as they used to be. So what's my next step? I'm going to be checking back on the rifle periodically just to make sure anymore rust isn't forming but is there anything else I should do? Besides remember to clean my rifles right away. Oh yeah other then the bolt face which had a small ring of rust there wasn't any rust anywhere else like I expected. The gas tube just had a bunch of carbon build up like I expected and the op rod was basically the same.

 

[ocabj]

My personal rule: Always clean firearms the same day used.

That said, there isn't much else to do after you get the rust out and use a decent oil to just put a thin film in the bore for short term storage between range cessions. I'd just check it day to day. to make sure nothing develops. Hopefully the rust/pitting won't affect the accuracy too much.

 

[Sheldon]

I feel for you!! I have been shooting off a can of the corrosive Korean 30-06 KA headstamped ammo too. I have been really cleaning the hell out of the barrels on my CMP Garand and 1903-A3.

 

[jefnvk]

Go shoot it. If it is just a tid bit of surface rust, the bullet ought wear it off quick.

Could you have gotten to the point that what you think is rust, is really copper fouling?

 

[Commissar Gribb]

corrosive ammo really isnt as bad as everyone says. keep your rifle clean (you should be doing that anyhow) and it'll work like a champ. people have been using corrosive ammo for a hundred years with good results.

 

[Snowdog]

First I shot what I thought was non-corrosive ammo through it when it was actually corrosive.

Just out of curiosity, you didn't happen to buy that "non-corrosive" ammunition from SOG, did you? See, they don't sell corrosive ammunition... even their Indian .303, 60's & 70's Yugo 7.62x54 ball and Turkish 8x57 ammunition is non-corrosive.

SOG's a great company to order firearms from, but their long-standing practices of listing widely known corrosive ammunition as "non-corrosive" to boost sales is simply disgusting.

 

[Father Knows Best]

Try some Blue Wonder. It's great stuff. Just smear a bunch on a plastic bore brush and run it once or twice through the bore, then go have a beer. After the Blue Wonder has sat for a while, scrub the heck out of the bore. It will take out any remaining rust. Finish up with a couple of dry patches and then one oily one to protect to bore against further corrosion.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The old Army rule was, "Clean on the day of firing and every day for three days after."

After firing, we would set up the field mess, with garbage cans full of boiling water to clean our M1s

 

[anapex]

Could you have gotten to the point that what you think is rust, is really copper fouling?

Nope. It was definitely rust. Looks like I'll keep cleaning it for the next couple days and try to find some blue wonder to run through it. The ammo was Korean surplus but it was from Natchez not SOG.

 

[Onmilo]

Hot soapy water is the best thing for killing the primer salts in corrosive ammo.

A copper solvent is excellent along with this treatment because corrosive salts can become trapped under copper fouling and continue to corrode the steel even though the bore looks shiney new, this is where some really deep pits come to occur.

Believe it or not, plain old Hoppes #9 is another very good product for killing corrosive salts. This is what it was origianally designed for.
Won't remove copper fouling for love or money but it is very good on powder and primer fouling.
Many have said that Hoppes doesn't kill corrosive salt residue but it does, problem is it doesn't remove that copper fouling and that is where corrosive ammunition can bite you.
Corrosive salt remained trapped under copper fouling that Hoppes just couldn't remove
#9 was invented back when lead bullets ruled the shooting world and removing plain or alloyed lead this stuff will do quite well.
Get rid of the metal fouling and you can get rid of the corrosive stuff, leave the metal fouling and leave the corrosive stuff too.
Hoppes Benchrest Copper Solvent can be used first, the bore thoroughly dried and then cleaned with standard #9 this will remove 99% of the copper and 99% of the corrosive salt and powder fouling.

Remember to oil or lightly grease the bore when you are done cleaning.
This will slow corrosive tendancies since it inhibits oxygen from reacting with the oxidizer, the corrive salts.
Keep the oxygen out and the salt residue can't react and continue to merrily eat the steel in your barrel.

 

[30Cal]

Won't remove copper fouling for love or money but it is very good on powder and primer fouling.

I've always had good results with plain old #9 and copper fouling. It works fine if you give it a couple of minutes to work (assuming you aren't dunking bore brushes directly into the bottle). It's not as aggressive as the benchrest formula or sweets, but it works.

Ty