Stained Stainless Steel Barrel

[myj]

LAST EDITED ON Mar-04-09 AT 12:23PM (MST)[p]This is really going to make me sound stupid, so please don't laugh!

I have a Classic M70 Sporting Sharpshooter with the Schneider stainless steel barrel in .300 Win. Mag. This is my elk rifle so it doesn't get as much use as I'd like it to. I've always used Casey?s Bore Scrubber to clean it until recently when I noticed some stubborn copper fouling. I figured Sweets 7.62 Solvent would be the ticket to a quick cleaning. After using Sweets 7.62 a couple of times and carefully following directions, I noticed the bore is now a dark color as if it was coated with graphite. Prior to this, my bore was always a bright, shinny, polished stainless steel color after being cleaned with Casey?s Bore Scrubber. Initially, I panicked thinking I might have damaged my barrel but have since considered other possibilities. Could it be that the barrel needs further cleaning, although I'm now getting clean patches out of it? Or could it be that the barrel is fouled with an element other than copper, which Sweets is not removing? Or could it be that this is a normal stain on stainless steel after extended use, since I've just ran a couple of hundred rounds thru it trying to develop a more accurate load?

I've just given the bore a good cleaning using Casey?s Bore Scrubber and my patches are coming out clean but the dark coloration persists.

You fellows with the stainless steel barrels, are your bores a nice bright stainless steel color?

Thanks for any advise or information you might be able to offer.

MYJ

 

[myj]

I guess I should have known better. I knew it was a dumb post.

Anyway, I called Schneider Barrels and I was assured I did not damage my barrel. Since I do not have a bore scope, I was told that I could not get a good visual by just looking at the bore because of the angle of reflection of the light. The proper way would be to insert a Q-tip about 3/8?s of an inch into the muzzle and look at the bore using the light reflected off the Q-tip. I did this and the bore looks exactly as I remember it looking in the past. I think I might have been confused by the bore being too clean?.looks like a mirror surface. I hope the Q-tip trick can help some of you fellows.

MYJ

 

[BuckSnort]

Please remove Q-tip before firing......

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