Old Rusty Mosin: Safe to Shoot?

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  • turnerdye1

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    Dec 26, 2010
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    North Central IN
    I recently inherited an old rusty Mosin from my brother. He has no idea the last time he shot it but by looking down the barrel he clearly had shot corrosive ammo in it and not cleaned it. I've cleaned the barrel with brass brushes and probably 50 patches now using Bore Scrubber. The barrel looks a hell of a lot better then it did but still looks like crap. I plan on going to the hardware store and actually getting some rust remover and letting it soak, then going back at it with some patches. But for whatever reason my barrel doesn't get any better then the pictures below; Would it be safe to shoot, and hopefully blow out whatever little bits of rust are in the barrel? Or is this one done for?

    And its a 1943 91/30 with matching serial numbers. I also noticed the last inch of the barrel has no rifling and I can see a clear ridge inside the barrel. Is that normal?

    Sorry for the crap pics
    2i1cw9s.jpg

    2zr2iz8.jpg

    v2ycmx.jpg
     

    indy1919a4

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    Jan 7, 2011
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    That is not the worst barrel I have ever seen, or shot with.. But I have shot Ching Kai Sheck Mausers that had sewer barrels, So my standards are pretty low.. And yours should be safe to shoot as long as there are no other issues.

    Would do the barrel soaks like you are going to do, Let it soak for a few days.. Clean.. Do it again.. I just use hoppies..

    Then I bet if you shoot 5 or 6 rounds, heat up the barrel and then clean it it will look a lot better..And you may have to repeat that Shoot and clean a few times.

    The Barrel has been Counterbored, that is a way the Russians fixed barrels that had some heavy wear to extend the life of the Barrel.

    Here is a pretty nice little You tube I had found years ago that explained Counterbored

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBOhsgHXoLA
     
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    Oct 3, 2008
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    On a hill in Perry C
    Yeah, its a little on the rough side. Before I started doing anything with rust remover I'd do the shoot and clean routine a few times. Probably never be shiny again but even fresh out of crate a lot of them are hazy looking anyway.
     

    turnerdye1

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    Awesome! Thanks guys. Guess I'll need to drag my cleaning kit out to the range next time. I'm glad theres hope for this old thing. I had a really nice mosin awhile back that I got rid of unfortunately so maybe I can fix this one up. The stock is pretty scratched and chipped up and it looks like the rear of the stock is two separate pieces.

    Is Hoppes9 the best bore solvent or what should I get?
     

    Sniper 79

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    Hops 9 should be good to go. I had one like that. Used a stainless brush attached to my cordless drill. Did the shoot clean routine like mentioned above using the drill brush. It still looked like a bead blast finish although it did clean it up alot. Patches never came out clean. It was quite accurate in spite of a bogus bore. I got tired of it and peddled it off.
     

    pinshooter45

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    Don't waste your money on Rust Removers. They are great, but expensive. One of my other hobbies is restoring old had tools, and Vinegar works great! So soak some Patches in some vinegar and see how you like it. Then follow up with some Mothers Metal Polish. Clean that residue up thoroughly and see what you think after words!
     

    Psode27

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    Jan 23, 2011
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    you might be VERY surprised how nice it looks after shooting. I'd go at it pretty hard core first with a bore brush though just for fun.
     

    turnerdye1

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    Dec 26, 2010
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    North Central IN
    Thanks guys! Ill go out and buy me a bottle of Hoppes9 and go at it a little more with the bore brushes. It'll probably be awhile before I'm able to get to a rifle range, so I'll have it hopefully plenty clean by then.
     

    BE Mike

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    I'd first try to clean it up with a stainless steel bore brush (not to be used on good barrels) and solvent. Your pressures are going to be higher with a barrel that looks that bad, but the gun is built like a tank. I once saw a Mosin bore that was so bad that a needle couldn't fit down it. I wouldn't shoot anything like that.
     

    turnerdye1

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    Dec 26, 2010
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    North Central IN
    Well I took it out and shot it and you guys were right, shooting it cleaned it. I put 10 rounds through it quickly, enough to get my handguard hot, then used a brush and more patches to clean it out. Shot another 10 rounds through it and repeated.

    The barrel isnt a super shiny match looking barrel but for a Mosin it looks pretty good now. Thanks for the help!
     

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