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Tornado S Steel brush on douglas ss barrel disaster

Grant Mauser

Hey guys,, I am a newby to this forum today. I really don't want to talk about this, but I have been really bummed out, I think need more experienced advice. I rebarreled my dads 1951 commercial Belgium mauser to 6mm Rem about nine years ago..Douglas ss 1 in 8 twist 26". All was swell. Then after a while couldn't get it to group, Especially with heavy boattail bullets... I rebedded it 4 different ways, 4 different times.. finally decided wasn't bedding. Talked to my Smith one day and he asked me if I was using ss brushes on it. Said Yes.. he said it was ruined.. but I wasn't ready to give up on it.. so I have been using JB bore shine on it.. The rifling is all there but smith says its like tree bark inside..He also mentioned using steel wool wrapped on a 22 cal brush, anyway, this is my dilemma.
 
How many rounds down the tube? 6 rem is not known to have great barrel life. Then coupled with using the stainless brush the barrel may be beyond its useful life. Barrels are a consumable item. Also what are your expectations for accuracy? What type of groups did you get vs now?

Also just some advice. I recommend only useing brushes that are softer then you barrel for cleaning. Also use them sparingly. Just my opinion.

Nick
 
Find a gunsmith with a borescope. Without one you are just guessing. Personally, I would not have much faith in a gunsmith that had not invested in one. How do you clean your barrel? How many rounds have been through it?
 
Thanks guys, yea, well actually I have been reloading since I was 17.. The gun in question used to be a 22-250 my dad had built in the 60s... That barrel got shot out. I Had it rebarreled to 6 mm rem. 1 in 8 twist.. Usually I start out with a copper remover, like Montana Extreme, soaked patch. I usually run a brush through 8--10 times. Then use wet patches of the same stuff. then switch to something milder like hopes or rem oil. I usually leave fine oil bore conditioner in barrel. I don't think barrel has 1000 rounds through it , and I can see rifling all the way down with a light. since all of this has happened, I have realized I have been over cleaning this ss douglas barrel from the beginning. Probrably wasn't fouling that bad from the start
 
Have you checked for a heavy carbon ring and excessive copper fouling? Any changes to your reloading components? If those two are good, may be time for a new barrel.
 
1000 rounds of 6mm Rem is quite a few if they were stiff loads. Still, it needs scoping, otherwise you're just guessing.
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Are you chasing the lands to account for throat erosion? IME bad things happen when you introduce teflon components into the bore.....ala Rem Oil. If you used the ss brush with the bore saturated with solvent......you might have avoided disaster. Get rid of those brushes fast.
 
Don't worry guys, got rid of the brushes.. Its interesting ,, the rifling is there all the way down the barrel, I can see that much with a light, but it must be rough as hell... I still think if its there, I can smooth it somehow . I hope Wednesday to get it to the smith.. And, as far as shooting out a douglas xxx premium air gauged barrel in a 1000 rounds.. don't think so...I may have screwed it up, but I didn't shoot it out, been around long enough to know that much....last douglas barrel on this gun was a 22= 250. I handloaded between 4000 - 5000 full power loads through it.. it finally started key holing everything but 60 grain flat base bullets...
 
I did not see that you use a bore guide but thought I'd mention that it will help a lot. Get it checked by a competent gunsmith and go from there.

Joe
 
Grant Mauser said:
Don't worry guys, got rid of the brushes.. Its interesting ,, the rifling is there all the way down the barrel, I can see that much with a light, but it must be rough as hell... I still think if its there, I can smooth it somehow . I hope Wednesday to get it to the smith.. And, as far as shooting out a douglas xxx premium air gauged barrel in a 1000 rounds.. don't think so...I may have screwed it up, but I didn't shoot it out, been around long enough to know that much....last douglas barrel on this gun was a 22= 250. I handloaded between 4000 - 5000 full power loads through it.. it finally started key holing everything but 60 grain flat base bullets...
Click to expand...

If you are using JB (or Iosso) to "smooth" out the marks left by the brushes... aren't you just removing metal and therefore changing/destroying the bore? Sure, you can see rifling... but that doesn't mean it's the correct size anymore if you've polished it out.
 
Another thing for your next barrel is not to use brushes, only jags (Preferably Tipton Nickle Plated) and patches. When I break in a new barrel, I use Montana Extreme (what once was 50 BMG formula, don't know what it was replaced by) and lot's of patches, a bore guide of course, but no brushes at all. A good barrel (Krieger, Pac Nor, Brux, Douglas, ones I have used) break in quite fast. Kano is good for getting rid of fouling also, good luck!
 
IdahoSharpshooter said:
I wonder if a NECO bore lapping kit might help...? They provide cast bullets coated with progressively finer grit lapping compound.
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On the NECO web site I find only their fire lapping kits. They once offered impregnated bullets, but now I find only the "roll your own" kit w/ lapping compounds, steel plates, and soft lead slugs for probing the bore. If I was going to fire lap, I would probably choose Tubb's coated bullets, which I have used on several rifles.
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