[mriddick]

Stopped by a local shop on the way home, the first thing I see in the rack is a very nice Polish M44 unisused 1952 date for the price of $225. I look it over and note all the serial numbers match, the stock is exc (98%), bluing is also nice, so far so good, then I look down the bore, it's oddly dark (actually expected to be blinded by the brightness) and I really can't see anything so I ask for a bore light. With the light the first thing I notice is the bore looks way small, along the lines of a 243, next thing is I can't make out any riflings, and it's very dark (VERY) with little fingers of rust sticking out all the way down. I haven't seen a bore this bad in years, sadly I just put it back and walked out much sadder then when I walked in...

Such a shame.

 

[carol tenge]

Maybe a collector whom the bore dosent mean anything will buy it. I sure found not everyone shoots their rifles.

 

[mustang69]

Folks just think ammo is ammo. It is a shame.... I wish folks who want to get into a hobby or collecting "old anything" would do some research before jumping into it. I refurb vintage fishing stuff and I see the same thing.

 

[videodon]

oopsie!

 

[FIVESHOT]

Sad . I once picked up an M39 Mosin .

It looked like hair was growing in the

bore . I donated it to help a friend who

was in bad straits .



FIVESHOT

 

[azdoug]

You positive it wasn't cosmoline? I bought a Finned 91/30 at a show that the seller said was a wall hanger due to the rusted bore. Bought it anyway 'cause it was under a hundred bucks. Took it home, cleaned it, and it ended up having the brightest, newest looking bore of any of my Finn captures.

 

[Flyin Brian]

There is an opposite side of the Corrosive ammo issue too. There are plenty of people who panic about shooting corrosive and act like it is some kind of metal-eating virus. I do agree that it is sad to see a rusted bore, but I also cringe every time I hear someone going on and on about how they will never shoot corrosive and it's usually said in front of newbies who take the same opinion.

 

[themosinator]

I have two Mosins that had "bad bores" as far as the sellers were concerned...bought 'em, took 'em home, gave 'em some hardcore cleaning with a bore brush...and, voila!!!...they BOTH shine brightly now!!!...

 

[turbodan]

Once a bore rusts the damage is done. You can have a shiny bore thats heavily pitted, but its still heavily pitted. You can't put the metal back into the lands and grooves. I wish people in general were more pessimistic about bore condition. I've literally never been pleasantly surprised with something from gunbroker in that regard.

The good news is that I love cheap surplus. Between the folks that are scared to shoot steel jacketed projectiles and the folks that are scared of corrosive ammo I imagine it keeps the prices down significantly.

 

[M44Jon]

Yeah, I've let some boogered bores scare me away, but my first mosin looked pretty rough borewise initially. I knew it was rough but didn't know enough about these rifles yet to know that you could find better. Bought it, cleaned it up, and it was fine. I understand if you don't want to take the risk when you see "hairs" growing in there, but sometimes it's not that bad after a good cleaning. I'm sure it sucks when you aren't so lucky though.

 

[nathan]

I would not buy that. I always look for strong rifling and tight bore. But you can always gamble and use JB bore paste to polished it with good scrubbing.

 

[jepari]

If you are positive it's rust and not dirt/grime/cosmolene I think I'd walk away - at least at that price. Or maybe ask the dealer if he would let you run a patch or two and a brush down the barrel to get a better idea what kind of condition it's really in

 

[Handsome Devil]

I bought a "new unissued" Polish M44 years ago when they were quite common. It had the stickyist cosmoline type preservative packed in every nook and cranny. Was a job cleaning it up. Not saying that is what is in the bore, just saying. The OP probably knows rust from dark red preservative. They were wonderful rifles and it would be a shame to see one gone to rust.

My last 28/30 was horrible from same reason, as if by magic it cleaned up pretty darn good. Yes it still has a few pits that are visable and no doubt it is no longer pristine, but I do not think anybody would ever see the difference on a target. Some times you get l lucky and other times you are just screwed as it has gone to far.

Have a number of Balkan M91's that are never going to come back, but I do know they would still shoot reasonable at 200 yds, but a bear to clean and keep the rust from coming back. This is a bad subject for me right now. Cheers, John.

 

[milprileb]

I am amazed at the dealers who sell weapons and never run a patch down the bore and clean them up. Not like its some huge
task or expense. Be it shops or gun shows, it seems very common these days. As a kid in the 60s who hit every gun show and shop
with his old man hunting for weapons, you rarely found a rifle that did not have the bore ready for inspection. When the old man
started up a gun shop of his own, he would not buy a weapon w/o patching the bore and evaluating it for purchase and if you pulled
any weapon off his racks, the bore was Drill Sgt ready to inspect. You knew what you bought from the old man and a clean bore is a huge
selling point, at least it was while he ran a shop.

Dirty dark bores can hide a lot of misery. Look before you leap

Corrosive ammo fears and paranoia is a myth that continues at full volume these days. I don't think that will change as corrosive ammo
is rapidly vanishing off the surplus market and is less and less encountered in shops and gun shows unless you ask/ look for it.

 

[richarduk]

The OP probably knows rust from dark red preservative. .

He definitely knows....................

regards

Richard

 

[Shoobedoo]

Once upon a time, corrosive 7.62x54 was all that was available (unless you reloaded) but that's not the case anymore, and hasn't been for a long time. When I encounter someone who wants to get in to collecting and shooting military surplus rifles, especially those with little firearms experience in general, I advise them to resist the temptation of cheap case loads of corrosive surplus military ammo. Yes, they'll save a little money, but it only takes one instance of being a little less diligent or timely in their cleaning, and the results are predictable, and as someone has already noted, once the damage is done it can't be reversed. I've fired many thousands of rounds of corrosive thru a variety of rifles over the years with no serious problems, but I never use it nowadays, and don't recommend it to others, as the current production non corrosive 7.62x54 doesn't cost all that much more, particularly when bought in bulk.

 

[kenb]

It's a darn shame when a nice rifles gets a trashed bore like that. Hopefully it will end up with a collector who doesn't want it to shoot.

I had an experience kind of like this at my last gun show. This dealer had a table with a number of surplus rifles. I started to look at one. I asked to untie to bolt so I could look at the bore. He tells me the bore is "like new" and removes the bolt. I look down it and the bore is downright fuzzy. I'm rather confused at this point because what he's telling me and what I see don't add up. I tell him this and he says "no, all my rifles have excellent bores, that's just dust. I only buy rifles with excellent bores because that's the first thing everyone looks at when they buy." So I ask if he has a cleaning rod so we can run at patch down it. He doesn't. The rifle was an exceptional deal if the bore was like he claimed. I found a nice seller of cleaning supplies who loanded me a cleaning rod (bought a bag of patches from him). The dealer runs a patch down the barrel and a literal cloud of dust comes out the muzzle. Bore turned out to be about new and I got a great deal.

Whole point of that story is that if you're selling something, why don't you take 5 minutes to make it look its best? Or at least in a condition where the buyer can honestly evaluate it? I wonder how many guys said "no thanks" to that rifle because the bore looked entirely different than the guy claimed. It turned out to be a great deal, but if I didn't have the paitence to look around for a rod I never would have bought the thing. Maybe I should start to carry one of the german G3 cleaning kits with the pull-through bore chain. Easier than begging around for a rod.