Rusty Bore
Ambrose
Member Posts: 3,164 ✭✭✭✭
Interesting experience. Acquired an early BSA sporter .222 a couple weeks ago. My research (The DeHaas book) suggests it was made around 1955. It came set up with a 12X Tasco in the proper Parker Hale rings. The bore was dirty so I commenced the cleaning process. The first Hoppes soaked patch went through with unusual resistance and came out red with rust! Second patch, ditto. So I went to work with a 6mm brush and then JB, more patches, more brushing until finally, no more rusty patches. But, of course, it took no great effort to see pitting. I despaired of it being able to keep a bullet point on, let alone group. I was wondering about reboring to 6x45 or 6x47 but the magazine is only 2.2" long; too short for probably even a 6x.222. Also, I wondered if a .24 re-bore would take out the pitting. So I put together a random load with CFE223 and 10 new Starline cases, knowing I may have to toss the cases. The scope lined up pretty well with the collimnater so I took it to the range. The first shot was high and right from point of aim--but a round hole! The next four were 1 1/2" high from POI and formed a nice 1" square. The second 5-shot group measured 1.31"! So I went back and loaded 10 more of the same recipe. The average of the four 5-shot groups was 1.38". So I went back and put up a favorite load with H322. Four 5-shot groups with that load averaged 1.10". I will keep experimenting (in fact I have 50 more cartridges of various recipes loaded for the next range session) to see if something else shoots better. This rifle won't out-shoot my 788 or my 722 but it does shoot better than some of my rifles with perfect bores.
I'm not sure what the moral of this story is but I'm pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
Comments
I’d wager the more you shoot it, the tighter the groups will get.
One of my all-time favorite calibers is the .222 Remington. Inexpensive, well used guns with less than perfect bores seem to always shoot good groups, not bench rest class, but well within minute-of-woodchuck. Handloads aren't usually terribly fussy, but each rifle tends to have a favorite powder and bullet. Overall, the best powders seem to be 4198 and 3031 with Sierra 50 to 52 grain spitzers.
The moral of the story is: when you aquire a firearm, shoot it before making any decisions about its fate.
You done good.
Since 222 and 223 are pretty much the same it would be a lot easier to obtain 223 ammo. I don't think that involves more than reboring the chamber.
I had a Remington 788 in 308 caliber that did almost the same.Cleaned it everyday for a week,Sweets,JB paste,let the barrel soak in Kroil and it looked better but not good.Got a price to have it re-barreled.Took it to the range to see how bad it was and it cloverleafed every group at 100 yards.I gave it to my brother and the first shot he ever made with the rifle he killed the biggest buck of his life.
Lots of surplus rifles have "pitted" bores but still shoot well enough for government work BUT they tend to foul quickly requiring more frequent and more vigorous cleaning. Sometimes, the edges of the pits will wear off a bit with continued shooting and the need for frequent cleaning decreases.
I would now start using Kroil as the bore cleaner and when storing I also dampen the bore with kroil.
When testing for groups I would not keep cleaning the bore. Test for groups with a fouled bore, keeping a record of 3 or 5 shots groups per the more groups you shoot. Some rifles shoot better groups with a fouled bore.
Also pay attention to the first shot out of a cold fouled bore vs a cold clean bore.
When I refer to a cold bore I'm indicating to wait 8 hours or even the next day or week before seeing if the first shot out of a COLD bore prints with the others.
Lots of rifles won't settle into a group with a cold clean bore vs a cold fouled bore.
Not paying attention to cold bore/cleanbore/fouled bore groups can really cause a guy to think a rifle is really bad when is capable of good groups.
Let the gun barrel tell you what it wants instead of you trying to tell it what you want.
Also sometimes when reloading: a load or powder burn rate is slightly off if the first cold bore shot is slightly out and the next ones are good. (and pay attention to bullet weights and styles of bullets)
I'll bet your rusty bore will come around on the 222 and be acceptable. I've seen 222's shoot factory ammo groups good enough to not even try reloading for better groups.
Is yours the model with the nontapered dovetails and the mauser extractor?
Yes. Per de Haas, the early rifles (before 1956) had no provisions the prevent the scope rings from sliding on those dovetails. Mine is one of those. Of course, with the recoil of a .222, that's not much of a factor.
I have another BSA .222 that I believe is a later one but I haven't got around to comparing the two, yet. Except that my range notes indicate the rusty one shoots smaller groups than the other one!
Never loaded for accuracy sounds cool but even better what a great Cowboy type moniker Rusty Bore!
I will have to pull the scope and look at mine, seem to remember a shallow hole in one of the dovetails. Required altering a ring for a screw to run through the bottom of a ring. Like you said though, with a 222, not a problem. I had one in 308 also
that was factory ported, not a common feature in that day and age.
At the most recent range session, the last group I fired measured .41". 23 gr. of H322 with a 50 gr. Hornady spire seems to be the load for this rifle. I'm going to need to adjust the scope 1" right and 1 1/2" up to get it to shoot where I want. When shooting for group, I like to leave the scope alone since this old Tasco 12X often takes a shot or two to settle down. Needless to say, I'm pleased with the way this old rusty POS has turned out (it may, in fact, outshoot my 788 and 722!).
"I'm not sure what the moral of this story is but I'm pleasantly surprised with the outcome."
The moral is, never condemn a barrel, until you take it out and shoot it! I've got at least a half dozen guns like that. The worst of them was a Colt Officers Match .22 revolver I got cheap because bubba used it for a truck gun. Covered in rust and pits, never been cleaned, and what was left of the target grips were held on with tape. Had a set of grips for it, and cleaned it up. After I got all the dirt and lead out of the barrel, I could see a where a squib had "ringed" the bore, possibly more than once. I was shopping for another barrel when I decided to shoot it for function. It prints tighter groups than my Ruger bull barrel target pistol. It's butt ugly, but it shoots better than any of my other .22s.
Moral of the story:
Guns shooting groups can be like a box of chocolates. (as Forest says)
I've seen some butt ugly guns shoot better groups easily than some of the pretty ones that had lots of attention. (shameful)
Yes, I have seen many guns with a sewer pipe bore shoot just fine.