rust test

[BadHorse]

i did something two years ago that most of you will cringe at. i left a pistol for two years with the residue in the barrel. call it curiosity, call it insanity. what i wanted to see was just how corrosive the residue really is. well i'll tell you what, that bore is as clean and shiny as the day it was rifled. i am gonna point out that i dont recommend anyone else trying this.

those are flecks of dust that i wiped out after i saw them in the pic

 

[BrownBear]

Dang, you scare me Karwelis! You're a REAL man to test it with a gun. There's wimps around that have done it with scrap, but none have your guts. :rotf:

Good test, one that I'll NOT be duplicating, I hope.

 

[BadHorse]

well, i dont know if i have guts or not. i had had a chain fire in this pistol, got mad at it and put it in a draw and forgot about it. pulled it out a couple days ago and cleaned it up. well you see what happened. the only thing i can figure is the lack of humidity (25% average) where i live is why the results came out the way they did. i really would love to hear thoughts on this

 

[Rifleman1776]

Glad there was no damage.
I hung my Brown Bess on some hanger on the wall a couple days ago as part of it's 'retirement' ceremony. It hadn't been shot in several years. When I last cleaned it I lubed the inside of the bore. With what, I don't recall. Well, I put some RIG in it for the long haul and brought out a couple patches with scary amounts of rust on them. Not good. It will come down soon for a thourough cleaning and preservation.

 

[hanshi]

Very low humidity is a blessing where rust is concerned. Never could I get away with something like that here in the humid SE.

 

[brawny man]

Amazing. What powder? Goex? I do know someone that did that with a Traditions Trapper pistol here in Minnesota. Plenty of rust came out from that barrel. He won the pistol match with it. :haha:

 

[BadHorse]

Amazing. What powder? Goex? I do know someone that did that with a Traditions Trapper pistol here in Minnesota. Plenty of rust came out from that barrel. He won the pistol match with it. :haha:

it was goex, thats all i shoot with. the amazing thing was this was a second gen colt that i did this with

 

[tg]

I would think humidity was a big factor in the lack of visable rust in the bore, I think that from the bore condition of guns I have seen in flea markets and yard sales around here that the same gun in a high humidity area would show quite differnt results, an old barrel cut into sections after a few shots and left to sit with fouling in various controled humidity environments would be a good test for this theroy

 

[BadHorse]

tg im inclined to agree! that would be an interesting test. if someone would like to participate, im game! lets shoot a rifle, cut the barrel up and send it to different areas fo the country

 

[paulvallandigham]

WADR, why would anyone need to do such a test? Those of us who live in high relative humidity areas of the country( like me) have dealt with rust all our lives. In all kinds of guns.

Relative Humidity is considered to be "low" here if it gets below 60%. The other day, we had an air temperature of 89 degrees, but relative humidity of 91% for a Heat Index of 107 degrees! :shocked2: If you don't think corrosion is a problem in this part of the country, I will be happy to give you the grand tour. No auto body shop, no farm implement store, no machine shop is free from concerns about rust in this climate. :hmm: :surrender:

I am very happy, BTW, to read that there ARE parts of this country where someone can leave powder in a gun for 2 years, and find NO rust in the barrel. We all can't live there, but its nice to know such a place exists. Thank you. :hatsoff:

 

[BadHorse]

I am very happy, BTW, to read that there ARE parts of this country where someone can leave powder in a gun for 2 years, and find NO rust in the barrel. We all can't live there, but its nice to know such a place exists. Thank you. :hatsoff:

i truly wish more of you did live here. i wouldnt be so alone most of the time

 

[shortbow]

Don't feel bad my friend, I often go days without seeing anyone but my dog!

 

[ericb]

Man that's incredible. If I put my Musket away without cleaning here in Pa....it would melt...

E

 

[jamesthomas]

ff You could'nt pay me enough money to out to California!

 

[hanshi]

Here in the Southeast you can be in the middle of a year long drought and still have an RH of 80% to 95%.

 

[BadHorse]

ff You could'nt pay me enough money to out to California!

you must not know alot about cali :rotf:

 

[ebiggs1]

Did you have to get out your coats for that nice balmy weather?
We have 104 degree, real temp not index and 90%+ humidity for the last two weeks and more to come. So don't be bragging about your nice "cool" climate over there!

 

[Dphar]

Amazing. What powder? Goex? I do know someone that did that with a Traditions Trapper pistol here in Minnesota. Plenty of rust came out from that barrel. He won the pistol match with it. :haha:

it was goex, thats all i shoot with. the amazing thing was this was a second gen colt that i did this with

Blackpowder fouling is inert under about 30% relative humidity.
I would not do this with some of the other powders on the market.
I am surprised its not lightly frosted.
Most houses, for example, have enough humidity created by humans living there to keep BP fouling wet enough.
I have done shorter term tests in dry conditions, in a gunsmithing shop in Montana in summer, on a polished bar of steel. No rust with BP over about a month. There was a black stain on the 400 grit polish surface. This would not be apparent on a blued surface.
Dan

 

[tiger955]

I was living in PA when I first got into muzzleloading and would find rust in a barrel if I left it overnight without cleaning. Here in the high desert, I can leave the same rifle dirty for weeks with no signs of rust. I have seen rifles in pawn shops that were obviously not cleaned after last fired and sat so long there is a heavy layer of dust in the muzzle, but no signs of rust visible.

 

[Dphar]

ff You could'nt pay me enough money to out to California!

you must not know alot about cali :rotf:

Its not the geography or climate that I have a problem with.
The other "climate" I know enough about to not want to go there.

Dan