Pitting after rust incident

[Bidwell]

Have a Howa Superlite in 308. Was shooting nice 1 to 1.5 inch groups with this thing and I slipped up after a hunt in the rain. Thought I got the moisture out but apparently not, plus over here in CA weve had over 30 days of near constant fog. Started to get worried about my rifles in the safe and my worst nightmare came true. My barrel was full of rust. I cleaned what could out then took it to get professionaly cleaned. The smith let it sit in evaporust for 48 hours and that worked great. But, i believe theres some pitting left over all up and down the barrel. Just kills me. Any thoughts on how bad this is? Got some images after the cleaning, and a sample of what the rust looked like. I think its pretty minor, but still. Going to be raining all week so its going to be a while before I get to test. Any thoughts/advice appreciated on what to expect with accuracy or cleaning routine?. Im seriosly stepping up my dehumidity game. Got a golden rod and filling my safe with more desicant packs. Live and learn I guess, but painful.

 

[WoodlandCritter]

The only way to know how accuracy will be affected is to go shoot the thing. I wouldn't expect much change unless the muzzle/crown is particularly bad. Cleaning will be about the same as ever. Unless this happened to a bench rest gun, not the type of thing to lose sleep over. I'm assuming when you say 1-1.5" groups you mean 3 or 5 shots at 100 yards?

 

[Bidwell]

The only way to know how accuracy will be affected is to go shoot the thing. I wouldn't expect much change unless the muzzle/crown is particularly bad. Cleaning will be about the same as ever. Unless this happened to a bench rest gun, not the type of thing to lose sleep over. I'm assuming when you say 1-1.5" groups you mean 3 or 5 shots at 100 yards?

Sorry should've specified, 5 to 7 shot groups at 100 yards is my usual go-to. I guess worst case Brownells sells superlite barreled actions for around 450, but hope i dont have to go there. Muzzle/crown looks ok from what i can tell. I guess i could get that fixed if needed

 

[RockAndSage]

Yep. Don't worry about it, just shoot, and then worry if you're getting horrible groups. Should be more or less fine though, for what most people and most ammo are capable of. Depending on how bad it is, it may just fill in with copper from a few fouling shots, and be good to go after that.

 

[TaperPin]

Based on the handful of rifles I’ve bought used with some rust, as long as the pits and dark areas aren’t big enough to connect to each other accuracy will be good.

 

[Dmoua]

If it’s still shooting fine then there is no need to worry about it. I have seen worse in one of my rifles that still shot lights out.

 

[TaperPin]

A patch with oil on it works really well to prevent bore rust.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

This is why people shouldn’t own bore cameras.

 

[Bidwell]

This is why people shouldn’t own bore cameras.

Im glad i was able to see the rust, but i agree that these things can be trouble.

 

[Bidwell]

Got a break in the rain so I shot about 15 rounds. Some good, some not so good. Felt like my poi was shifting around a bit and 5-7 shot groups ranged from 1-2 moa at 100. The wind was howling, about 20 mph. I tried to time shots to lulls though, but less than ideal testing environment. I'm wondering if my loads were affected by humidity as well, used tac and they are about 3 months old sitting in about 59% humidity safe. Will wait till I get good conditions and make some fresh rounds. I thought my first group would be the worst after the deep clean, but it was the best of the day.

 

[K9kodi]

Unless you’ve got a comp on the horizon w the rifle or a huge hunt coming up. Don’t sweat the small stuff. I know it’s very easy to overthink things, just shoot your ammo, clean your gun and have fun. Odds are it will still shoot more accurately then the shooter, as most solid guns will

 

[Bidwell]

Unless you’ve got a comp on the horizon w the rifle or a huge hunt coming up. Don’t sweat the small stuff. I know it’s very easy to overthink things, just shoot your ammo, clean your gun and have fun. Odds are it will still shoot more accurately then the shooter, as most solid guns will

Yeah overthinking is a problem. This sport/hobby can send you on all sorts of goose chases, so many variables to consider and difficult to prove the effects of any of them. Chances are any bad shots were my fault. I'll never be doing any competitions, just want to be able to hunt out to 250 yards confidently, not there yet. I assume I need to double my moa out in the field, so if I can shoot 2.5 inch group at 250 yards, that puts me at a 5 inch group in the field. Deer vitals are a lbigger than that but I'd like some buffer.

Unless you’ve got a comp on the horizon w the rifle or a huge hunt coming up. Don’t sweat the small stuff. I know it’s very easy to overthink things, just shoot your ammo, clean your gun and have fun. Odds are it will still shoot more accurately then the shooter, as most solid guns will

Yeah overthinking is a problem. This sport/hobby can send you on all sorts of goose chases, so many variables to consider and difficult to prove the effects of any of them. Chances are any bad shots were my fault. I'll never be doing any competitions, just want to be able to hunt out to 250 yards confidently, not there yet. I assume I need to double my moa out in the field, so if I can shoot 2.5 inch group at 250 yards on the bench, that puts me at a 5+ inch group in the field. Deer vitals are bigger than that but I'd like some buffer.

 

[K9kodi]

Did you double post cause you were overthinking. Hahahahaha.

I get it and I’ll never knock a dude for wanting to maximize accuracy for the sake of being humane.
That’s part of being a woodsman/outsoorsman.
Makes me feel like I’m too confident at times when I see how much other people practice.

 

[Bidwell]

Did you double post cause you were overthinking. Hahahahaha.

I get it and I’ll never knock a dude for wanting to maximize accuracy for the sake of being humane.
That’s part of being a woodsman/outsoorsman.
Makes me feel like I’m too confident at times when I see how much other people practice.

Ah! What the... have no idea how that happened. I wish I could find a good area near my house that I could do more real world practice from various angles. The range is great, but lacks that variation element. I watched this MeatEater episode and I remember him saying that he likes to keep his shots at 300 yards. I know he can shoot farther than that, but if he's trying to limit to 300 that says a lot to me given how much he practices, his experience level, and I'm assuming he's got some very good equipment.

 

[K9kodi]

My furtherst was a touch over 325 or 350. I’m comfortable with my zero hold to 300 yards with a rise of 3” and fall of 3”

 

[Bidwell]

My furtherst was a touch over 325 or 350. I’m comfortable with my zero hold to 300 yards with a rise of 3” and fall of 3”

Makes sense. Puts you in a pretty good position.

I'm in CA, so copper only. I tend to only practice with copper too since I'm making hand loads and want to know what they can do. Copper can be really accurate but they got those driving bands and I'm assuming that is just another thing in the manufacturing process that can cause some variability from bullet to bullet. I like the barnes ttsx but I'm wondering if I should be trying the Hammer bullets, I think they’re lathe turned not molded.

 

[WoodlandCritter]

Ah! What the... have no idea how that happened. I wish I could find a good area near my house that I could do more real world practice from various angles. The range is great, but lacks that variation element. I watched this MeatEater episode and I remember him saying that he likes to keep his shots at 300 yards. I know he can shoot farther than that, but if he's trying to limit to 300 that says a lot to me given how much he practices, his experience level, and I'm assuming he's got some very good equipment.

If possible, building a VTac barricade to use is a great way to get some practice in more "real world"-like conditions. Still won't let you shoot substantially uphill or downhill, but its a good thing to mix into the practice routine.

 

[Bidwell]

If possible, building a VTac barricade to use is a great way to get some practice in more "real world"-like conditions. Still won't let you shoot substantially uphill or downhill, but its a good thing to mix into the practice routine.

That's an interesting idea. I look into it! Thanks