Dark Bore- could it be Parkerized?

[Ken in Iowa]

My Remington 1917 has me wondering. When I received it, the bore was fairly dirty. It has since been well cleaned and I have fired 200 rounds or so of full power loads. The barrel date is 9-18 and it's a 5 groove.

The bore has sharp lands and not a hint of throat or muzzle erosion. What bothers me is that the bore looks dark. Using a small flashlight sideways at the muzzle, the bore has a black/gray appearance.

Could it be Parkerizing in the bore that I see?

[kcw]

My Remington 1917 has me wondering. When I received it, the bore was fairly dirty. It has since been well cleaned and I have fired 200 rounds or so of full power loads. The barrel date is 9-18 and it's a 5 groove.

The bore has sharp lands and not a hint of throat or muzzle erosion. What bothers me is that the bore looks dark. Using a small flashlight sideways at the muzzle, the bore has a black/gray appearance.

Could it be Parkerizing in the bore that I see?

Any bore darkened by corrosion, that I've ever seen, was always pitted/frosted to some extent. If your bore doesn't show signs of pitting then I'd guess that it's possible that the barrel got dunked during the WWII rebuild program. Of course the receiver would be parked also. What does the chamber interior look like? You'd think that any finish inside a bore would be quickly eroded off by bullets being fired, but apparently not so in my experience. Back when they were selling those Turk "M38" mausers off "en masse" I bought one which, by luck, turned out to have been freshly re- barreled, but at first I thought that the barrel interior was "dark", but it turned out to be blued. I've probably put 300 rounds through it, including a bunch of that hi pressure Turk surplus, and it's still "dark" when viewed from the muzzle, but the barrel interior shines, without obvious imperfections, in a bore light. I've even held a magnifying glass to the muzzle, which allows me to see the first few inches of the bore clearly, with no sign of corrosion/erosion being evident.

[Johnny in Texas]

Use a Stainless steel bore brush when you clean it. Use lots of bore cleaner do not dip the brush in your bore cleaner it will contaminate it. Brush and flush I have gotten dark bores to shine. If you feel drag and roughness when brushing you have pitting. Get out all you can with the brush then use a jag and patch with bore polish compound like JB bore paste or red jewelers polish.

[chuckindenver]

hot soapy water, likely used with blanks.

[NuJudge]

I bought a CMP 1917 that had a barrel that gauged as close to new, but really dark. I cleaned it, then shot it. Groups were measured in feet at 15 yards. If this is your experience, it is time for a rebarrel.

[mdshunter]

Having done some old military stuff that needed re-Parkerized I would say no. First most military barrels were chromed. You stated you have put a couple hundred rounds through it since cleaning. Even on a barrel that wasn't chromed, it will typically wear off any sloppy work and Parkerization that was in an area like that. It just will not hold up. Sorry but it is time to get a new (old) barrel. You could sleeve it and use the barrel for another project but more than likely cost more than finding a good replacement. I second the JB Bore Paste suggestion. I have clean a lot of old barrels that looked like they were beyond saving with that stuff. Just remember it is a labor of love as it will take lots of elbow grease and numerous attempts before you get it to your satisfaction.

[Tuna]

As far as I know the first USGI rifle barrel that is chromed on issued rifles is the M16 A1.

[M1Garandy]

The M14 had a chrome lined barrel as well.

[Devil Dog]

The M14 had a chrome lined barrel as well.

Are you saying ALL M-14 barrels were chromed?

[M1Garandy]

No, this thread has more info: http://www.jouster.com/forums/showthread.php?27738-Are-all-m14-barrels-chrome-lined

[Ken in Iowa]

Thanks for all of the replies.

The rifle shoots OK, but nothing fantastic. At 50 yards, M2 ball shoots 3-4" or so. M72 Match is much better at 2-2.5" An experimental handload shot about 2.5" with 150 gr Sierra SP.

I will try the hot wash with soapy water and see what comes out, brush it with Hoppes and follow up with JB.

Good read on the chrome-lined M14 barrels. It reminded me of the days shooting a DCM loaner NM M14.

[Ken in Iowa]

The hot-soapy water yielded very little.

I decided to try Shooter's Choice instead of Hoppes. Wet patches were pretty clean, so I hit is a few strokes with a bronze brush. The next wet patch was quite black. I'll keep on this routine for a while and see what happens.

[4F4Nam]

The hot-soapy water yielded very little.

I decided to try Shooter's Choice instead of Hoppes. Wet patches were pretty clean, so I hit is a few strokes with a bronze brush. The next wet patch was quite black. I'll keep on this routine for a while and see what happens.
Between brushing with bronze, shoot it. Brush, shoot, brush, shoot, and repeat. Sometimes it works.

Ed

[Dad]

Try full strength Simple Green® with hot water and a bronze brush.
You will be surprised at the amount of junk that comes out.

D. :1948:

[madsenshooter]

I have a Krag that was parkerized. I now have around 400rds through it and the barrel has turned out to be pretty shiney and smooth. I originally thought it was pitted in the middle, but I see no trace of the pitting now. If parkerizing is what you have, it'll wear out.

[oldtirediron]

I have seen a lot of US Military fireams that were re-parkerized and the plugs leaked the parkerization fluid into the bore--FWIW i have never seen a U.S. Military re-park with this problem-- usually these firearms were refinished after they left the military stores or were refinished in a foreign country like the early Blue Sky Korean imports!! Some that I looked at appeared to not even have had the bore plugged when refinished but most of those guns had poor or junk barrels on them anyway-- Typical Blue Sky M-1 Garand had a barrel with a 6 or 7 TE and a 35 caliber muzzle and were stove pipe condition inside- however maybe the people who brought them in figured most would be re-barreled anyway so why should they take the time to plug the barrels before sandblasting and refinishing-- I concur with the JB Bore paste but don't leave Shooters Choice in a bore for more than the recommended time- or your barrel may suffer from ammonia related pitting!

[Col. Colt]

I have worked on two M1917 barrels that had LAYERS of fouling. I used the "Wipe-Out" Foaming Bore Cleaner, and on the worst one I found seven alternating layers of powder/copper/powder/copper/powder/etc! Wipe-Out is used by Benchrest Shooters, and will not harm the bore, no brushing. Foam it, leave it set an hour or two, push out a layer. Repeat. It is not quick on badly fouled bores, but will do no harm. A stainless brush reportedly will scratch up a barrel, but is a quick older method. If you are hoping to reclaim a good barrel, I would not use a SS brush, until I was satisfied nothing else would work. CC