The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

Hi folks,

I recently picked up an M38 hex receiver and the muzzle showed serious rust. After soaking and scrubbing in Shooter's Choice, then alternating patches with Hoppe's Elite and scrub with a 40 cal pistol brush (3 hours including wait time) the bore came out shiny clean. Don't give up friends, even the worst crud will come out eventually. Keep at it, the really nasty patches will suddenly come out pristine. But don't forget to apply oil after that

Aaron

Riva9999 wrote:Hi folks,

I recently picked up an M38 hex receiver and the muzzle showed serious rust. After soaking and scrubbing in Shooter's Choice, then alternating patches with Hoppe's Elite and scrub with a 40 cal pistol brush (3 hours including wait time) the bore came out shiny clean. Don't give up friends, even the worst crud will come out eventually. Keep at it, the really nasty patches will suddenly come out pristine. But don't forget to apply oil after that

Aaron

So Shooters Choice does a good job? I've got an Finnish M24 that I plugged the barrel and filled with PB Blaster to break the crud lose. Rifle looked like the previous owner never cleaned it. Still needs some work to finish cleaning the barrel.

Some of the barrels haven't been clean since they were put in storage decades ago. Some turn out pretty nice though. I have used a variety of bore cleaners. Not sure which one is the best, they all seem to do the job. Over sized bore brushes work best though.

Some of the barrels haven't been clean since they were put in storage decades ago. Some turn out pretty nice though. I have used a variety of bore cleaners. Not sure which one is the best, they all seem to do the job. Over sized bore brushes work best though. (Mike, I worked some of the MC-130s at Clark in the early 80s.)

ffuries, yes it's good, so is regular Hoppe's for dissolving stuff, including cleaning brushes I have found. Talk about weird, patches came out cleaner then suddenly green. The brass bits that broke off the brush started dissolving in the Hoppe's. So I figured in my example I'd hit it with stronger stuff to help break stuff loose, then use the Elite since it's nowhere near as smelly (or nasty, in my view). The Shooter's Choice I have is in a twist-open nozzle bottle which makes flushing the chamber and bore easier. For other solvents I use plastic pipettes to inject it.

I found years ago that you can get green patches due to the brushes. Try finishing with a nylon brush. Use a bronze or SS brush for the initial cleaning.