Savage barrel rusting....

[milktree]

I have a Savage 10FP in .223 Rem. with a rusty barrel.

My first thought was, "Oh crap! everything in the safe is ruined!", but upon further investigation, *only* the savage rusted. Not just a little bit, but great gobs of rusty feathery mossy stuff around the muzzle and inside the barrel. It's toast.

The fact that *only* the Savage barrel got rusty, and really rusty at that, while everything else in the safe is fine makes me wonder if there's something funny about that barrel, or Savage's quality control. They've got a good reputation, so I'm hesitant to blame them, but I never used corrosive ammo, always cleaned it promptly, just like all the other guns.

There's only about 300 rounds through this gun, any chance they just had a bad batch?

Secondly, when (assuming) they say, "sorry, your problem, that looks like abuse) I plan to replace the barrel with a Shilen 1:8 stainless barrel (why does the 10FP come with a 1:9 twist barrel anyway?) anything I should be wary of, or make sure to not screw up in the swap process?

What's a good barrel vice that won't cost an arm and a leg?

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

The trigger guard on my Savage .308 rusted very quickly after I purchased it. Personally, I think they either cut corners on the finishing or the steel they use is somewhat defective.

As for your rifle, unless you find remedy with Savage, I'd consider having it bead blasted and parkerized before it worsens into deep pitting.

The twist rate of 1:9 accomodates the widest variety of ammunition out there. The 1:7 and 1:8 are more exclusively for the heavier bullets

 

[Jasper]

why is it toast?

start with hoppes, get it good and clean, and hit it with a good polish (I prefer JB bore paste). it'll likely be good as new.

as a note: if corrosion happens this easily, i'd suggest running an oil soaked patch through the bore before you put it away (after cleaning). it will help in that aspect.

1:9 is okay in a bolt gun, if it's a longer barrel (24-26"). it SHOULD stabilize a 77gr, or maybe even an 80gr bullet for longer range shooting.

if it's a 20" barrel, a 1:7 is nearly ideal. it will shoot the lighter (55gr) bullets reasonably well, and will excel with the heavier (69/77/80gr) match grade ammo.

if you're going for varmint hunting (30-40gr bullets), nothing beats a good 1:12.

 

[KMM696]

Secondly, when (assuming) they say, "sorry, your problem, that looks like abuse) I plan to replace the barrel with a Shilen 1:8 stainless barrel (why does the 10FP come with a 1:9 twist barrel anyway?) anything I should be wary of, or make sure to not screw up in the swap process?

What's a good barrel vice that won't cost an arm and a leg?

I can highly recommend Northland Shooters Supply as a source for Savage Shilen barrels. His recoil lugs are also excellent. The barrel swap is simple - although some rifles have been coming out of the factory with either a ridiculous torque on the barrel nut, or some kind of thread locker. They do not have to be torqued to that level when you're putting it back together.

Midway sells a barrel vise that isn't stupid money - and wouldn't be hard to build yourself, either. I have no experience with barrel vises - I built a receiver vise instead - didn't want to worry about what barrel profile I was trying to fit.

If you have any questions on the barrel swap, give me a yell. I've done a couple...Savageshooters.com is still the best resource out there.

 

[Gunguydotcom]

I'm having similar issues. I've been a gun collector/military enthusiast for over a decade at this point (No I don't larp lol). I own a pretty good collection of firearms including a decent collection of import AK's. So, it should be common sense to think that I, an import AK guy, is used to seeing a little bit of rust and I don't overreact to the sight of it typically. Is it still unsettling to me? yes.

I clean all of my guns on rotation. but to put it simply, every one of my guns receives maintenance at least once every 2 months or so but I am cleaning guns for hours at least once a month. I live in Southern Indiana. Very humid summers and temperamental weather. So rust is a problem is firearms are left dry for too long. This is why I clean and maintain so often.

That being said, I do very well. I have a detailed process I use for every gun. I use a wide variety of tools and cleaners/lubes/oils/rust preventative sprays. I can literally spend upwards of over an hour cleaning one gun. Especially my AR's and my 1911's since there are so many cracks and crevices to get into. I start by disassembling my gun. I don't get so crazy as to take out my trigger group or things like that. I start off with either Gun scrubber or hoppes foaming gun cleaner. Let sit for 60 seconds or so. Clean thoroughly with rag, or use tools such as toothbrush, que tips, crevic tools, wire brush as necessary. After cleaning, I let air dry. I then apply a layer of Barricade to all parts and let sit for 60 to 120 seconds and wipe off excess lightly with cloth. This is the rust preventative. It's like a clear coat. After that I use hoppes lube on all the mating or moving parts. The last thing I do Is run a bit of CLP down the barrel. This is after cleaning of course.

As you can see, my cleaning process can get lengthy in all honesty. But I like my guns looking good. I pick them up often and inspect them and I like to see a well kept firearm.

These savages. Have some kind of problem. This year I bought TWO savages. One for big game, one for small game. I put them in my collection, and they have been given the same treatment as every other gun has since I got them

Both of them had identical issues. The bolts would rust VERY EASILY. Even with all the maintenance I just talked about. It was like, every single time I picked one up to look at it out of my collection, I just seen rust all over it. I mean all over it. Barrel, receiver, bolt and the knob. The bolt took rust by far the worst on both guns. And it took no time flat for the rust to become pitted into the metal. I could spend an hour scrubbing it with good cleaner and a good brush and it isn't coming off for me. It lightened up a little but hit a wall. I went ahead and took extra time with them every time I cleaned them, to really clean them thoroughly. But the problem persisted, and it just gets worse and worse. I sold the 6.5 creed more, But I wanted to keep my .22lr. But at the rate the .22lr's bolt is rusting. I feel like in no time it won't be worth a shit. To tell you the truth ill probably never buy a savage firearm again. I don't know what kind of metal they're using but it's clearly got some problems. None of my other guns have any rust of them of any kind. Even though it is a cheap gun, I am still alittle upset about it because It was my squirrel gun and I havent even gotten to sue it yet and its already turning me off big time.

I could send it into savage but whats that going to do? They might replace the bolt. they might send it back looking okay. It looked ok when I bought it. The problem is it wont look okay very long even with detailed maintenance. Like there's no other way to say it, its trash. I would've been better off buying a ruger

 

[KMM696]

I wish I had some sort of magic answer for you, but I can't say I do. I'm a big fan of Savage, mostly because of their left handed support and how easy it is to build their centerfires into what I want. I have read of similar rust issues very occasionally over on Savageshooters.com, but I've been fortunate enough to not have it happen to me. The only common thread I've seen is that it's happened to matte blued finish guns, at least as far as I can tell. I'm curious if the bores of the rifle are rusting the same way, having a different surface finish than the rest of the gun. If that's the case, I'd be tempted to rattle-can the rifle. I've had good luck with VHT Engine Enamel satin black, but it does need to be cooked at 200F for a bit to cure. It won't hold up on bolt wear surfaces, but it'll at least minimize the problem.

Not a great solution, I'll admit. The only suggestion I have for keeping rust away that you aren't already doing is using a Goldenrod dehumidifier. I run them in both indoor and outdoor storage with a much less frequent cleaning routine than yours and have avoided rust problems since.

Best of luck with your rifle,