CVA .32 Squirrel with rusty bore / rifling

[Troll]

New to BP...looking to remove rust from the bore of an '83 CVA .32 Squirrel that I just bought. Recommendations?

 

[Loyalist Dave]

MAKE SURE it's not loaded....., it's not uncommon in a second hand rifle...

So remove the barrel and plug the touch hole or remove the nipple IF you can and plug the hole for the nipple....
Then fill the barrel with Evaporust. Let it sit 24 hours, then drain, rinse, clean, and oil.

LD

 

[Daryl Crawford]

Definitely make sure it isn't loaded.

I used Ballistol and some 0000 steel wool on a jag to clean some rust and grime. It worked well.
If the rust is light I'd try that. If it is heavy, do what Loyalist Dave said.

 

[William Lincoln]

Rust is one thing. Pitting from corrosion is something else. If the bore is damaged you
can consider using a barrel smith to bore it out and/or reline it. Members have info
on smiths doing barrels.

 

[Stub]

If you get Evaporust on the outside of the barrel the bluing will be removed. But the stuff does remove rust from the bore.

 

[SDSmlf]

I would go the EvapoRust route. It will eliminate all the active rust, though you may still have pitting. Once done with the EvapoRust and cleaned up, see how it shoots. However it shoots is likely as good as it will get with your barrel, though that doesn’t mean it won’t shoot well. Because of the CVA breech design, most of the smiths reboring barrels usually won’t touch CVA barrels, though there may be some out there that do, I’m just not aware of any. I suggest you clean it up, then shoot it to evaluate what you have. Hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I have had good results lapping rusted barrels. I live in an area with a lot of Amish who just don't understand the importance of cleaning their black powder rifles from one deer season to the next Therefore I get a lot of rifles with rusty barrels. I use the old standby murphy's oil soap/hydrogen peroxide/alcohol. mixture and a bronze bore brush to clean out the loose rust , then make a lead lap and lap them with valve grinding compound. I use a hacksaw blade to cut the groves on the lap deeper so I am lapping the grooves more than the lands. (The lap is a mirror image of the bore.)

 

[LSLibelo]

Welcome to BP from California.

 

[Troll]

Evapo-rust has good reviews, but I am concerned about retaining as much bluing as possible in the bore.

I don't know what "lapping" is or a "lead lap" but I'd like to learn. I've also read about getting a tight patch and wrap it with 0000 grit steel wool. Also saw some interesting videos on electrolysis, but I'd have to experiment with that before hooking up a barrel to it, not emotionally ready to electrocute a gun.

Would a mixture of Ballistol, water, hydrogen peroxide and alcohol be an effective mixture on the loose rust? I can see rust in the grooves with a short bore light, but any pitting is probably hidden from view.

This is intended to be my wife's rifle, and it is a bit tight getting PRB down with short starter past muzzle crown for about 6 inches, .311 balls. After that, ramming is normal.

 

[sheriff john]

Sometimes even old "crusties" will shoot "ok" after doing what others suggest. Spending a wad of dough to have a $250 rifle bore re-done will still leave a guy with a $250 rifle. Regardless of "asking" prices we see, it's what a buyer actually forks over that determines value.

Several of my originals have bores that are far from pristine but shoot better than I can hold out to a reasonable distance. They're not "match rifles but adequate for varmints mostly. Re-boring originals is, I think, probably not something I want to do.

 

[BP Addict]

I once put vinegar in a CVA Kentucky Pistol Barrel after putting a carburetor vacuum cap on the nipple. The drum leaked and ruined the bluing on the outside of the breech area.

A more recent experience found me applying Valve Grinding Compound to a Scotch Bright pad and under-sized jag.

My second step was repeating the first but with toothpaste. No gel, real toothpaste.

Lastly, I wrapped 0000 steel Wool around a brush, running it up and down the bore several times.

While the inside of the barrel is bright and shiny, there is still pitting where the rust ate the metal. It doesn’t seem to bother the accuracy too much.

Good Luck!

Walt

 

[hanshi]

It's a stone fact that a cleaned up rusty/pitted barrel can often shoot with excellent accuracy. Not all of them of course but many of them.

 

[sheriff john]

Thinking back a few decades, one original small caliber I had wouldn't shoot anything but doughnut groups, cut patches bad and was hard to load. Went to smaller ball, thicker patch and it settled down quite a bit.

Rifling is not the "modern" type - looks more "square-ish". Still have it, haven't fooled with it this century. It sorta made me mad for a while.

 

[Newtire]

I inherited an old muzzleloader that belonged to my great grandpa. It is a .40 cal target rifle put together by a Monroe, Wisconsin smith named George Spangler. The barrel is marked "Remington Cast Steel" and is plenty thick but was caked with rust down into the grooves. A shop instructor in a machining class showed me how to make a freshening cutter. I embedded it into a 3/8" dowel rod and shimmed it out with paper strips until bright steel cae out after awhile. It now loads smoothly and is alot more accurate than it was with that rusty old bore. The tops of the lands, I smoothed out with automotive rubbing compound until the patches came out clean. A lot of spare time over a couple of months is what it took but it was worth it.

 

[stephenprops1]

If you can get it rebored I'd make it a 36 caliber. Still small for squirrels and such.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Evapo-rust has good reviews, but I am concerned about retaining as much bluing as possible in the bore.

There is no bluing in your bore.
If your bore looks "dark" that's part of the corrosion.

LD

 

[n.h.schmidt]

The factory made Squirrel rifles were blued inside and out.Regular hot tank blueing. I have a 32 CVA and it's that way. I also have a 36 CVA Squirrel kit rifle with no blueing. That being said by the time all the rust is gone from the inside,there will not be much blueing inside. No matter as many of our guns are in the white inside and no trouble.

 

[Ninering62]

I have had good results lapping rusted barrels. I live in an area with a lot of Amish who just don't understand the importance of cleaning their black powder rifles from one deer season to the next Therefore I get a lot of rifles with rusty barrels. I use the old standby murphy's oil soap/hydrogen peroxide/alcohol. mixture and a bronze bore brush to clean out the loose rust , then make a lead lap and lap them with valve grinding compound. I use a hacksaw blade to cut the groves on the lap deeper so I am lapping the grooves more than the lands. (The lap is a mirror image of the bore.)

Whats the mixture ratios of that Plz? TY

 

[Grenadier1758]

@Ninering62, that old standby of Murphy's Oil Soap, Rubbing Alcohol and Hydrogen Peroxide is often referred to as MAP. It is a very aggressive cleaner of black powder fouling and some use it for nearly everything. The bronze brush gets the bulk of the rust, and the MAP removes the fouling. Some have voiced concern that the extra oxygen in the peroxide will lead to flash rusting. A good flush with clear water and rust inhibiting lubrication deals effectively with flash rust.

Now for the super-secret formula for MAP (Some refer to it as Moose Milk but I don't):

1 part of Murphy's Oil soap
1 part of Rubbing Alcohol (either the 71% or the 91% are equally effective)
1 part of Hydrogen Peroxide. Use the 3% as once the bottle is opened the extra percentage of peroxide will dissipate. Water can be used instead of hydrogen peroxide. The cleaning action is not quite as aggressive but in the end just as effective.

Moose Milk is a milky colored mixture of any water soluble oil and water that emulsifies to a chalky white colored liquid. Ballistol and water or the old NAPA water soluble cutting oil and water come to mind.

 

[Ninering62]

@Ninering62, that old standby of Murphy's Oil Soap, Rubbing Alcohol and Hydrogen Peroxide is often referred to as MAP. It is a very aggressive cleaner of black powder fouling and some use it for nearly everything. The bronze brush gets the bulk of the rust, and the MAP removes the fouling. Some have voiced concern that the extra oxygen in the peroxide will lead to flash rusting. A good flush with clear water and rust inhibiting lubrication deals effectively with flash rust.

Now for the super-secret formula for MAP (Some refer to it as Moose Milk but I don't):

1 part of Murphy's Oil soap
1 part of Rubbing Alcohol (either the 71% or the 91% are equally effective)
1 part of Hydrogen Peroxide. Use the 3% as once the bottle is opened the extra percentage of peroxide will dissipate. Water can be used instead of hydrogen peroxide. The cleaning action is not quite as aggressive but in the end just as effective.

Moose Milk is a milky colored mixture of any water soluble oil and water that emulsifies to a chalky white colored liquid. Ballistol and water or the old NAPA water soluble cutting oil and water come to mind.

Thank you.