So I wish I had taken pictures, but I am trying to figure out what happened with my CVA Wolf and Black Horn 209. Hit the range yesterday to sight it in before early ML. Last season I had fire maybe 20 shots at the range switching to BH209 for the first time. Swabbed the bore with a patch and fired a final fouling shot. Loaded it up for early ML. Went out for a super windy day and saw nothing. then was too busy the rest of early and late ML to do any more hunting. I took out the breach plug and shoved out the bullet, sabot and charge in to the trash somewhere late January. I ran I think one patch with some Hoppes on it (I think it was Hoppes), put the breach plug back in with some grease on the threads and put it away. Basement has a dehumidifier and I keep a rechargeable one in the gun safe. No issues with rust on any of my guns from my storage FYI.
The CVA wolf is an SS barrel. Yes I know SS can still rust, it is just more resistant to it.
So fast forward to today. I went to put a patch down the barrel before loading and shooting just to get rid of any last stuff in there (and on the off chance I had run a patch with a bunch of oil on it down the bore last as I am not positive exactly what I did before putting it away). Cleaning rod and patch get stuck I am HAULING on it and no good. Take out the breach plug and have to whack the cleaning rod nice and hard to push it through. The patch is deep red. RUST red.
I look down the bore and there is caked all over where the powder had sat something. Reverse the patch and still really hard to push down the bore at the end and I can't pull it back out, I've gotta push it through again. I get out the brass brush and a few passes through with some solvent and it is mostly cleaned up. The breach plug also is caked on the end with what looks like rust, but like easily a mm or two thick. Brass brush with solvent takes it off pretty easily.
NO pitting that is visible in the bore or on the breech plug.
What. The. F?
Maybe it wasn't rust? The only other possible thing I can think of is that there was some powder left that I didn't scrub out, because I know I didn't do a through job of cleaning it (because it is supposed to be non-corrosive). Is there phosphorous in the powder? Because that is the only other thing I can think of is some kind of reaction with phosphorous and the cleaner, maybe with some moisture over time as phosphorous is the only other thing I can think of that can be remotely that color red.
But again, the plug and bore look just fine after cleaning. I put two pre-measured charges down range that I had loaded up last season. First was .8" low left at 50yds. Second one was dead bullseye. Then I made up a charge and put it down range and it connected the first and second shot holes. Ran a dry patch, put it away.
The CVA wolf is an SS barrel. Yes I know SS can still rust, it is just more resistant to it.
So fast forward to today. I went to put a patch down the barrel before loading and shooting just to get rid of any last stuff in there (and on the off chance I had run a patch with a bunch of oil on it down the bore last as I am not positive exactly what I did before putting it away). Cleaning rod and patch get stuck I am HAULING on it and no good. Take out the breach plug and have to whack the cleaning rod nice and hard to push it through. The patch is deep red. RUST red.
I look down the bore and there is caked all over where the powder had sat something. Reverse the patch and still really hard to push down the bore at the end and I can't pull it back out, I've gotta push it through again. I get out the brass brush and a few passes through with some solvent and it is mostly cleaned up. The breach plug also is caked on the end with what looks like rust, but like easily a mm or two thick. Brass brush with solvent takes it off pretty easily.
NO pitting that is visible in the bore or on the breech plug.
What. The. F?
Maybe it wasn't rust? The only other possible thing I can think of is that there was some powder left that I didn't scrub out, because I know I didn't do a through job of cleaning it (because it is supposed to be non-corrosive). Is there phosphorous in the powder? Because that is the only other thing I can think of is some kind of reaction with phosphorous and the cleaner, maybe with some moisture over time as phosphorous is the only other thing I can think of that can be remotely that color red.
But again, the plug and bore look just fine after cleaning. I put two pre-measured charges down range that I had loaded up last season. First was .8" low left at 50yds. Second one was dead bullseye. Then I made up a charge and put it down range and it connected the first and second shot holes. Ran a dry patch, put it away.