[Good Shooter]

I purchased a new Marlin 1895 GBL the week and look forward to shooting it. But even after I ran a solvent patch down the bore I could see no shine in the groves or on the rifling. I followed up with a brush and solvent, and then tried JB Bore Cleaner and clean patches. The residue in some of the groves was removed but there is still no shine in the bore. The groves have a shallow matt finish and appear white, but barely smooth. The shallow Ballard rifling is sharp. I have never seen this on a new rifle. My older Marlins have the brightest of bores, but the bore on this new rifle looks like some of my old WWII surplus rifles.

The rifle otherwise looks good and has turned out better than I might have expected. The fit and finish are good for this day and time. The edges of the receiver are straight, the action is reasonably smooth, and the trigger is crisp and not too heavy. The front sight is not canted and the wood fit is ok. It is not as nice as my first year 1895 and two older 336s but I am glad to have it.

Has any one else had this rough bore problem with a new Remlin? Will it shoot smooth with use. I hope it is accurate.

 

[Cowboy23*]

It appears that they are really making those barrels fast and cheap now. I checked my old 1895 Cowboy Limited and the bore is very smooth and shiny. Normally the bore is reamed to size and then they run a button through it for the rifling. If any of those operations are done fast and with tooling that is a little dull it will produce a rough bore.
I would try and shoot it to see if it is accurate. The downside of a rough bore is that it will foul faster and will be harder to clean.

 

[kingstrider]

You could also try fire lapping the barrel but as long as it shoots I wouldn't sweat it. If you are shooting lead bullets you may want to keep an eye out for leading.

 

[Good Shooter]

Thank you for the good advice gentlemen. I will shoot a lot of jacketed bullets through it and see how accurate it is and if the bore will smooth out any. I might also consider fire lapping as suggested. Your thoughts are enlightening and appreciated.

 

[KYMountainman]

I haven't seen ANY new rifle come out of Remington in the past 10 years with a shiny bore. The only rifles I ever see shiny bores anymore are Beretta/Tikka/ Sako, Winchester and Uberti. CZ rifles are hit and miss ... depending on the grade rifle you buy. For instance ... my CZ550 Kevlar Carbine in 6.5 x 55 is as shiny as a new penny. However ... my CZ 527 in 7.62x39 was not when I bought it.

Rusty McGee ... Remington's old Gunsmith down in Mayfield, KY could fill you in on why this is ....:smile:

Unfortunately, the New Remington and Marlin rifles will never be the same quality as the older models.

If you want a shiny bore either fire lap it, or order a Tubbs Finishing Kit and load a few up to shine up your bore.

 

[sghart3578]

When I got my new 1894C last May the bore looked just like you described it. My new 1895CB did also.

On my 1894C I cleaned the bore really well, then I broke it in. I fired 5 full power .357 magnum loads with jacketed bullets, then re-cleaned the bore. I did this after every 5 rounds until I shot up a box of 50. I took my time and never let the barrel get hot.

I then shot about 100 rounds of mixed .38 spl and mild .357 loads, all with lead bullets. (All I ever shoot is lead, I was just using the jacketed for the break in.)

After every 20 or so rounds of lead I would clean the bore.

After the break in the bore is shiny as heck. Did the same with my new 45-70.

Now, a typical range day for me is 50-100 rounds of 158 gr cast lead bullets, tumble lubed and loaded over 12.5 gr of 2400. After shooting I run a dry patch down the bore a few times followed by 1 oiled patch.

Shiny bores!

Best of luck,


Steve in N CA

 

[Good Shooter]

Thanks KY and Steve for more good advice. Now I'll get to work.

 

[rkcohen]

the gg i got at Christmas was dark - it took almost a week of solvent/brush/overnight/solvent/brush - you get the picture - before the patches started coming out relatively clean. i've had this experience with a few rugers as well.

maybe after you clean it again - and then shoot it - you'll tell us what sort of accuracy you're getting BEFORE you start fire lapping...

btw - the same stuff coats the inside of the magazine tube - patching that out will help feeding...

 

[mehavey]

Shoot it w/ jacketed a half-dozen rounds.
Clean it and tell us what you see.

 

[94win30wcf]

Shoot it w/ jacketed a half-dozen rounds.
Clean it and tell us what you see.

:dito: shoot it.

 

[Good Shooter]

More good advice gentlemen. I will shoot it in a week, if it stops raining in Virginia, and then give it a another good cleaning. I am interested to know that others have this problem and that it might be improved. That is a good idea about cleaning the magazine, rk. Many thanks to everyone.

 

[Good Shooter]

Thanks for the good advice.

 

[gunscrewguy]

More good advice gentlemen. I will shoot it in a week, if it stops raining in Virginia, and then give it a another good cleaning. I am interested to know that others have this problem and that it might be improved. That is a good idea about cleaning the magazine, rk. Many thanks to everyone.

Bear in mind metal can not be put back on after polishing, fire lapping, or what not removes material. If the barrel is within SAAMI specs on the high end of the diameter (minimum material) there is no material left for improvement.

AC

 

[HIKayaker]

Fire lapping will remove metal from the bore, just as Gunscrew says. It will result in a bore that is slightly tapered from chamber to muzzle. It will also take the sharp edges off your rifling. It all depends upon what size grit you use with the lapping rounds. I've tried it on a few barrels and have not seen any benefit to accuracy. There are several threads on fire lapping on MO. I'd suggest you search for and read them before you try it. The process was common in the 90's but seems to have fallen from favor. It was touted as an easy way to polish a bore, but it was learned that it also made the bore larger.

Hand lapping can polish a barrel, but unless it is done correctly, hand lapping can result in an oval shaped bore, from the lapping slug not being driven evenly. And I don't know how to do it correctly.

Good advice, shoot it first and see what you got to start with.

 

[oh-behi]

it seems that last year we ran across this same type of problem and someone thought it may be caused by the cutting oil used in the machining processes not being completely cleaned out. So, I just called a friend who has a small machine shop. He suggested using Simple Green to clean the bore. Followed by a good bore solvent like Hoppe's #9 to prevent it rusting. That way you are not embedding the contaminants left over in the cutting oil into the bore.