An Uncle of mine just gave me a T/C 54 cal. Renegade last night. Hes had this gun for 20 some odd years and up until 2 years ago the bore was immaculate. He loaned it out to a friend last year to hunt with and the guy didnt clean it up after firing it like he should have.
When I got it home last night I ran a patch soaked with Ballistol up and down the barrel to see how bad it was...the patch came out solid red with rust. I cleaned with a mixture of Pine-Sol/Ammonia, scrubbing with a bore brush and then went over it with a non-abrasive bore polish...then more Pine-Sol/Ammonia to flush it all out....then Ballistol until only very light rust could be seen on the patches. I dropped a borelight down the bore and the rifling still looks crisp and strong, there doesnt seem to be any pitting to speak of.
Ive never dealt with a bore in this bad of shape as far as rust...does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get the remaining rust out? Im hoping the bore isnt ruined and will still shoot well.Thinking maybe I need to stick with patched roundballs since there is pitting as slugs may lead the bore up too badly since its a little rough. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
