Shiney Bore / Dark Bore??? Bore conditions by the seller

[mauserand9mm]

It's probably been deliberately blued, I'd say. I've never seen a dark shiny bore before.

[mrussel]

It's probably been deliberately blued, I'd say. I've never seen a dark shiny bore before.

I really doubt it. Ive seen many dark glossy bores. In fact,I'm holding one right here. The "finish" inside the bore looks nothing like the black finish on the outside of the barrel. The more I think about it the more it makes perfect sense. The way you rust blue a piece of metal is to let a thin layer of rust form on the surface (or even help it along) then dip it in boiling water. The rust turns black. You then "scale" it with a peice of steel wool,and repeat. If you do it enough times you get a really nice dark colored finish which looks nothing like whats on the outside of this old barrel but looks surprisingly like whats on the inside.