Firearm cleaning/care

[kysingleshot]

I was just giving my 30-06 handirifle a good cleaning and discovered something I haven't seen before.  When I was giving the barrel and receiver a light oil wipedown, I started getting what appears to be rust.  The rifle is about 2 months old, and the bluing appears to be in the same condition as the day I bought it.  I figured if I were getting rust, it would be visible through the bluing.  Is this a normal thing, or could it be something other than rust?  This has me pretty bewildered and disturbed.
Thanks,
Michael

[oneshotonekill]

There is 2 things it could be:
1) A factory preservative/rust inhibitor many of them appear to be a orange/brown color and could easily resemble rust.  If you did not clean the gun very well when you received it there could still be some preservative on it.

2) rust as you eluded to.  I bought a 20 ga ultra slug hunter barrel a few months back and it came from H&R with a light coat of surface rust.  The blueing on these guns leaves a lot ot be desired.  If the gun was in storage/inventory for a while or was on a dealers rack (especially if it was being handled) I would suspect you are in fact removing rust.  At first rust is nearly invisible on a blued barrel, often it appears as a dull spot lacking the visible orange/brown color you would expect.  If you take a rag with oil on it and rub the dull spot you will see the rust on the rag.

Try cleaning it real good then treat it with a good gun oil or rust inhibitor.  Some folks use carb cleaner, brake cleaner, or a spray gun degreaser/cleaner to remove the factory grease.  If you do so use caution as those chemicals can strip the finish off a wood stock, and stain plastic or synthetic materials.

[safetysheriff]

I'd use a rag and a can of aerosol Liquid Wrench and wipe down/spray the inside and outside of the whole firearm with the stock and forearm removed.    Then I'd wipe off the excess and Liberally wipe Valvoline's Extreme Pressure grease all over the outside of the rifle, and do the same in the bore.     Then let it sit for about two weeks while the moly' etches into the metal.       You should see a difference from then on in how resistant the thing is to rust.

Clean the bore out with Brake Cleaner to remove the grease -- outdoors only -- and then wipe it dry before firing it.