Is there a problem with this hard chrome?

I recently had my Ruger Bisley Blackhawk hard chromed by a reputable service. I finally got around to shooting it today and it shoots even better than it looks.

When I cleaned it this afternoon, I noticed that the hard chrome on the cylinder face appeared to be removed or damaged. I guess it has to do with the cylinder pressure/temperatures. I only shot 20 rounds of Bitteroot Valley 300gr loads. They were not hot loads. Can someone identify the problem here?

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k571/aggieoutlaw06/photo23.jpg

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k571/aggieoutlaw06/photo11.jpg

It doesn't bother me too much as long as it is functional and the integrity of the corrosion protection is not compromised.

That's not removal, that's blast rings on top of the chrome. My stainless Ruger gets this, and there's no removing its coating, since it doesn't have one.

I don't worry about discoloration, but try to keep crud from forming there and in the cylinder tubes at the blast point.

Awesome! Thanks Kliegl! I figured it was fine since HC is the way to go for long term protection (which is why I went with it). I just thought I'd check to be safe, it looked really strange to me because of the near perfect symmetry in the rings.

Those rings will come right off with a pencil eraser.

Completely normal and no damage to the HC. It is just the scorching from when the bullet jumps from the cylinder to the barrel. The blast of the burning powder is dispersed sideways for a moment behind the base of the bullet before the bullet continues down the barrel

http://landofjohn.com/misc/rugerblast.JPG

Here's a picture of a coworker of mine, Tomimori-san, throwing .38 out of my Ruger SP-101 last week. The secondary blast around the cylinder shows what causes the blast rings.

ink eraser works better than a pencil one...also #520 "pad" if you have a dremile...gary

The same thing shows up on my stainless Vaquero's. I've found that Simichrome works well to remove it.

It's carbon scoring on top of your hard chrome. It's best to just leave it alone. If it won't come off with an oil-damp rag, it belongs there. It's bad enough to go to great lengths to remove it from stainless steel but FAR worse to do so with a plated finish. Even the lead removal cloths which are supposed to be safe for such finishes remove metal and that WILL lead to problems.