You are probably leaving bronze residue and picking it up with the patch. Bronze residue will look black. i would be careful leaving a chemical...
I just acquired a used 686 special with a crumbling butt pad. I went to do a swap with a beretta white wing I had laying around and the pads...
Leupold vx-r makes it hard to miss what you are trying to put a hole in.
http://www.legacysports.com/uploads/pdf/NewRifleBreakInProcedure.pdf Your rifle is a Howa and this is straight from Howa's website
4-12 or 4-16
Weaver Kaspa 1.5-6x32 is a great scope for less than $200
It's safe to shoot, worst that can happen is the stock splits under recoil. I would find a new stock. There is probably so much cosmoline in that...
I wouldn't get too hung up on name brands as receivers are pretty much just a housing. But a matched set so they fit tight. I use a Remington r25...
Turning down a barrel already stress relieved would make me nervous. You can buy a new barrel for about the same cost as gun smithing.
We don't know what height rings you are using but I am relatively certain you are shooting over your target. Sight in 4" low at 25 yards and aim...
add a torque wrench and some pin punches. Changing a barrel is simple on an ar, YouTube has all the videos. Ditch the flash hider to shave a few...
Tikkas are nice but they don't make a true short action. In .308 you have a long action with a bolt stop.
I am a die hard ar fan but I am the first to admit they weren't designed for a traditional scope.
You are going to loose twenty prime hunting minutes with a scout scope, 10 at first and 10 at last light.
I buy hundreds of used guns per year and most normal folks don't clean very well and seldom oil their bores. I have taken in 50 year old guns that...
Patches don't squeak, cleaning rods in contact with bore when bowed out under force squeak.
I am not really sure what you gain from a scout scope but I do know what you give up. If you want a serious north american hunting gun go with a...
The pictures of the muzzle are clearly copper fouling in the rifling. You may have both copper fouling and rust. A barrel with rough tooling marks...
I just got in an a reman'd M1 Garand and I have no idea what barrel is on it. It is stamped WA-A-30-06-10. Google has let me down. [ATTACH]
It looks like fleck stone spray paint. My guess is the last owner wanted to cover up a well done old stock.
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