Did I get ripped off? Is this a new rifle?

[wombat13]

I bought a rifle advertised as "new in box" on gunbroker. Picked it up from the FFL and a quick inspection looked good. Then I got home and cleaned it. Dozens of patches with Butch's Bore Shine kept showing blue indicating copper. Then I looked at the bolt face. There is a powder ring and a red waxy residue (see the photos). Is it really possible that this is a new rifle? Any idea what the red residue is? How many rounds does it take to produce a powder ring like this?

 

[ironworkerwill]

Looks pretty normal other than the red. Is that plastic or fiber of some sort?

My vote- NEW!

 

[243winxb]

Ruger? Looks like the proof loads leaked a little gas.

 

[ZGunner]

Could be factory test shots? Or something they use for corrosion protection for shipping.

Dunno what the red stuff is. Again, maybe something for shipping to protect against corrosion.

 

[wombat13]

Ruger?

Yes. It is a Ruger All Weather (ss with plastic stock) in .25-06.

 

[VoodooMountain]

I bought that model a couple years ago and I don't remember any red wax on the bolt face but the bore was a bit dirty. It was the same for the ss 308 as well.
I guess not being able to recall isn't of much help.

Neither gun had any carbon on the bolt face though.

 

[Captcurt]

Had a new pistol from a distributor that had not been cleaned after test firing and a new CZ99 22 rifle took 20 patches before they came out clean.

 

[243winxb]

If your not happy, i would contact Ruger.

I feel it wont hurt accuracy , unless the bolt face is not square to the chamber, for other reasons.

Heavy copper fouling, could be a rough bore?

The Remington has a few thousand fired. The Savage only a little over 1400 rounds.

 

[wombat13]

I wasn't too concerned about the copper fouling because my Ruger Hawkeye in .300wm used to be absolutely impossible to get clean even after a few rounds. Then I used JB Bore Paste a couple times and now it is very easy to clean.

 

[CraigC]

Probably red paint from proof loads.

 

[wombat13]

Probably red paint from proof loads.

Can you give a little more detail? Do factories test fire with red painted cartridges?

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Can you give a little more detail? Do factories test fire with red painted cartridges?

I know Ruger does.
I bought my Blackhawk in .45 Colt new and the casing included was painted red. Or maybe it was the base that was painted.
I'll have to dig it out and see..

 

[JRadice45]

More than likely it is laquer from a proof load.
Proofs are painted with red laquer on the case head and bullet tip to distinguish a standard round from a proof load.

I would just clean it off and shoot it.

 

[CraigC]

More than likely it is laquer from a proof load.
Proofs are painted with red laquer on the case head and bullet tip to distinguish a standard round from a proof load.

I would just clean it off and shoot it.

What he said.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

One reason why I feel more confident buying a used gun than one advertised as "New In The Box, Unfired".
That means twenty, thirty years "Uncleaned After Factory Prooftest".

 

[wombat13]

Thanks everyone for the replies. This has really eased my mind. I'd have bought from my local gun store, but Ruger discontinued this rifle and he couldn't get one for me. Got the red cleaned off and am looking forward to shooting soon.

 

[X-Rap]

I don't know many gun owners that don't save their gun boxes and depending on the use a 20 year old gun can look like NIB especially in photos.
If it's not collectable it doesn't really matter much if you got what you wanted and it shoots well.
There are lemons out there that do get passed around for various reasons.