I was cleaning my Rem 700 today and found some scratches in the rifling.
There was something very strange about the scratches; they were just on one "land" of the rifling. I do not believe they come from cleaning because the scratches occur every 1/2 millimeter. I cannot see where they end, but I know they do come all the way to the muzzle crown. They are probably .5 thousandth of an inch in depth, and look as though they attempted to cross the land, but stopped 1/2 way across. So we are talking about scratches that are about .5 thousandth deep that occur every 1/2 millimeter, but they occur on only 1 rifle land. The others appear to be in pristine condition.
What could cause such a thing? I clean my rifles with a 3 piece brass rod (bad I know) but I have never had problems like this before, and I know brass is too soft to cause such damage. I am considering trying to just "shoot" the grooves out and see if that will have any effect on them. Any ideas on this method? Would any process during reloading cause such a thing?
If it matters I use "Wipe out" foaming bore cleaner, then use a few patches of Hoppes, and then a final Rem-oil patch for lubrication. I use the "eye hole" plastic patch holders, and no brushes of any kind.
The last load fired out of the gun was 150 rounds of:
Speer 168gr Molly coated MHP's
56gr IMR 4350
FC Brass
WLRM Primers.
All of this ammo was meticulously checked prior to being fired. I always double check the OAL of the round. Once after coming out of the press and once before it goes into the gun.
Please somebody help me figure this thing out. I am about to cry if I can't get the gun to group on my next range trip. I just can't afford a new barrel right now, and I want to know what the hell caused this!
:banghead:
There was something very strange about the scratches; they were just on one "land" of the rifling. I do not believe they come from cleaning because the scratches occur every 1/2 millimeter. I cannot see where they end, but I know they do come all the way to the muzzle crown. They are probably .5 thousandth of an inch in depth, and look as though they attempted to cross the land, but stopped 1/2 way across. So we are talking about scratches that are about .5 thousandth deep that occur every 1/2 millimeter, but they occur on only 1 rifle land. The others appear to be in pristine condition.
What could cause such a thing? I clean my rifles with a 3 piece brass rod (bad I know) but I have never had problems like this before, and I know brass is too soft to cause such damage. I am considering trying to just "shoot" the grooves out and see if that will have any effect on them. Any ideas on this method? Would any process during reloading cause such a thing?
If it matters I use "Wipe out" foaming bore cleaner, then use a few patches of Hoppes, and then a final Rem-oil patch for lubrication. I use the "eye hole" plastic patch holders, and no brushes of any kind.
The last load fired out of the gun was 150 rounds of:
Speer 168gr Molly coated MHP's
56gr IMR 4350
FC Brass
WLRM Primers.
All of this ammo was meticulously checked prior to being fired. I always double check the OAL of the round. Once after coming out of the press and once before it goes into the gun.
Please somebody help me figure this thing out. I am about to cry if I can't get the gun to group on my next range trip. I just can't afford a new barrel right now, and I want to know what the hell caused this!
:banghead:
