What caused my chambered round to tarnish?

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Peakbagger46

Peakbagger46

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7BDDBA5C-3824-496F-8104-84C9DBDE9469.jpeg After chasing mule deer up on the mountain the other day, I pulled the round out of the chamber of my Sako ‘06 and it looked like this.

Never had this happen before. There was snow on the mountain, maybe I unknowingly got some in the muzzle?

My first thought was there was some copper solvent left in the barrel, but I had run a dry bore snake through after cleaning and then put 9 shots down range.

Any ideas?
 
I would have guessed solvent in the chamber but it sounds like you have eliminated that. Could the round have touched something else with chemicals on it? Did you wipe your ammo off with a contaminated cloth? Maybe one of the nine rounds you fired left some contamination in the chamber.
 
Perhaps my bore snake is not getting all of the copper solvent out of the chamber. I know the loaded rounds were clean and not exposed to chemicals.
 
Peakbagger46 said:
Perhaps my bore snake is not getting all of the copper solvent out of the chamber. I know the loaded rounds were clean and not exposed to chemicals.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't rely on a bores naked to get everything. I use them for a quick clean and follow up with a more conventional solvent on patch, let sit, borebrush, flush with Brakekleen (saves patches and is more thorough, followed by clean patches and repeat as needed.

I always wash my bores naked after use. Soak in water and detergent, rinse well and air dry. If you don't wash a bore snake all that cap builds up in it.
 
Fingers or thumbs sliding along the brass when the round was inserted into the magazine. You could have had something on your hand when you did the loading (sun screen maybe).

Heck, my hands will do that naturally. If I handle blued guns I need to wipe them down right after or corrosion will occur. Some people are just like that.
 
Whether it's rifles or handguns (or any weapon) I always made a point of removing and checking out each round before heading into the bush (or onto the street) just to make sure every one was clean and dry... I just used a simple clean cotton cloth for that purpose - never any lube or spray (we were taught many years ago that any WD40 or similar type spray to keep rounds corrosion free risked having a dead primer as a result -and that lesson has stayed with me...). Empty that weapon (or those mags) then reload each round after inspection and carefully cleaning with that dry rag - and you eliminate a possible problem. Maybe this is overkill but my weapons experience was rarely for recreational purposes...
 
The pattern makes me think it was moisture, only a couple of drops, though.
 
Headed back out after mulies tomorrow. I’m going to chamber a different round to see if it happens again.

Hopefully the experiment is thwarted when I fire said round at a buck though.
 
bfoosh006 said:
If you chambered the round after firing those 9rds... it could just be condensation.
Click to expand...

I'd go with the above conclusion. The tarnish shown is inconsequential but worthy of attention.

The only guns I keep loaded are the ones around the house for defense and those only after a thorough cleaning after range use. Hunting guns, other than muzzleloaders are unloaded except when actually hunting. It dosen't hurt to push (or pull) a dry patch down the bore once in a while. The muzzleloaders are unloaded, cleaned, dried and reloaded every 2-3 days in the field.
 
There was several days between firing the rounds and hunting. No, I don’t keep my ‘06 loaded! I hunt with a dirty bore so I don’t have to worry as much about change of impact on my cold bore (only) shot while hunting.

Probably academic since the Sako seems to shoot very well with a clean bore... and I practice out 400y but tend to kill mulies at under 100.
 
I suspect condensation. Here's how it could happen - storing the gun indoors, ammo, too, keeps it at 72 degrees. Case it up, put into a vehicle, it's insulated and kept warm, get out at altitude - there is snow on the ground, right? It's not 72, it's much colder. As it cools off it condenses water in the bore which collects on the round where its close to the chamber and rifling.

If it were below freezing that water would, and if you then tried to remove the cartridge, you might find it stuck. This is why in Arctic conditions hunters leave their weapons outdoors as they are acclimatized to the temps, and the Army has that as doctrine for Winter Training. A muzzle cap might help if the bore wasn't exposed to high humidity in the house and already "contaminated" with moisture.
 
What caused my chambered round to tarnish?
Click to expand...

Oxygen.

Not meaning to be flippant, but tarnish is the result of an oxidation process. The process may be mediated by water or other solvents that facilitate and possibly enhance the speed of the oxidation.
 
illinoisburt: Put a piece of electrical or masking tape over the end of the bore.
Good idea. More convenient are the patch dots that come with the shoot 'n'see targets. Make great bore protectors and do not produce flyers when I have shot groups to test zero with the muzzle covered for first shot. My brothers-in-law said in Vietnam they used condoms, but the target sticker are basicly free (nobody uses them all). I also have several sheets of silver or gold game stickers. Keep'em in the range bag to repurpose cardboard boxes as targets.


On opening post: if the bore snake left cleaner/solvent in the barrel, the cleaner/solvent could have simply flowed downhill onto the bullet while the muzzle was elevated.
 
Was out chasing mulies again over the weekend. No tarnish on the bullet this go around.

I’m pretty confident the issue was a bit of snow down the barrel.
 
My guess is moisture.

Brass starts to tarnish the minute it leaves my vibrator. We have 60% humidity in our air most of the time. Your brass came into contact with some moisture somewhere.

You probably live someplace that doesn't have high humidity.

Mule deer live in the Rocky Mt. states. Usually pretty dry.
 
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