Rust?

[spearboy321]

I was given a Remington 700 in 7mm Remington Mag by my neighbour. He bought it in the 60's and it hasn't been shot since the early 70's. It has a little rust around where the barrel meets the stock. Is it best to just rub it out with a gun oil, solvent, or ??? There was a little rust around the tip of the barrel so I used patches and brushes till the patches came out clean. Is there anything else I have to worry about?

[okie man]

i'd break down the bolt and clean any gunk out of it and then make sure the barrel is free and clear.

[el Toro]

Is it just surface rust or is it pitted?

I'm assuming you mean rust on the external metal parts of the rifle. If so, take the barreled action out of the stock. There are two screw on the bottom metal near the trigger guard. Hose the thing down with wd-40 and let sit for several minutes. Get some 0000 steel wool and scrub the rust off.

For the bore, you'll want to take a good one-piece rod and a chamber guide and clean the thing. Use several wet patches of Hoppes and let soak for a few. Get a brass brush and scrub several times. Push the rod all the way out and then pull all the way back through. Several times. Continue working a wet patch, scrub with brass brush, then patch again until it comes out clean. Hold it up to the light and give it a good visual inspection.

I'd also take the bolt apart and scrub the firing pin and spring with some Break Free and your wife's toothbrush. Scrub the trigger assembly too. Put a dab of light oil on the moving parts.

When you put it back together, screw both action screws in equally until just barely tight. Then tighten the front screw down quite hard with a big screw driver. Then tighten the rear screw snug, but not as much as the front.

It is probably fine to shoot, but you can always take it to a gunsmith for a professional opinion first if you are worried. Probably cheap insurance.

Another thing you can do is take it out to some BLM land. Get an old tire, a big one. Lay a towel or blanket over the tire and bungie cord the rifle securely to the tire. Load it, and point it in a safe direction. Tie some string (spectra works good) to the trigger and back up a long ways. Get behind something safe and yank on the trigger. Go inspect the rifle and make sure everything looks fine and the spent case ejects smoothly.

Have fun. Nice score.

[spearboy321]

Thanks and yes it is just surface rust and not really bad at all. I got almost all of it off by scrubing it with a rough towel. The barrel is clean now but I need to do the bolt still. Is taking down the bolt pretty straight forward? I know how to take it out but haven't really played with it yet.

[okie man]

remove it from the gun, then just unscrew the the shroud off the rear. be carefull as the spring is under pretty good tension. spray some cleaner down the bolt and wipe down the fireing pin. put it back together and you're good to go.

[spearboy321]

That was a pain in the ass but I got it done. The gun cycles smoothly and looks better now (it was in pretty good condition before though). Thanks for your help.