What is wrong with my barrel?

Moisture damage: I live on the Gulf coast, hunted in east Texas for 30 years with a carbon barrel 25-06 700. Rain, fog, gun stayed in a safe in the attic and our humidity is steady 75-85% I very rarely cleaned the barrel and when I did, I did a poor job! The gun shot .5 for 30 years.
I don't deny that moisture is bad, just saying it never bothered my rifle.
Push some Barnes through it with CFE223 (50-100 rounds). If you go the barrel route, go stainless. I have had good luck with Shilen.
Good luck.
 
You've cleaned it enough. Stop already! It was shooting fine dirty!
Dirty it up, smooth out the potholes with fouling, and hunt with it.

I had a 7mm Rem Mag that absolutely would not shoot clean. I eventually rebarreled it, that's a long story, but it shot much better dirty.
I've had one that only shot well clean. It just depends on the barrel, and yours is acting up clean.
Once you get it dirty don't scrub it, just run a few patches through. It's not going to heal itself.
 
Hey,
I've got a 270 Xbolt that used to be an incredible shooter... shot multiple 5 shot groups in the .4s. However, the group sizes have since opened up over 1" and I've been scratching my head trying to figure out why. I did all the normal stuff, checking scope, rings, action screws, brass, even trying to re-work the load. I recently bought a bore scope so I could take a look at the barrel of this gun and my other rifles. I compared the barrel of my 270 to several other guns and found some things in this barrel that I didn't find in any other gun. I'll post pics below.
Pic 1 looks to be some kind of fouling, but I don't know. I've used multiple different types of cleaners (foams, Butch's, Boretech Cu2, etc) with both patches and bronze brush. This evening I switched to Losso and the patches are coming out black, black.
Pic 2 seems to show some kind of scarring/pitting???
Pic 3 this is toward the very end of the barrel (muzzle). I have no idea what this is.
Can anyone help me interpret these photos and advise me on steps I should take moving forward? Thank you in advance.
It looks terribly pitted to me. If the throat is that bad or worse you need to probably consider a rebarrel.

Without the pictures and lengthy description my first thought would have been carbon ring causing pressure but I can't see it well enough to tell.

How many rounds have you got through it and how/how often have you cleaned it?
 
You bet. Gun is 7 years old. Probably 200-300 rounds through it. It's a factory barrel. I'm the original owner.
I've always stored it inside. I don't recall the barrel getting wet, but I hunted in southeast Oklahoma where it's usually pretty humid. I was not good at cleaning my guns regularly back then so maybe that's the issue?
Would you recommend I use a polish (Jb's, Simichrome, etc) as opposed to Losso's?

I think it's time for a new barrel. You're going to put more hours into trying to rehab that one for probably very little gain than it's likely to ever be worth.
 
You've cleaned it enough. Stop already! It was shooting fine dirty!
Dirty it up, smooth out the potholes with fouling, and hunt with it.

I had a 7mm Rem Mag that absolutely would not shoot clean. I eventually rebarreled it, that's a long story, but it shot much better dirty.
I've had one that only shot well clean. It just depends on the barrel, and yours is acting up clean.
Once you get it dirty don't scrub it, just run a few patches through. It's not going to heal itself.

👍
 
I'm going to say something that might be scary to a lot of people - I received a legitimate recommendation from a manufacturer to use a stainless steel bore brush with Sweets 7.62 to remove heavy corrosion from a barrel. They said their 1MOA accuracy guarantee would still be effective after that cleaning procedure. I did it and will say it shinned that sucker up like a new penny, but the pitting and damage to the lands only became more apparent. I guess there's something to be said for getting a very clear picture of the damage though.

Anyone else have recommendations on a barrel installation? Have read several threads but no clear consensus on an Xbolt.
Where in CO are you? Mile High Shooting up in basically Longmont is a good vendor and I'm sure they'd have local shop recommendations versus trying to get a pre-fit. Nothing against a pre-fit, and you can still go with one in the long run but nothing replaces a good talk with an actual guy who fits barrels. Let me know what they tell you too please, I upgraded from A-Bolt II to an X-Bolt with no expectation of it being any better for re-barreling but if it's becoming a more viable option I'd be open to it.

And still be very careful in the basement even in CO. I lived there for a long time, and between an unsealed sump pump (pre-radon concerns 🤣 ) and a gas heater there was a ton of moisture in the basement, even finished out. We did our own buildout and the inspector didn't know his head from his rear when it came to ventilation, so I'd expect there are just as many moldy basements now as back when I was living in one.

Thank you so much. I do own, and use, Tipton cleaning rods. I apparently allowed moisture to stay in the barrel too long. I'll try some of the JB's. Appreciate the advice.
JB and Kroil, on VFG pellets. Tipton makes felts also, but the original VFGs are better if you can find them.

Amazon product ASIN B07L1D22SB
No sir, but thanks for checking. I've used Iosso. My plan is to see how it does with this. In your experience, does JB do something more than Iosso?
I really do think the felt pellet vs patch makes a bigger difference that Iosso vs JB. I don't use the felts for normal cleaning, but when it comes to lathering up with a paste and Kroil, it seems to scrub better. YMMV.
 
Thanks so much! If nothing else in receiving a good education!
I'm in Castle Rock. I've tried to locate a local smith but they're not keen on Xbolts. If I rebarrel I'll probably go with a McGowen and switch to 280ai as I have a lot of components for that already.
 
Thanks so much! If nothing else in receiving a good education!
I'm in Castle Rock. I've tried to locate a local smith but they're not keen on Xbolts. If I rebarrel I'll probably go with a McGowen and switch to 280ai as I have a lot of components for that already.
You may call bugholes I believe they will do it and do very good work and very well may have a barrel on the shelf Talk to Russ
 

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