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older rifle questions?

auto436658
on rifles such as the german k98, swedish m96 and russian mn 91/30 when shining a flashlight against the steel and looking very closely on the barrel, receiver and in the chamber and such there is a strange redish type tint kind of modeling in various places, although there is no rust residue nor is there any corrosion and it doesn't look patena brown, is this just the steel that was used then being it is old, is that okay?

also, even though i have used paper to line my leather scope caps over my scope bells, is that a bad idea as it almost seems as if the leather eats through the paper believe it or not?

thanks.
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Comments

9 comments

Date Votes
  • Wehrmacht_45
    The steel alloys on some guns causes bluing to turn reddish plum color over time. Many Dan Wesson revolvers have done this and I had a CZ27 WW2 pistol do it.

    It is ok and only aestehtic.
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  • luv2safari
    What he said! [;)]

    Look at the cocking pieces of about any German MK V Weatherby...red. [:0]
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  • auto436658
    okay thanks guys, that is what i was thinking as well.

    what about the leather scope caps even with paper, seems like a bad idea to me even though its period correct, my guess is just ditch them?

    any good alternatives that look nostalgic, but wont cause or contribute to corrosion?

    thanks.
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  • He Dog
    Don't use leather on your scopes. Leather holsters will take the bluing off of guns over time because of the chemicals used in tanning that remain in the leather. Keep the old caps for the sake of history if you like, but use the cheap plastic Butler Creek caps to protect your optics. Or plastic line the caps instead of paper.
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  • allen griggs
    The steel on a 100 year old Swedish Mauser is better than anything made today by Remington or Winchester.
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  • auto436658
    HeDog, where can I get plastic liners for the leather scope caps?
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  • 11b6r
    FWIW, bluing looks different under the light from a flashlight than natural light. Looked at the backstrap of a Mdl 10 one night by flashlight, looed like the whole strap was rusty. But by daylight it looked fine. ???
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  • machine gun moran
    The red tint can be due to the nickel content. Nickel-steel alloys are also sensitive to the temperature of blueing baths, and will come out red under ambient light if the temperature of the bath is not controlled for the specific alloy ratio. We found that Winchester M12 receivers, which came out red at a standard 310 degrees, would come out blue if started at 305 and then steadily raised to 315 over a half-hour. Everything is a little different. The factories know their alloys and can usually achieve a good color under ambient light, but under strong incandescence will usually still show a red tint.
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  • pietro75
    Yeah you want to keep the leather away from the steel when storing. the leather will dry up and pull preservatives away from your steel.
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