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bore condition questions

Wyostk
I can understand dark/dirty/pitted/worn.. etc.- What does the term "frosted" signify? What causes it? Can it be prevented and/or fixed? Does it effect accuracy or muzzle velocity?

Thanks in advance..

Wyostk

"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson
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3 comments

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  • rufe-snow
    It's a weasel word, (euphemism), for light pitting that has been cleaned up. They don't actual want to say that the rifling has pitting, which has a very negative connotation, so they sat say frosted.

    Not likely to affect muzzle velocity, accuracy maybe? I've seen pitted bores on old military rifled shoot OK with jacketed bullets. The wear on the muzzle by misuse of a cleaning rod would have more affect on accuracy than a "frosted" bore.
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  • mark christian
    Frosting is different things to different people. When you look down into a nice clean bore it will shine but when you look into a bore that is frosted it will have a dull appearance, not brown (or black) from heavy corrosion, but just a sort of flat gray look. Frosting is generally caused by numerous extremely fine pits in the bore, none of which are really huge, but together numbering enough to cause the bore to lose it's shine. Frosted bore can shoot just fine and in many cases accuracy is not decreased, but because the metal is no longer smooth the bore will wear faster than a barrel without a frosted bore. Many people have had good luck with JB bore paste to smooth out the bore (it contains a mild abrasive) but just like tooth decay: Once you start getting a cavity simply brushing your teeth might stop it's progress but it is not going to fix the cavity.
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by Wyostk
    I can understand dark/dirty/pitted/worn.. etc.- What does the term "frosted" signify? What causes it? Can it be prevented and/or fixed? Does it effect accuracy or muzzle velocity?


    "Frosting" means just like what it sounds like. Instead of being shiny, the bore is dull and gray, but not dark in color, and not with obvious (ie deep) pits.

    Of course the frosting is due to superficial metal corrosion, so if you looked with a microscope, you'd probably see small pits.

    What causes it? Most often the primers in corrosive ammunition, or in some cases outright neglect of the bore.

    Can it be prevented? Sure. Either don't use corrosive ammunition (ie at all), or thoroughly clean your bore with a water-based cleaning solution as soon as practicable after firing corrosive ammo.

    Does it affect muzzle velocity? Not to any practical extent. You probably have more shot-to-shot variation between normal ammo rounds than you would see decrement due to a frosted barrel.

    Does it affect accuracy? That depends. It might. . .it might not. In most cases probably not, but it depends a little bit on how accurate you were to start with.

    Can you fix it? Maybe. You can try polishing/lapping out the bore with bore paste (which is a mild abrasive) or the like, and that might help, at least costmetically. I'm not sure that would restore any lost accuracy (if there even were any).
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