Lithgow No1 Mk3 sticky extraction.

[BushyFromOz]

The brass chips are my main concern actually. The chamber was clean as a whistle, this was literally me cycling 20 live rounds through the action. All the brass and copper on the feed ramp is just off of those 20 rds. That resistance and the residue is what got me concerned in the first place. I left the brass and copper in place so that you guys could take a look.

Cover a couple of rounds with a marker and feed them in, see where its shaving the brass off them

[lcgivz12]

You got it. Ill do that and post pictures of where its coming off. At work now but it will be up tonight.

[browningautorifle]

That resistance and the residue is what got me concerned in the first place. I left the brass and copper in place so that you guys could take a look.

That's fresh parkerizing will do that. Perhaps it's in the chamber too. We used to parkerize them and then use machine paper in the chamber on a madrell to clean all traces out of there so it will chamber and extract smoothly again.

[Strangely Brown]

My first thought would be look closely at the ammunition you're using......commercial or reloads?

[lcgivz12]

Im using PPU fmj's

What would be the easiest way for an average joe to to clean up the parkerizing in a safe and thorough way?

[browningautorifle]

Parkerizing is a coating that forms on top of the metal, that's why military uses it. It can hold lubricants and will actually make the surface rougher than it started. You can use a stainless bore brush, a piece of oiled machine paper, scotchbright, steel wool...anything you'd use to equally remove rust. Cinders eluded to his use of a polishing wheel to clean the feedway, he's done it lots and has proved it's application. Depends on how much you want to smooth it. He's gone to a glass finish. Your chamber, same thing. Use machine paper, 400 grit or so and use a mandrel on a drill to wrap and push it inside. Use lots of oil and keep polishing until it smooths up. If the chamber is coated so's the bore. Get a stainless steel brush and a good rod and clean the bore out too. A good Phosphor bronze brush would also do the bore if you can get a Parker Hale rod and brush, I have hundreds of them so that's what I use...

Let us know...

[Maxwell Smart]

Lateral thought - might barrel be chambered as 7.7 x 54R? (Not the Russian calibre, but the Australian civilian shortened .303)

I imagine that a 303 would be a tight fit - don't know how these rifles were marked externally to indicate different chamber.

[browningautorifle]

7.7 x 54R

I seriously doubt it. He's in Texas. Maybe in Australia it could be.

[Maxwell Smart]

I seriously doubt it. He's in Texas. Maybe in Australia it could be.

Agree it would be unlikely, but just a thought. Might be interesting to see a photo of the end of the nosecap to see how far barrel protrudes.

[Aussie48]

It looks to me like the feed ramp needs to be smoothed off, there looks to be a crack on the right side and a gouge on the left side and that would tear the projectile leave brass chips and cause the hard loading. On a normal well used rifle the feed ramp will be coloured a bronze colour from the constant feeding of projectiles, but it is only very thin and if you are that fastidious is easily buffed off.

Dick