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Cleaned a rifle -- What is this? It looks like saw dust.


Cholla

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I cleaned a rifle I recently picked up and it literally looks like mulch inside the action. I can not fathom what this might be. I know some use grits and cream of wheat for blackpowder filler. This looks like mulch for a Barbie Dream House. I would assume any filler would go out the muzzle, not back into the gun action.

 

>>>I think I may have figured it out. It has been recommended that I use a push stick to shove the cartridges in. Depending on what was used, I could see a soft wood or plant stem peeling against the loading gate opening. If that was done for an extended period, I can see it filling the action with the fibers I found.

 

 

 

 

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Perdersoli Lightning.

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It's nice to know everyone else is mystified as well. It was so packed in that as I slowly stripped the action down I was uncovering springs and other pieces. I also found strips of what looked like copper foil.

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I would ask the same questions as Palewolf.

My first impression is the rifle was stored muzzle up and no cover.

This appears to be dust, dirt, yard clippings that have fallen down the barrel in to the receiver.

Maybe mice making a nest some where above the barrel.

 

As long as it has not gotten wet and rusted in the rifle, it should clean up.

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Just now, Cliff Hanger #3720LR said:

I would ask the same questions as Palewolf.

My first impression is the rifle was stored muzzle up and no cover.

This appears to be dust, dirt, yard clippings that have fallen down the barrel in to the receiver.

Maybe mice making a nest some where above the barrel.

 

As long as it has not gotten wet and rusted in the rifle, it should clean up.

It cleaned up great but it took totally dismantling the action and soaking everything in Dawn and hot water. I doubt I will ever know the true source. As I understand it, the pard I got it from bought it from a very ill (terminal) shooter to help him out. I got a good deal so I'm not complaining.

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2 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

What was the bore like?   And the outside of the rifle, for that matter.

The bore looks like new. All the parts look perfect except for some bluing wear. I learned every wrong way to assemble a Lightning but it cycles like a champ now.

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When I was soaking the parts, the pieces softened and looked very much like fibrous plant matter.

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1 minute ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Do you have a copy of Roger Rapids guide to Lightening Rifles?

Yes. And I still assembled it wrong multiple times. I am impressed with Perdersoli quality. Everything is very well finished inside with no machining marks that I could see.

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Maybe the original owner used dry grass clippings and toothpaste as an action tune-up compound.    Does it smell minty? 

 

Try rinsing some of that sludge to see if there is hay or straw strands in it.  I could imagine dust and barn chaff combining to fill up the action if it had been a "barn gun."

 

good luck, GJ

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Kinda reminds me of the old "sawdust trick" folks used in a worn out rear axle to keep it quiet enough to sell.

Strange all is perfect after cleaning it all out. Funny stuff! Good luck with it.

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All the debris went out in the trash so I won't be doing an investigation. The action was sticky before and slick now.

 

>>>I think I may have figured it out. It has been recommended that I use a push stick to shove the cartridges in. Depending on what was used, I could see a soft wood or plant stem peeling against the loading gate opening. If that was done for an extended period, I can see it filling the action with the fibers I found.

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8 hours ago, PaleWolf Brunelle, #2495L said:

Have you asked the seller about what it might be?

How/where had it been stored?

Send to a lab for analysis?

Smell? 

Taste?

 

Ewwww, for goodness sake don’t taste it!!!!   LOL

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6 minutes ago, Cholla said:

All the debris went out in the trash so I won't be doing an investigation. The action was sticky before and slick now.

 

>>>I think I may have figured it out. It has been recommended that I use a push stick to shove the cartridges in. Depending on what was used, I could see a soft wood or plant stem peeling against the loading gate opening. If that was done for an extended period, I can see it filling the action with the fibers I found.

Sufferin’ Sassafras sticks Cholla!  

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There are a lot of people who don't know how to take apart a Lightning and put it back together. I'm sure a lot of them spray it down and call it good. Lightnings love to be clean however, with some wanting this more than others.

Your guess about a push stick having pieces scraped off is as logical as any and I bet the gun wasn't disassembled and cleaned either.

 

I took the bristles off a toothbrush and wrapped the handle with leather to make a "period correct" push stick for the wife years ago. After getting another Lightning, I made another but didn't bother with the leather wrap.

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1 hour ago, Go West said:

There are a lot of people who don't know how to take apart a Lightning and put it back together. I'm sure a lot of them spray it down and call it good. Lightnings love to be clean however, with some wanting this more than others.

Your guess about a push stick having pieces scraped off is as logical as any and I bet the gun wasn't disassembled and cleaned either.

 

Though I don’t know the exact composition of what was in your rifle, Go West hit the nail on the head. Sometimes a lightning can be intimidating to take apart and put back together. Because of this, many shooters just spray down and blow with compressed air or just hose down and think they get em clean. Over time it keeps building up into the condition that you found. The Pedersoli’s are nice rifles and will run but, they must be kept clean to function properly and a tear down is part of that cleaning process. 

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Seems like an awful lot of crud to have come from a push stick. He must have gone thru a lot of them.

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