Is this rust?

[geckocavemen]

I was looking over my rifle this afternoon and noticed this brown stuff when I shined a light down the barrel from the muzzle end (double checked to make sure it was unloaded before i did this). I'm not sure if this is just carbon and powder residue or if it is rust starting to form. There doesn't appear to be rust anywhere else on the rifle and it's kept in a dry environment. I have a plastic scraper tool and it was able to remove a little bit of the brown stuff when I scraped it. Sorry for the dropbox link to the picture... I'm on mobile and couldn't figure out how to attach a pic.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hiauqiv1dvvy0x7/IMG_20160219_210517.jpg?dl=0

[Coal Dragger]

Looks like rust to me. Pull your A2 flash hider off and clean it up.

[blade_68]

Have you been shooting Tula or any other steel case ammo out of it? If so I have seen that ammo causing some rusting / corrosion at times.
I would clean it and oil it and keep a eye out for it.

[geckocavemen]

Have you been shooting Tula or any other steel case ammo out of it? If so I have seen that ammo causing some rusting / corrosion at times.
I would clean it and oil it and keep a eye out for it.

Nope, no Tula or any other steel case. Just Federal 55 grain.

[quackhead]

That sure does look like rust

[556BlackRifle]

OP, could it be possible that the rust is coming from the muzzle device? Hard to say for sure without looking at it in person but from your pics, it looks like it might be. If the device isn't of good quality, there's a good chance that could be it. There have been some airsoft quality knockoff parts for sale on ebay and other sights over the years.... Good luck.

[odugrad]

I've actually seen some strange colors in the area around the muzzle device. This doesn't look like anything too strange. I'd keep shooting it and see if it clears up.

[geckocavemen]

I took the flash hider off this morning and it does appear to be rust. One picture below shows the end of the barrel and the other is looking through the end of the flash hider that attaches to the barrel. The threads on the barrel are fine... It's just the crown of the muzzle that's having issues.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/egr7ceppi3rz3d2/IMG_20160220_123801.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mm4nc92468bb1pw/IMG_20160220_124118.jpg?dl=0

I bought the gun from PSA just over a year ago. It only has about 400 rounds through it. I've never cleaned the flash hider so maybe that's what the problem is but I don't really see how it would be possible to clean that part of the flash hider in the first place.

Any recommendations for removing the rust from the barrel before i put a new flash hider on it?

[7.62NATO]

I took the flash hider off this morning and it does appear to be rust. One picture below shows the end of the barrel and the other is looking through the end of the flash hider that attaches to the barrel. The threads on the barrel are fine... It's just the crown of the muzzle that's having issues.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/egr7ceppi3rz3d2/IMG_20160220_123801.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mm4nc92468bb1pw/IMG_20160220_124118.jpg?dl=0

I bought the gun from PSA just over a year ago. It only has about 400 rounds through it. I've never cleaned the flash hider so maybe that's what the problem is but I don't really see how it would be possible to clean that part of the flash hider in the first place.

Any recommendations for removing the rust from the barrel before i put a new flash hider on it?

Use 0000 steel wool for cleanup. Q-tips will work for cleaning the flash hider/muzzle area.

[gsh341]

That's always a tricky spot to keep clean.

Just be careful not to damage the barrel while cleaning it.

[HelloLarry]

Carbon fouling is hygroscopic. That's one reason I don't really like permanent flash suppressors, but just keep in mind that you'll probably burn out the barrel before rust becomes a problem.

[mark5pt56]

I usually just give the FH area a squirt or two with a spray lube when cleaning and never have a problem.

[geckocavemen]

I've ordered a new muzzle device (Smith Enterprises Vortex) rather than try to clean up the rusty A2. The Vortex looks like it may be a little easier to clean compared to an A2 also.

I'm going to take the rifle to a gunsmith this week and have him inspect the barrel and clean up the rust. If it was in a more accessible location I would just do it myself and keep an eye on it, but since it will be partially covered by the muzzle device I want to be sure the problem is fixed right the first time.

Thanks for all the advice and I'll be sure to clean the Vortex in the future.