Air Arms TX200 SR Mk 2

[Duggan]

I was wondering if anyone can tell me about my SR, it is in lovely condition with hardly a mark on it. Yet for some reason the barrel is a distinct reddish colour? There is not a hint of rust anywhere, with no evidence whatsoever of any tampering with it. Everything seems completely original and it shoots like a dream. Only the barrel has this reddish colour. The second picture below has caught it more clearly. I guess the rifle was made around 1993 so its around 25 years old. I've added a cocking aid and strange 1 piece scope mounts and a Vintage Tasco scope for now. Many questions I have rolling around my head, a few are:

Did it leave AA like this, maybe a limited edition?
Has the barrel undergone a different blueing process that has changed colour over time?
Has the barrel blueing reacted to a certain gun oil?

The condition is really excellent, so I have no.intention of getting the barrel re-blued. Its staying as it is, just wondering if anyone knows the reason for the barrel colour.

Cheers

[DCL_dave]

That is odd...looks very similar to the two-tone Webley pistols, and caused (I think?) by the reaction of the bluing salts to the different alloy composition of the steels used?...

[T 20]

As the barrels are screwed into the action, it could be that the barrel was blued in a seperate batch to the rest of the gun, so perhaps it was in a poorly blued batch ?

Nice find btw.



All the best Mick

[Duggan]

If it has reacted differently and you could well be right, it has stood the test of time and protected the steel, just as well as the blueing on the action and underleaver. If the barrels were blued seperately and it ' has gone a bit Pete Tong' there must be plenty others like it out there. To be honest it looks great and would look good if all the rifle was this colour😲

[fozzy45]

I have not long since made a .20 cal barrel for my 77 chameleon. I cut the slots for the screws to lock the barrel into the breach then reblacked it. After refitting it I realised the screw head slots that lock it down were too deep so had to re-weld them back up to re-cut them not as deep. Upon reblacking it it got that same colour to it as yours. I then polished it back down and reblacked it again, this time it was perfect. I put mine down to heat from the mig welder transferring up the barrel, altering the structure slightly.
If I was you I would take the barrel off, polish it down and get it reblacked.
Fozzy

[Duggan]

Hi Fozzy that was what my mate thought until he held the gun and looked at it. The reddish colour is completely uniform along the whole barrel, in his opinion and he is a skilled gunsmith, its not caused through heat, at least not since it left the factory.

[air-tech]

Metal surface composition due to the manufacturing process, possibly the barrel was made to size and never turned down. I bought an LW barrel for a Pro Target and this was the correct size that I needed it to be, and the blueing never took well, only got as far as that reddish violet you have there (it was blued twice...)

But, where the barrel was machined, perfect black...

Sadly no "fix" for you but then you don't want one so that's lucky

[fozzy45]

Hi Fozzy that was what my mate thought until he held the gun and looked at it. The reddish colour is completely uniform along the whole barrel, in his opinion and he is a skilled gunsmith, its not caused through heat, at least not since it left the factory.

Yep, yours is nothing to do with heat and mine more than likely coincidence that I used heat on it with a welder.
I tend now to think the same as air-tech and due to original manufacturing process because where mine had been turned down to fit the breach and silencer it blacked lovely.
I didn't actually mind the colour of mine just like you, but as I have a few different caliber barrels for my Chameleon it wouldn't have been right to have one that looked reddish so reblacked it.
Good luck with it mate, they're a cracking well made gun that take some beating.
Regards.
Fozzy

[LESS THAN FORTUITOUS KENNETH]

It looks normal to me. Then again I am colourblind.