It was recently pointed out to me that Cerakote on the bolt head or lug area of a rifle does more harm than good. Something about changing head space. I contended if your bolt head is not covered you are not getting a complete job or the full benefits of Cerakote protection. It has the highest amount of corrosion protection of any coating.

Deer season opened yesterday here in Oregon. It was a wet one. My sons Weatherby Accumark spent the entire day in the rain. Being we are within shooting distance to the ocean I think the rain here on the coast might be more corrosive. May be not. I noticed his rifle sitting on the bench this morning so I thought I would take a peek. On the outside it looked okay.

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Shot at 2011-10-02

Pulling the bolt back revealed this.
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Shot at 2011-10-02

Here is what Cerakote looks like on the lugs of a 700 after 250 rounds. No change in accuracy was noted by the owner of this rifle who is required to document every shot out of it or any other of his duty rifles.

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The change in head space appears to be a non-issue. To me it's more than just pretty. I would rather have Cerakote's full benefits obtained by a complete coating.