Barrel pitting

[TDP0311]

I have a barrel that has grooves in good condition, is shiny, but has some pitting towards the muzzle. Besides this pitting, it is in respectable shape- but I'm curious as to if it will shoot worth anything at all or is just another tomato stake. Any thoughts?

[Art]

Pitting is not always the kiss of death. I once owned a No 1 Mk III SMLE with a quite frosty bore that shot pretty well. If the rifling is still strong and there isn't excessive muzzle wear or throat erosion it might surprise you.

[John Beard]

One must be very careful shooting a rifle with a pitted bore. I have learned that bullet jacketing metal in a pitted bore abrades and builds up with each successive shot. Eventually the bore becomes obstructed and very, very bad things happen.

Be careful!

J.B.

[Johnny P]

If you have to install the barrel I would search for a nice one, but if it is already on the rifle why not just give it a try.

[p246]

I bought a k 98 that both seller and I thought was pitted. Took it out and it shot lights out. Went home and cleaned the heck out of it. No pits so it must have been crude. Have had two enfields with pitting. The worse of the two won't shoot groups and has velocity loss. The better one shoots okay. That bore is like Arts description frosty with pits in lands. Only way to know is shoot it.

[purple]

A pitted bore can still shoot well provided that the rifling is sharp, throat and muzzle wear are within tolerances and the crown is in good condition. An extract from US Army Tech Bulletin TB ORD 366 TO 11W3-1-6 Rebuild Standards for Small Arms Material concerning bore pitting; "Fine pits are allowed if they do not affect the sharpness of lands materially. Barrels will be replaced if lands are worn to the extent that accuracy is affected or if pits are as wide as the lands or grooves. Allowable length of pits in Rifle Cal .30 is three-eights inch.`

A pitted bore will tend to foul more quickly than an unpitted one which means extra cleaning effort to remove bullet jacket fouling. I have a Rem M1903 which had it`s original barrel with a lightly pitted bore which was worn to reject limits ( .307 in the throat and .303 at the muzzle). The crown was good and it would still produce a 3 inch group at 100 yds. I replaced the worn barrel with a new SA 7-44 barrel and it became a real tack driver.

[CHW2021]

I have to agree with the above, you have to shoot it to find out. I have shot frosted/rough looking barrels only to find out that after 1-2 shots most of the frost was gone; high pressure cleaning I suppose. Accuracy can always be a surprise, even with great looking bores. My sportered turkish mauser with a chopped barrel is amazingly accurate; looking at the gun you would think it was ready for the scrap pile, it will shoot 1-2 inch groups all day with surplus ammo.

Bring a cleaning rod and a solvent to the range and give it a try.

[Allen Humphrey]

I think caution is the operative word here. Pitting=abrasive. That means there is at least a reasonable opportunity for excessive fouling. Generally I wouldn't be too concerned at all for limited shooting. Pay attention to pressure signs on the case. Pay attention to unexpected changes in accuracy and precision. Pay attention to how the bore cleans after limited shooting at first.

My personal example on this topic is an '03 with a frosted bore. It shoots VERY well for a limited number of rounds, say 40. I used it once for a RMC 80. It shot well at 200, decent at 300, and by the time I was half way through the 600yd stage, I might have well been throwing rocks at the target. It didn't exhibit pressure issues yet, but the bore was fouling and I'm sure pressure signs were not far away. The rifle still has the same barrel, I just restrict it to 20 rounds of fun shooting between good cleanings.

Also, in my book there is a difference between pitted and frosted. Although I don't have any scientific data to support this, my theory is that the deeper etching of a "pit" is more likely to glob more bullet jacket in localized spots which COULD lead to significant pressure changes quickly, rather than a gradual accumulation.

[TDP0311]

Common sense dictates there really isn't much point utilizing a barrel that has signs of defectiveness, the only reason I'm considering it is because it is a Sedgley 9-41 USMC barrel that I found. Likely, I'll just spend some time searching for a LN receiver with signs of USMC usage and make a wall hanger out of it.