Is this pitting?

[ramsdude47]

I never fully understood what pitting is, only that it is bad news. I did look it up, and still don't fully understand and definitely am not convinced I can identify it.

I'm looking for a budget Mauser, and love the stock on this one. Clearly the metal is not great, but based on my limited knowledge it looks good enough for my purpose. Hoping to get some input from folks with more knowledge: https://www.gunbroker.com/item/867509360.

 

[VernAK]

It's difficult to determine from the pics but some of the barrel appears pitted IMO.

 

[Bubblehide]

There is a lot of tiny rust spots on that rifle. The odds are there is pitting, but the photos are not clear enough to determine that.

 

[LaHunter]

Pitting corrosion is simply localized corrosion that creates a pit in the metal. It may appear to have a raised area of oxidized metal (blister) on it, but when the blister is removed, there is a pit in the metal. This type of corrosion is generally more destructive vs generalized corrosion. It's hard to tell in the photos, but there appears to be some general corrosion present but I cant tell if there is pitting or not. It looks like the barrel crown may have some corrosion present, which would make me a little concerned that the rifling may have some corrosion (and possibly pitting corrosion) but you would need a bore scope to be sure.

 

[Wapiti1]

I would call that freckling and not pitting. I don't see any depth to it. A little OOO steel wool and some oil would clean that up pretty well. That just looks like a well used rifle with a little surface rust. If it bothered you, it would cost about $200-250 to reblue and they would clean up any freckling.

If you are interested, ask them to take it out of the stock and photograph what is below the woodline. If that is clean, or similar, I'd say it is a good user grade rifle. Pitting typically occurs below the woodline if the rifle was in humid or wet conditions.

Jeremy

 

[robtattoo]

For $369?
I'd buy that rascal in a heartbeat & not worry about it.
Pitting is only really an issue if it's inside the bore and really only a real issue if it's in the last couple of inches before the muzzle.
Id ask for a quick photo of the bore, pitting in the blue will show up as pretty obvious small, black spots.

Pitting on the exterior surfaces, unless it's extremely deep, is purely a cosmetic issue, but on a hundred year old 98, for that price, i'd absolutely live with it!

Beautiful rifle at a really really attractive price!

 

[False_Cast]

That stock will do two things: keep you from getting a proper cheek weld with any sighting system above the irons, and beat you up.