Winchester M1 Carbine bore pitting.

[arbo34]

I found a winchester m1 carbine for sale locally and the guy let me run a bore scope through and there is quite a bit of pitting. Do you guys think i should walk away from it?

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[browningautorifle]

Is that actually pitting? Or is it scaling, like buildup? What's the draw to this particular carbine that you couldn't change barrels or just take another? Just because it's a Winchester? You could always use it for a shooter...

[arbo34]

Mainly drawn to it being a winchester and is mostly winchester parts so id like to keep it as original as possible. I wasn't sure if this is common or if the amount of pitting is excessive or not.

Thanks for your reply

[painter777]

1- Before walking away I'd at least have to swab and brush it a few times over a few days to see the 'After View'.
I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't clean up quite a bit.

2- I've seen my Father do a cleaning with Hoppes #9 and brush then patch on the old Rolling blocks he liked. Finish the night off by plugging the muzzle. Stick the gun up right with the muzzle in a pail and leave the action open then fill with the #9 overnight. Next day he'd repeat running a brush and patches until they came out clean. Finish it off with a light oil and be good to go.


3- Or like my little handicapped buddy would say when I question the bore on his slug gun from the season before: "I'll just shoot it clean"

Sounds worth trying 1 or 2.

[Singer B]

It's a Winchester M1....grab it if the price is right.....

[jimb16]

Price, price, price. If it is a good deal then the effort might be worth it. If the barrel does need replacement then you had better be getting it CHEAP. You really need to give that barrel a good going over. I'd do the soak recommended by the others then run a piece of bronze or copper screen down the barrel to remove any leading and scale. Then give it a good brushing/cleaning and see how the barrel looks then. You are going to have to decide if its worth keeping AFTER giving the barrel a good cleaning. Only then will you know if it is worth the price. Remember, a replacement Winchester barrel will cost several hundred dollars, if you can find an appropriate one. And it may take a lot of searching.

[browningautorifle]

"I'll just shoot it clean"

We had guys in the east coast here that used that method for their .303 hunting rifles...rust or whatnot. Just put a couple ball rounds through it.

Price, price, price. If it is a good deal then the effort might be worth it.

So OP, is this possible? Can you in fact get a chance to clean and examine after? I used to take a pullthrough and bore brush and even a few cotton swabs in a little bag pre oiled to use on a prospective usually .30 cal rifle. It had to come out good or was rejected.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Look very carefully at the dark spots. There are bright lines to be seen on the side towards the large spot of illumination. If the dark spots were pits, these faces would be in shadow, i.e. dark, and the "back" faces (away from the light spot) would be light. I have not observed any instance of the bright face being at the back.

But the faces towards the light source are bright, so they are raised up , like tiny mesas.

They are hard-baked deposits, not pits.

Value/buy accordingly.

Good luck with your purchase!

P.S: If the seller can't be bothered to clean his gun properly, he deserves to get a lower price for it!

[browningautorifle]

They are hard-baked deposits,

Kind of what I thought, maybe gilding metal from cupronickel bullets?

[DaveHH]

I bought a S&W m39-2 a couple years ago. Looking for a house pistol. The gun looked great but the bore was awful you couldn't see anything but black inside. Price was right so I bought it. I ran a bore brush and a couple of patches through it and the barrel looked brand new. Hoppe's #9 cleaned it all up. I think your "Pits" are just crap from it being shot and never cleaned. Pits would not cover that bad and would probably be around the gas port. Rust pits are generally small and round or roundish shaped. Could also be lead. Whatever it probably saved the barrel from being rusted. I also consider that most of these carbine were shot with GI ammo which was so cheap that it was ridiculous. Nobody but communists and France made corrosive and the chance that it was shot with that are not good. I know guys that NEVER clean a firearm they own, this may be one of them.