Rough 98K, what to do with it?

[Mikesm44]

Hello all. I purchased this recently and I am somewhat unhappy with the condition. It is an IDF 98k in 7.62 NATO. The previous owner was asking a good price, and he had been using it during his ownership of the rifle, the bore looked good and so I picked it up. Upon further investigation I discovered it is very aggressive pitted below the stock. I am relatively convinced that it is somewhat dangerous to shoot as it is, and so I am asking for some opinions. Would you shoot this rifle? Thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you.

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[browningautorifle]

I don't believe the rifle is unsafe to shoot. Matter of fact, I'll bet it's shot more ammo than one can imagine in that state. The bore doesn't look that great, except strong. Looks pitted. I've sure shot worse.

[22SqnRAE]

Mikesm44, being conversant with the evils of steel wishing to revert to it's former iron oxide state, I'd suggest you have a cosmetic problem at most.

BAR's comments are fair and helpful.

Suggest if you're real worried, get the barreled action bead (using glass beads) blasted, not garnet/grit blasted and then phosphated (Parkerized in your terms). That'll prevent further degradation and make the whole shebang look a million dollars again. And in the mean time, I'm fairly comfortable that your standard Service Ammo won't cause any distress to the steelwork. I'd recommend limited stress over this one.

But that's just my opinion, its your choice that matters.

[Aragorn243]

Check out this thread:

http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=43216

[WarPig1976]

Holes for mounting some types of sight bases are deeper then your pitting. Kill the rust though.

[mrclark303]

Best thing for your piece of mind is to get it checked over by a competent gunsmith. Kill the tin worm though in the mean time!

[Steve H. in N.Y.]

I agree that the pitting is not a safety issue but it would annoy the hell out of me. I'd be looking to get my money back.

[Mikesm44]

Thanks for the advice guys! A bit to mull over. Yes, pretty unhappy about it but we'll see how things shape up. It's actually accurate. I saw the previous owner shoot nice 3inch groups at 100 yards.

What are the best ways to remove/ arrest the rust?

[WarPig1976]

What are the best ways to remove/ arrest the rust?

In this case there are only two viable options, Electrolysis or boiling to turn the rust into black oxide. Won't remove blueing and will kill rust in every nook and cranny. Personally I'd go with Electrolysis because there is no doubt all the rust is dead. There's more "moving parts" to a setup but worth gathering and having on hand anyway.

[Mikesm44]

In this case there are only two viable options, Electrolysis or boiling to turn the rust into black oxide. Won't remove blueing and will kill rust in every nook and cranny. Personally I'd go with Electrolysis because there is no doubt all the rust is dead. There's more "moving parts" to a setup but worth gathering and having on hand anyway.

Very cool. I'll have to look into it. I haven't had a "project" gun in a long time.