Bore scope in my pawn shop Lyman GPR

[J2SHORTT]

I bought a Lyman Great Plains Rifle from a local pawn shop a month or so ago. Today I used my new bore scope and was shocked to see brow/rust colored dots in the bore a few inches in front of where the powder sits when loaded. My fear is these are rust pitting. Can anyone give any insight on what I'm actually looking at and if there is anything I can do to stop the progression? If it's a total loss, then what are my options? Can I sleeve the barrel for a smaller caliber or bore it out and get it rifled for a larger caliber?

 

[Caniborrowsomeammo]

Shoot it, you may be surprised. I've heard of barrels that looked terrible but shot just fine. It can be bored larger or sleeved smaller if you wanted.


As for stopping the pitting, keep it oiled when not in use I suppose.
I did pass up a LH GPR once though because of a pitted barrel. Now I wish I hadn't.

 

[J2SHORTT]

Shoot it, you may be surprised. I've heard of barrels that looked terrible but shot just fine. It can be bored larger or sleeved smaller if you wanted.


As for stopping the pitting, keep it oiled when not in use I suppose.
I did pass up a LH GPR once though because of a pitted barrel. Now I wish I hadn't.

It doesn't shoot too bad. It will out shoot myself. As I have never used a rifle with the Buckhorn sights. So, once I learn to use them correctly I'm thinking it will work pretty ok. I took a bronze brush to it just a few minutes ago, didn't change the pitting at all. I'll keep her moist in the mean time I suppose.

 

[Fyrstyk]

You could use a tight patch & jag combination with some JB Bore paste to scrub the area and it might remove some of the rust and smooth out any pitting. Check your fired patches, and if they are shredded, or have hole in them, you could try using a dry patch over the powder or a felt wad before seating your patched ball. This has been known to sometimes improve accuracy on breech pitted barrels. I have an 1845, .35 caliber percussion muzzleloader that was left loaded for over 100 years and the barrel is pretty frosty. The area of the powder charge was pretty badly pitted. I use a felt bore button over the powder charge then my patched ball and the gun shoots 1" groups at 50 yards.

 

[J2SHORTT]

You could use a tight patch & jag combination with some JB Bore paste to scrub the area and it might remove some of the rust and smooth out any pitting. Check your fired patches, and if they are shredded, or have hole in them, you could try using a dry patch over the powder or a felt wad before seating your patched ball. This has been known to sometimes improve accuracy on breech pitted barrels. I have an 1845, .35 caliber percussion muzzleloader that was left loaded for over 100 years and the barrel is pretty frosty. The area of the powder charge was pretty badly pitted. I use a felt bore button over the powder charge then my patched ball and the gun shoots 1" groups at 50 yards.

At this point, what do I have to lose? I thought about using a bit of 0000 steel wool over a patch and buff that area a bit. The barrel has been frosty since I bought it. I have some flitz I could use as well.

 

[Fyrstyk]

I think you might be surprised at how well the gun still shoots. $ought steel wool soaked in gun oil and run thru the bore for about 100 or more strokes will likely remove some of the frostiness depending on how deep the pitting goes.

 

[Dave951]

Don't get crazy trying to remove the rust. Compared to my sewer pipe, yours is pristine. Shoot it and do proper load development and you'll probably be pleasantly surprised.