I bought at an auction a Belgium made Mauser marked Colombia, Fuerzas Militares, fab Nat D'Armes de Guerre, Herstal Belgique. From reasearch on the internet I understand that in the 1950's the army in Colombia bought a number of these in 30.06 from FN Herstal and had other converted from 7mm to 30.06. The receiver is marked .30 cal.
The rifle looked to be in excellent condition, but when I took it home and broke it down, there was some serious pitting in two different places on the exterior of the barrel that were hidden under the barrel where it sat in the channel of the stock. Aside from learning a lesson about dilligence at auctions, I am concerned about the safety of firing the rifle. How serious does pitting need to be before it is a danger? The pits are individually small, but they are in two different clusters, and a few deeper ones look to be about 10% of the way into the barrel wall.
If the barrel needs to be replaced (if I can find a replacement) any pointers?
The rifle looked to be in excellent condition, but when I took it home and broke it down, there was some serious pitting in two different places on the exterior of the barrel that were hidden under the barrel where it sat in the channel of the stock. Aside from learning a lesson about dilligence at auctions, I am concerned about the safety of firing the rifle. How serious does pitting need to be before it is a danger? The pits are individually small, but they are in two different clusters, and a few deeper ones look to be about 10% of the way into the barrel wall.
If the barrel needs to be replaced (if I can find a replacement) any pointers?