Colombia army Belgium made Mauser barrel pitting question

[jeil]

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?

 

[dfariswheel]

Usually ordinary pinhole pitting isn't enough to compromise barrel integrity.

That takes extraordinarily deep corrosion of a wide area.

Should you decide to replace the barrel, many of these FN-made Columbian Mauser's were sold by Springfield Sporters, who may still have barrels.
http://ssporters.com/

Another good source is Gun Parts Corporation:
http://www.e-gunparts.com

Barrel replacement is a gunsmith-only job.

 

[cracked butt]

Pitting isn't likely to be deepenough to hurt anything. If the damage were halfway through the barrel wall, then I'd begin to worry.

Think of this: Gun makers cut deep dovetails and sometimes drill and tap barrels for mounting sights.