Does it have a significant effect on accuracy, if it's pretty uniform in its distribution in the bore? Does it have major impact on wear, and how long the barrel will last, once pitted?
The situation is this: I own ten handguns, and am religious in caring for them; the oldest are a WWII P38 that I inherited, and a Colt Huntsman that I bought in the early 1970s; both have immaculate, crisp-grooved bores, as do all my others -- until number 10.
Most of my handguns have been purchased new, but Number Ten was a great-deal, must-have Walther P88, posted as "as new, no box", with photos that seemed to justify the claim of condition. When I inspected the weapon at my FFL dealer, I DID observe a light film of brown in the bore of this otherwise immaculate pistol, which I didn't quite convince myself could be rust, and bought the gun anyway. Initial cleaning with Hopps' #9 and nylon brush didn't remove it, although the stains on the patch made it pretty clear it WAS rust.
I fired a couple hundred rounds through it, and it thoroughly matches its reputation for ergonomics, smooth, modern features, marvelously damped recoil, slinky tightly fitted parts, superb balance, and simply stupid accuracy. This time, when I took it back home and cleaned it, I used a bronze brush, and it came up clean. But it's definitely pitted. Bummer: it's the only handgun I own that is, and it's otherwise the finest of them. With magnification and illumination, it's easy to see that the bore has myriad small pits, varying in size, pretty evenly distributed, ranging from tiny, to less than tiny, but still quite small. The lands are completely sharp-edged with no apparent chipping, and as I said, it shoots just beautifully.
Although I think I know where I'm going with this -- Earl's says they have 9x19 P-88 barrels for $295 new, even though I can find only 9x21 on Earl's site -- I would like to know how more experienced shooters feel about the long-term prospects for a modestly pitted barrel, over time. (Although I shoot 200-400 rounds most weeks, I've only been an active shooter for about two years, and haven't seen how the ravages of time and 30000 rounds affect a formerly rusted barrel.)
Thanks so much for your input. I expect I'll buy the new barrel, and set aside the slightly pitted one with the matching serial numbers, but would like to learn what I can before jumping over that $300 cliff.
Regards,
B3nT
In order of acquisition:
Colt Huntsman .22
Walther P-38 9mm
Walther P99 9mm
Sig Trailside .22 (Hammerli) w/Millet Red Dot
Browning High Power 9mm w/JPoint
Browning Buckmark Camper .22
Walther PP .380
Colt Government 80 .45
Walther PPS 9mm
Walther P88 9mm
The situation is this: I own ten handguns, and am religious in caring for them; the oldest are a WWII P38 that I inherited, and a Colt Huntsman that I bought in the early 1970s; both have immaculate, crisp-grooved bores, as do all my others -- until number 10.
Most of my handguns have been purchased new, but Number Ten was a great-deal, must-have Walther P88, posted as "as new, no box", with photos that seemed to justify the claim of condition. When I inspected the weapon at my FFL dealer, I DID observe a light film of brown in the bore of this otherwise immaculate pistol, which I didn't quite convince myself could be rust, and bought the gun anyway. Initial cleaning with Hopps' #9 and nylon brush didn't remove it, although the stains on the patch made it pretty clear it WAS rust.
I fired a couple hundred rounds through it, and it thoroughly matches its reputation for ergonomics, smooth, modern features, marvelously damped recoil, slinky tightly fitted parts, superb balance, and simply stupid accuracy. This time, when I took it back home and cleaned it, I used a bronze brush, and it came up clean. But it's definitely pitted. Bummer: it's the only handgun I own that is, and it's otherwise the finest of them. With magnification and illumination, it's easy to see that the bore has myriad small pits, varying in size, pretty evenly distributed, ranging from tiny, to less than tiny, but still quite small. The lands are completely sharp-edged with no apparent chipping, and as I said, it shoots just beautifully.
Although I think I know where I'm going with this -- Earl's says they have 9x19 P-88 barrels for $295 new, even though I can find only 9x21 on Earl's site -- I would like to know how more experienced shooters feel about the long-term prospects for a modestly pitted barrel, over time. (Although I shoot 200-400 rounds most weeks, I've only been an active shooter for about two years, and haven't seen how the ravages of time and 30000 rounds affect a formerly rusted barrel.)
Thanks so much for your input. I expect I'll buy the new barrel, and set aside the slightly pitted one with the matching serial numbers, but would like to learn what I can before jumping over that $300 cliff.
Regards,
B3nT
In order of acquisition:
Colt Huntsman .22
Walther P-38 9mm
Walther P99 9mm
Sig Trailside .22 (Hammerli) w/Millet Red Dot
Browning High Power 9mm w/JPoint
Browning Buckmark Camper .22
Walther PP .380
Colt Government 80 .45
Walther PPS 9mm
Walther P88 9mm