Pitting in shotgun barrel

dannej

I have found a Weatherby Orion 12 gauge I can buy for $600. It is in great shape overall, except both barrels have major pitting in one spot. My question is how do you tell at what point pitting becomes dangerous? If it is too bad, can it be fixed or do you just buy new barrels?

Thank you,
Dan

only winchesters

Hello dannej: Well since a shotgun bore is highly polished, even small pits can look real bad.

In some cases the pitted area can be honed, (repolished) until they are gone. however it boils done to the wall thickness of the barrel where the pits are. Meaning you don't want to hone the pits away if the wall thickness will become so thin that it isn't safe to shoot anymore.

The only way you will know for sure is to have a real shotgun gunsmith look at it and take some measurements to see if it can be honed.

Last resort would be new barrels, you can call Weatherby and get a price on those. They would certainly be able to work on your barrels now. If the bores are crome lined it could be flaking of the chrome. Give them a call and go from there.

Regards Dave

bobski

when you can see corrosion or discoloration coming thru the exterior of the bbl.

otherwise, shoot away. with todays plastic wads, theres a good chance the melting plastic will seal the pits with time.

dannej

Thanks for the info, guys!