Recently I purchased a C. Sharps in 45-70 off the internet against my better judgement. The seller is a AAA BPCR Silhouette shooter and I felt surely he would know how to take care of a BP rifle. So I buy the rifle and when it arrives an inspection of the bore with my borescope reveals pitting at the leade and decreasing toward the muzzle. The worst spot is partially in the chamber and extending into the bore and appears like a puddle of corrosive liquid about 1/2" wide x 1 1/4" long had dryed there. There is one other spot similar but smaller, a bit further up the bore and numerous pits about the size of a pin point. I have not shot this rifle as I have no sights for it. I have on order a MVA scope but it will be several more weeks before delivery.
My borescope has the "Side View" optic which gives a clear view of the bore with magnification and I have owned it for about 15 years and examined many barrels. Since I am new to BP shooting, my bore examining experience has been with smokeless guns. I am somewhat at a lose to judge the impact of the damage. Will this larger spot in the leade area at the end of the chamber cause shearing of the boolit as it passes over it to the extent that it causes leading? Will this have any effect on the performance of the rifle in your opinion?
The seller stated he shot a duplex load of Swiss 1.5 and Pyrodex RS. I spoke with C. Sharps about this and they suggested either JB Borepaste or shoot some jacketed bullets and see what that does to clear it up. It would seem to me that bore pitting would not be a common occurance amoung BP shooters, especially seasoned shooters, but maybe I'm wrong. It may be that if I were to examine the bores at a typical BPCR Silhouette match I would find pitting in most of the barrels, but I doubt it.
I am disappointed that a fellow BPCR shooter would take advantage of another shooter in this manner.