when is it safe to shoot the shotgun?

[doubleman]

hey i just got an 1889 shotgun which supposedly had good bores, but really didnt. i want to know how bad does the shotgun have to be to not be shootable. the pitts dont seem that bad, theres just alot of them.
maybe only .002 deep at the most. they start at the end of the chambers and gets better towards the end. they go 360 around the barrels with about 35% pitting 65% clean so please answer me promptly
because if its not shootable its goin back.

[shot1too]

Now stop and think about this. You want someone to tell you if your gun is safe to shoot. Your gun can't be observed directly. Short of a metallurgical examination of the total barrel there would be no way to tell if there is damage that would cause pressure failure. You however have enough doubt to ask the question, "is it safe." It seems to me you have answerd your own question. No gun is worth getting hurt over. Send the thing back and try finding another if you want one to shoot. Best of luck.

[Researcher]

You need to read Sherman Bell's articles in the last three issues of The Double Gun Journal -- Volume Seventeen, Issues 3 and 4; and Volume Eighteen, Issue 1.

[doubleman]

can you read these articles on the computer? i'll try and take some pics of the bore and attach them to the next reply

[paul harm]

I have a couple of Parkers with bores pitted that bad and shoot them all the time- but as said, it's up to you to deciede. Paul