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I would try shooting it first. Many rifle bores even with slight pitting will still shoot fine. Especially roundball loads. So shoot it first. If the accuracy is terrible then get some J.B. Bore Paste and work the bore over with that. Lapping is a last resort.

JB's Bore Paste will work. Just remember to alternate oil patches will it. After that, a good gun oil on two patches with a brush.

Don't use your old gun oil... it obviously didn't work. Unless you're keeping your rifle in a bathroom or live a block away from an ocean, that gun oil should of protected that bore for years.

Buy Rem-Oil with Teflon or BirchWood-Casey Sheath. I live right-smack in the middle of the Great Lakes where summer days with 80% humidity feels dry. I've left my pistol behind my bedroom bed headboard hanging on a hook for five years without touching it. When I put a rod to the bore a week ago right before a test-fire, the patch came out white as snow. That's how good Rem-Oil & Casey Sheath works.

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Lapping is the use of an abrasive and actually removing metal out from the inside of the bore. Some people including myself have used valve grinding compound. Others have used Comet Cleanser. J.B. Bore Paste is an actual mild form of lapping although it is not as drastic as other methods. Another method is using Scotch Brite Scrubber pads and working them back and fourth in the barrel....

Then there is the fire lapping method. Where you take conicals and actually lube them with a valve grinding compound, push them down on a charge and fire them. The results is the compound removes a thin layer of metal from the barrel. There are also professional fire lap kits.

Lapping is a way to smooth out all the ruff spots inside the bore. The problem with lapping is before you make this commitment to your rifle remember... once you take it out, you can not put it back. There is no guarantee that lapping will solve your problem. It is a last resort. Although it does wonders for a stubborn rifle....

I just purchased a rifle from an auction site. It was a stainless T/C Greyhawk. When it arrived I ran a patch down the barrel and it came out rusty (really rusty!!). Apparently the previousl owner thought stainless rifles didn't have to be cleaned after shooting black powder. After looking at the bore there was severe pitting at the muzzle some pits were estimated .060 to .080 deep (big pits). I ran about 100 passes with JB bore paste just to see if I could smooth it up enought to see if it would even shoot. After the cleaning process the pits were still very obvious. I shot three shots with 80gr. Black Mag3 and 300gr. bullet/sabot. The three shots were very close less than a 2 inch spread which with iron sights and my old eyes surprisingly good. The final death blow however was when I pulled the nipple and found the threads erroded to the point that I felt fortunate that I didn't get a nipple in the face. Bottom line here is that a pitted barrel may shoot pretty good in spite of what it looks like. The guy I bought the rifle from was not aware of the condition as he was a dealer and didn't inspect the rifle before passing it on. He returned my money and I sent the rifle back.

I would take it out and fire it to see if it is grouping well and if it is satisfactory to you I wouldnt lap it except as a last resort. Good Luck.

I was given a rifle from a friend of mine. He gave it to me because he claimed it was "junk." He had used it during deer season then put the rifle in his basement for many months, uncleaned. He did not want to try to save the rifle so he gave it to me. Looking at the rifle you would have throught it was a lost cause. Although it did have some parts off it I could use.

I took the rifle and spent days cleaning it the conventional ways. It was a mess. The outside of the barrel was rusted. The inside was rusted. So I figured I had nothing to loose and lapped the barrel. I did not get all the pits out of the barrel but at least the rust is out. The rifle by the way is a real good shooter. With roundball and 70 grains it is an exceptionally accurate rifle. A pitted bore is not the end of the world...

Just don't do it on purpose. Get some oil down them barrels...