Someone local has posted up a K98k for $650 he describes the bore as “dark” so my question is what does that mean to you guys when you hear that term? How bad does darkness have to be before the rifle really can’t be expected to shoot accurately? Can anyone try and describe the amount of pitting that would heavily effect how it would shoot?

Trust me I can appreciate how difficult it is to answer these questions and how vague they really are my apologies

I’ve always wanted a k98 and I would want to shoot it regularly and I’m not sure what is normally expected but I think if the rifle could manage say 5moa or so with the ammo I can find I could get some enjoyment shooting steel targets with it

Any advice for inspecting old rifles especially the bore would be highly appreciated

Thanks for your time

Also the add mentions it including another barrel but I don’t know that I wanna get into having somebody swap that for me one day or not

Attached File

''Needs Work.''
Those words almost always mean it's in far worse condition then they will tell you it is.

The barrel is bad, owner bought another one and then got some quotes to bring it up to par and realized it was going to cost far more then expected so he's trying to find someone to unload it off on.

That's a lot of money for a "project rifle" - I agree with the other comment - this is a "I thought I wanted to do this, but it's going to cost too much and I want to get my money back" ad

Those seem like really good points me guys, if a used car add was written this way I’d stay away so I guess it’s safe to say I should do the same here


Perhaps optimism is clouding my judgement a bit


Thanks for saving me the time

OP:
Yes, I'd agree when it says "needs work"..... yes watch out.

To your question:
To me a "dark bore" is just that..... instead of bright and shiny, it's dark.  
A dark bore won't affect the accuracy, shooting etc.....

Now pitting and the resulting rust etc  will/can affect accuracy etc..... how much it cleans up/gets removed is up to you.  
You really have to look case-by-case and decide what that means to you.....

Dark bore can mean a few different things.

Bore dark with no rifling visible = bleh

Bore dark but rifling visible = possible

Bore dark or frosted with rifling = we can work with that.

I seem to recall that a rifle bore of that era could be dark through use of an oil or cleaning solution (?) - but at present I cannot recall what it was that I read about as a known/common cause.
It had zero effect on the accuracy of the barrel, just made it darker than normal

That is the important part for me.  I can live with a dark bore that still has strong rifling. Not so much one with worn down lands and grooves

I agree but the fact that the owner already sourced another barrel [what markings does that one have?] is what concerned me.

As others have said, "dark bore" can have several different meanings.  Here's another one.  Is it a Russian pickup rifle?  By that I mean, was it surrendered on the eastern front?  Most of those K98 rifles were rearsenaled by the Soviets at one of numerous facilities.  They were usually taken apart, down to their component parts, and then reassembled without regard to keeping the serial numbers matching.  If the parts fit, the parts made up a rifle.  Some all-matching Russian pickup rifles made it through.  

Not every rearsenal facility seems to have done it the same.  Some of them reblued every part and some did not.  The bolts, for example, where in-the-white when new.  But the Russians often blued them.  The Russians also reblued the barrels, sometimes without plugging them first.  So it is possible, I can't say just how possible, that the dark bore on this one might have been caused by a blueing job.

So, here are some things to look for:  Do the serial numbers on the various parts match?  Are the bolt and handle blued?  Are the waffenampts crossed out by using a punch?  Are there a few punched marks that look like a matched pair of butter knives?  All of those items indicate that it might be a rifle that -=could=- have a barrel that got blued inside.  Or not.  But you would have to actually have to have it in hand with a bore light to figure things out.

Edit on 2020-01-07 to use strikeout type to correct my blued bolt error.  Thank you rlester for calling me out on this.

K98s never had "in-the-white" bolts, they were blued from the factory. If you see a K98 with a polished bolt it is probably a Mitchell's Mausers abomination.

A dark bore could be hiding pits that weaken the barrel(large ones, or it could be years of filth and dust mixed with a small amount of corrosion. I’ve had both, for that price I’d pass unless you yourself can clean the barrel to know if it’s severe. I’ve had a few that with a good cleaning, and subsequent firing -the bores were largely intact. Shooting sometimes the only thing that loosened the crud.

just because someone calls it a dark bore doesnt mean its always a bad bore , it does mean its not pristine , it does not mean the barrel is spent , it means that someone shot corrosive ammo and did not clean and store properly , ive heard that lapping will bring it back , in allot of cases running a couple hundred rounds through it brings the bright back , as long as it has nice lands and grooves it would not deter me from purchase but actually serve as a haggling tool

Occasionally, you'll run across a "dark bore" that's just crusty with old dried cosmoline and crud.

I picked up a couple "sewer pipe" Mosin-Nagants for real cheap back in the day that, after a shot of foaming bore cleaner and a few rounds downrange, ended up with bright, sharp, shiny bores.

rlester, thank you for reminding me of this.  I'll only say that I was having a senior moment.  I didn't delete that part from my original comment, but I edited it to use strikeout type.   Now I'll return to the garden to eat worms and/or admire some Steyr 1914 Mausers.