Mauser 98 Question

[Hawg]

If you find bare iron pits acceptable as a metal finish, that's fine. Personally I don't count bare iron as "finish" but maybe I'm just old school that way

You obviously never took the time to clean surface rust off of a blued surface. When I got this rifle it looked pretty much like the OP's. I didn't take before pics because I didn't think it would turn out this good.

 

[Jimro]

I appreciate you posting those pics, as it shows the pitting above "VALLEY" and "Rifle" are pretty well, as is the pitting to the left and right of the proof mark.

If you find that acceptable by all means continue to do so. I'd find it acceptable too on a beater rifle I picked up for next to nothing and planned to use hard. I wouldn't find that acceptable on a rifle passed down from family, or a rifle I plan to pass down.

Jimro

 

[us920669]

Reinforces my belief that there are different kinds of rust. Black powder is such fertilizer that the rust seems to grow out of the metal rather than eat into it. The day after firing my muzzle-loader once showed showed a crystallized structure bridging the gap between hammer and nipple. Caught in time, it wiped away with almost no permanent damage.