The only rust pitting I've ever come across personally was in a mates Tikka T3 in 6.5x55 with stainless barrel. The internals were totally pitted the entire length. I took it to the range and I managed to shoot a 10 shot 3" group with it at 100m... still, that pales to the ten shot 6" group that 'he' managed to eek out of it!
I own a bore scope and ALLWAYS simply thoroughly clean my S/S barrels and store them "completely dry", sometimes for a couple of years or more on end, and I ain't NEVER seen anything untoward like rust pits down any of my barrels! Removing that carbon is the biggest killer for barrels as it's a desiccant in it's own rite! A barrel nearly always looks clean when you hold it to the light, but, put a bore scope through it and quite often it's a different story!
"Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten"!
Last time I was home I had a look in my Dads safe...its in the garage as well surface rust to the shot guns in there. So I had a look for the the Napier VP90 Total Corrosion Protection product that we us in the UK! It's very good stick one to the inside of your safe each year date it, and replace it as it expires. Trouble was that I could not find it in NZ even though it's invented by a Kiwi.
If you look on Amazon you may be able to get some.
Or try some shoe beans moisture sachet
As a side note I have rifles in the uk and the safe is against a retaining wall, no rust since using the V90's
Mix some ATF (Dextron 2 or 3 ) with equal parts acetone, white spirits and kerosene. This will clean your bore and prevent rust. Dont get on your plastics or varnish as it will dissolve them. This works as a penetrating oil (awesome) gets under and lifts lead in a 22 barrel, If you wrap oo steel wool around a worn out bronze brush and use with liberal amounts of this mix in your bore you can remove the rust and polish the bore at the same time. This mix makes a fine gun oil and lubricant and as such use in small amounts.
The effectiveness of this depends on a combo of
- average humidity of the air in the cabinet
- volume of the dessicant relative to the air
- keeping the dessicant unsaturated
- how much air exchange there is in the cabinet
It's quite possible the amount of moisture you need the dessicant to remove far exceeds its capability.
It's also easy to leave a disposable capsule past its saturated point and the protection is gone at that point.
As for anti-corrosion surface treatments, Corrosion X For Guns topped the list on a long-term systematic test of various products. I had to talk a local outfit into stocking some but glad I did.
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