Most of the pitting we incur on early guns came about after the introduction of smokeless, prior to the understsnding of corrosive primers. When BP only was in use water cleaning was standard practise & this also removed the corrosive primer salts. It is a mistake I think to say these early guns were pitted by the use of Black Powder. Certainly BP residue (fouling) will attract moisture & a mild form of sulfuric acid produced, but this would not be found on any well kept gun. Guns which were fired & then put away without a through cleaning were not common in the BP era. Smokeless Changed all that, as many folks thought that cleaning was now just a useless chore.
