The model 1898 that I inherited a few months ago has probably not been shot for decades.  I finally obtained some ammo, and I am hoping to try shooting soon.  In preparation, I decided to give the bore a good cleaning.  The bore is pitted, but other than that I thought it looked ok.  However, after alternating cloth patches with Hoppe's followed by a wire brush followed by more patches, there seems to be no end to the amount of rust that I am getting out of the bore.  Have others experienced this?  If I keep cleaning in this manner, can I eventually get all of the rust out?  Most importantly, is a bore with this much rust safe to shoot?

I have actually seen rusty bores improve by shooting.  It blows some of the rust out and they clean up better after being shot.  I agree, some dark bores can shoot fairly well.