I have recently purchased four New Englander rifles. They all have some rust. The first is a 50 that I cleaned up, shoots very well, but still has some 'freckles'. The second was a 54 that was supposed to be 'like new', I sent it back. The third is a 54 that I got very cheaply, the pix looked OK. It is a total rust bucket. To cover the crust the seller on GUNBROKER painted all the exposed metal black [name on request]. I made that one into a fantasy wallhanger as an AFS [assault front stuffer]. The last is a 54 that appears to have cleaned up well. It looks good but I haven't fired it yet. Getting a rust free 54 seems difficult. I have replaced rusty octagon barrels with new ones, but I can't find new round T/C barrels.
Thanks for reading my venting of frustration P.A.