BSA Meteor Mk5 Piston Wear

[Storm River]

Hi All,
Thank you to all of those who have already posted some great info on the Meteor, it's been a great help on a restoration I'm doing on a very sad looking Mk5 that I inherited.
After stripping it (I will post more on that and the rebuild when completed) I see that the piston has a hole worn in it where the sear would rub/engage (I assume it's worn that way and not from the inside out?). Question... I've seen similar damage on other posts where people are still using the gun, can I still use this piston? I've ordered another one (second hand of course), what can I do to prevent the same thing happening... any tricks out there?
Many thanks and very best to you all for a great 2023.
Warren