Bore scope delivery

[Trooper]

I own many rifles and recently ordered a borescope through Amazon. And on delivery, inspected our Hawken smoke poles. One of the first Hawken 50 cal rifles we bought was through the internet, for my wife, and from an unnamed second-hand Shoppe in Delta, BC. When we took delivery, we noted that about 8" in front of the breech we found that a cleaning patch would suddenly lose resistance when pushed or pulled past this point for about two inches. Since returning the rifle wasn't an option, we decided to eventually replace that barrel, even though on shooting, there doesn't seem to be any degradation of accuracy. Fast forward to this morning, I took the opportunity to have a good look at the lands and grooves inside that tube. The rifle must have been left uncleaned a number of times by the previous owners as there was pitting throughout the length of this barrel. It goes without saying that this writer has never neglected our smoke poles and I truly believe in the old statement, " Never let the sunset on a dirty barrel". The next rifle acquired was a 54 cal Renegade Hawken. This barrel was also abused but nowhere near the level as the first one. I replaced that 1 in 48 twist barrel with a 1 in 60" twist rate. Now this barrel was kept in immaculate condition by the previous owner who was a member of this forum. The other two Hawken rifles are also in nearly new condition, so a purchase of this borescope will go a long way in determining how effective my cleaning regimen is on all my other modern firearms as well. BTW, That "almost ruined" barrel was replaced with a near-perfect barrel for the missus.

 

[waksupi]

Lots of barrels are ruined with Pyrodex and other powder substitutes. They are much more corrosive than BP. Chlorate is hard to kill, and needs to be cleaned 2-3 times a couple days apart to be sure the barrel is really clean.

 

[Trooper]

Lots of barrels are ruined with Pyrodex and other powder substitutes. They are much more corrosive than BP. Chlorate is hard to kill, and needs to be cleaned 2-3 times a couple days apart to be sure the barrel is really clean.

I have a can of ballistol that claims to neutralize the acids from burnt BP. According to some members of 24hourcampfire.com, 777 is much less corrosive than BP is. As far as I'm concerned, it's a moot point as I clean my barrels after shooting, without fail.

 

[Cpt Flint]

Never buy a borescope and look in your barrels that shoot well.

 

[Archer 756]

777 not for flint guns

 

[deerstalkert]

Never buy a borescope and look in your barrels that shoot well.

ain't that the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Trooper]

That makes no sense at all. If your barrel shoots well, wouldn’t it be prudent to ensure that they stay in that condition by monitoring your barrel for any changes?

 

[Trooper]

777 not for flint guns

I think the section title this post is placed in is “PERCUSSION GUNS” nowhere was a flintlock mentioned

 

[Nor Cal Mikie]

That makes no sense at all. If your barrel shoots well, wouldn’t it be prudent to ensure that they stay in that condition by monitoring your barrel for any changes?

DON'T FIX IT IF IT AIN'T BROKE!! Got one that shoots bug holes?
You get a look at it with your "new toy" and !!
Who you gunna believe?? I'll let my target tell the tale.
Many a good barrel has been condemned by a guy with a "new toy".

 

[bang]

Yeppers, have seen modern ones with chip out the rifling here n there. Nail driver.

 

[dave951]

It's a huge misconception that a "bad" barrel won't shoot. I have two that look like sewers but they'll both shoot under 2" at 50yds. Read the patches from those guns? Good luck finding anything. What I have found looks like Cujo's chew toy but those two guns will shoot acceptably for what I want them for.

 

[user 28522]

The muzzle still remains a pretty important part of the equation.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I agree with the don't look in a barrel that shoots good saying, I bought a Teslong bore scope and found the Bill Large barrel I had was pitted from stem to stern. The gun with this barrel will shoot a ragged one hole group at 50 yards and is my most accurate rifle.

This a shot of the rifling with an el-cheapo bore scope off eBay. I didn't take a picture of the pitting when I looked in with the Teslong but it was significant.

This is the kind of clarity a Teslong gives you, in this case my nephew's GPR that was neglected.

 

[LME]

Lots of barrels are ruined with Pyrodex and other powder substitutes. They are much more corrosive than BP. Chlorate is hard to kill, and needs to be cleaned 2-3 times a couple days apart to be sure the barrel is really clean.

I have shot a lot of Pyrodex due to not being able to get black powder locally. I clean all my weapon upon getting home. I have no pitting and the barrels are nice and bright lands and grooves. Tell me what I am doing wrong? I don't care what one uses Black powder or Pyrodex both will eat a barrel up if you don't clean them properly.

 

[hanshi]

Trooper, I also was curious why it was that important to get a new barrel when the original one was still accurate. Years ago my .50 longrifle was found to have a "ring" in the barrel about 1/3 up from the breech. But it was my most accurate and favorite rifle for offhand targets. The idea of replacing the barrel never entered my mind. And BTW what borescope did you acquire for the bore inspection?

 

[Trooper]

Trooper, I also was curious why it was that important to get a new barrel when the original one was still accurate. Years ago my .50 long rifle was found to have a "ring" in the barrel about 1/3 up from the breech. But it was my most accurate and favorite rifle for offhand targets. The idea of replacing the barrel never entered my mind. And BTW what borescope did you acquire for the bore inspection?

I bought a Teslong scope off Amazon it wasn't expensive either. As far as a new barrel for my wife, I picked up another TC Hawken 50 for her and used the original one for parts. The purchase was an effort to provide a more accurate rifle for her. I could see that during our shooting, she would start to get frustrated after many rounds of attempting to hit a target at 30 meters with her ML. but shooting mine, she wouldn't have any issues hitting the gongs at 50-75 meters. Clearly, she needed a better quality barrel than the one she was using. My wife isn't new to shooting as she owns a few unmentionables and is an accomplished target shooter. I couldn't see her losing interest in muzzleloading, hence the purchase of a new rifle for her. Regardless of whether you agree with me or not, or take exception to my methods, it's done and she's all that much happier for it. and as far as I'm concerned, that's all that counts. Below is the Teslong borescope pic of her replacement barrel

 

[CyrusP]

Not sure why a simple posting on someone buying a bore scope and posting his findings resulted in the responses it did, but it could be me. I’ve been meaning to buy a bore scope for years and now that prices are reasonable I’ll try one out for sure. If nothing else they offer a fascinating close-up look into a world most of us live in but rarely get to see really up close. That alone is reason for me to try one. YMMV.

 

[Phil Coffins]

I had to have a bore scope and it is entertaining to play with. My $30 scope isn’t very good on a tiny 54 calibre. Also you can use them to offer less money on a buy. It happened to me when a buyer put his scope in and pronounced the barrel pitted, it looked good with a light but the camera showed fine pitting. Lost that sell but sold it later to a fellow that is very happy with it. This is my number one rifle and it still shoots great.
E3E49713-A60B-4D99-AFD5-B7BA087614C4 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[Trooper]

Yeppers, have seen modern ones with chip out the rifling here n there. Nail driver.

So you are telling us that a rifle borescope will chip out metal from your bore?? What is your barrel made of plasticine? and what do you think the borescope is constructed with?

 

[Bad Karma]

So you are telling us that a rifle borescope will chip out metal from your bore?? What is your barrel made of plasticine? and what do you think the borescope is constructed with?

Lighten up there Francis… it everyone is out to hassle you. I believe he was saying he’s seen barrels with chips out of the riflin but still shooting well. Not that the borescope caused the damage…