Poor Man's Bore Light.

[nit wit]

For 50+ years I have bought, sold and traded muzzleloaders. The most important factor in buying and selling is the condition of the bore. Many years ago I came up with the idea to use AA and AAA batteries as reflectors. You drop one down the bore and shine a flashlight on it. recently I was trying to come up with something for small bore rifles. I have cut off small pieces of aluminum round stock. Nowadays I have lots of dead hearing aid batteries. I have recycled them by using super glue to glue them together. They will fit down a .36 cal bore.
Every gun show I go to, I have a triple A battery in my pocket and a flashlight on my belt. You can get a photo of the bore with a cel phone also. Give it a try.
Nit Wit

 

[Pukka Bundook]

Good idea on the used batteries N-W.
Nice shiny reflectors!
On guns I make I polish the face of the breechplug and harden it. that works too, but no use at all for other guns!

 

[Grimord]

I bought some small round mirrors at the Hobby shop, glued one to the end of a small piece of dowel. Shine a pen light down the bore to see what you have. Some of the tiny mirrors will fit in a .32 barrel with no issues. The mirrors ar pretty cheap, only pennies apiece.

 

[nit wit]

I bought some small round mirrors at the Hobby shop, glued one to the end of a small piece of dowel. Shine a pen light down the bore to see what you have. Some of the tiny mirrors will fit in a .32 barrel with no issues. The mirrors ar pretty cheap, only pennies apiece.

Another great idea.
NW

 

[The Appalachian]

Probably not logistical at a gun show but all I do in my shop is push a clean white patch down to the breech plug and shine a light down the bore. This lets you see the last couple of inches of breech area where a battery won't. To retrieve the patch use a patch worm. This works on unmentionables as well by holding a white patch in the open breech so it can reflect light back up the bore. The light reflected from a white patch is "softer" and easier to see with than anything that is shiny like something silver or a mirror.

 

[Rancocas]

Good idea. Thanks.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Read this as “Bud Light” and thought buddy not my beer lol

 

[hanshi]

These are a few good ideas and I'm sure there are others that will be added to the list.

 

[waksupi]

I have a couple of the flexible bore scopes. I think they were $12 on Ebay. Easiest way to really exam a bore. Last summer a rifle was being sold at a rendezvous, and I got one of the bore scopes out to take a look. I was surprised when a couple experienced rifle builders and shooters looked at the bore with it, and declared the bore in excellent shape. I then pointed out to them it was frosted from end to end. They had to look again, and listen to what I was telling them until they saw this. Once they knew what to look for, they saw the problem. Most people don't understand what they are seeing inside a barrel.
Then again, just because a barrel is frosted or lightly pitted, that doesn't mean it won't shoot fine.

 

[Mulebrain]

Good idea there

I usually use a very small flash light, and just aim it down the bore. I find the small mag light I can adjust the beam to shine into the breach of the barrel
works great

 

[samurai]

Clever idea!

One idea I have been using recently to great effect is lighted arrow nocks. Available in the archery section of most sporting goods stores, or on Amazon for around $15 for a 6-pack. Small enough to drop down the bore, and works great!

 

[springfield art]

For 50+ years I have bought, sold and traded muzzleloaders. The most important factor in buying and selling is the condition of the bore. Many years ago I came up with the idea to use AA and AAA batteries as reflectors. You drop one down the bore and shine a flashlight on it. recently I was trying to come up with something for small bore rifles. I have cut off small pieces of aluminum round stock. Nowadays I have lots of dead hearing aid batteries. I have recycled them by using super glue to glue them together. They will fit down a .36 cal bore.
Every gun show I go to, I have a triple A battery in my pocket and a flashlight on my belt. You can get a photo of the bore with a cel phone also. Give it a try.
Nit Wit

Neat! I personally simply shine a hi-tech flash light down the bore and "peek" in there and can see right to the bottom. It just takes a little experience. Maybe it's not something everyone can do. Your tips are good!

 

[Powderfirst]

When I learned about the lighted arrow nocks I thought it couldn’t get any better until I got a $30 bore scope from amazon. Be careful when using the camera on your own rifles because there can be great happiness or great sadness