Bore Inspection

[Jeffpatton00]

I got my scope on Friday, and was surprised to see that I still have carbon & some copper in the barrel. This is a newer 224 Valkyrie barrel on a Bartlein blank, less than 100 rounds through it, and I cleaned thoroughly after both shooting sessions, and on this last cleaning I ran patches with Cu cleaner till they came out clear. Patches only, though, not a brush, so maybe I'll go back in with a brush tonight and see what happens. I enhanced the colors for emphasis. The carbon and copper are most prominent for the first 1/4 from the breech, tapers off rapidly after that.

I have to agree with others, for $50 this borescope is a great buy. It was easy to set up and easy to use, and not only will it help me assess my cleaning protocol, but like JE said, it'll be great to see how this barrel evolves with usage. By the way, JE, I sure appreciate your contributions on the forum. Note the scoring on the 3rd image - I use a carbon fiber rod through a quality guide so I don't think I could have done this - maybe when the rifling was cut?View attachment 144884 View attachment 144885 View attachment 144886

 

[Jeffpatton00]

I'd like to get some wisdom from some more experienced folks out there. I posted some images above, then decided to really try to get the rest of the carbon and copper out so I've spent all evening scrubbing the barrel with carbon and copper cleaner, and even some patches with JB, but the grooves in this image don't seem any cleaner than in the first pic in my string above. Any guidance on what's achievable? If you get your grooves cleaner than this, what's your process? By the way, when I had this barrel built I asked the gunsmith if it's worth investing in a borescope and he said no, it just makes you worry. Was he right? thx

 

[Old Rooster]

Jeff I see your worried.
Unless a barrel is lapped at the factory it will look a little rough.I had a Douglas barrel that shot great but the bore looked like it came out of a junk yard.
You can lapp a barrel if you like and it's not hard just a long time stroking the cleaning rod.I have done it many many times just to smooth out the bore and take out rough spots.You don't have to remove the barrel to lapp it.
Lilja is a barrel maker that cuts the barrel tight so when they put it on a lapping machine it lapps to spec.
They have videos of the process and the inside of them are super slick and very little machine marks but they still may not shoot as well as your barrel.
That looks better than some barrels I have seen.
If you like Savage NEVER EVER look at the bore with a bore scope as you may see something that make you yell!But they shoot very well.
That's what your gunsmith meant about bore scopes just making you worry.
Have a great week
Old Rooster

 

[Old Rooster]

crkckr I have never stuck a 6000 dollar bore scope in any section of the compressor section or power turbine section but I did rotate the Compressor section a little more than I should have and broke the camera off but fished the broken part out by the 6th stage bleed valve.I felt like a rooky buddy!
Repair was still 700.00 bucks back in 1979

 

[Jeffpatton00]

Jeff I see your worried.
Unless a barrel is lapped at the factory it will look a little rough.I had a Douglas barrel that shot great but the bore looked like it came out of a junk yard.
You can lapp a barrel if you like and it's not hard just a long time stroking the cleaning rod.I have done it many many times just to smooth out the bore and take out rough spots.You don't have to remove the barrel to lapp it.
Lilja is a barrel maker that cuts the barrel tight so when they put it on a lapping machine it lapps to spec.
They have videos of the process and the inside of them are super slick and very little machine marks but they still may not shoot as well as your barrel.
That looks better than some barrels I have seen.
If you like Savage NEVER EVER look at the bore with a bore scope as you may see something that make you yell!But they shoot very well.
That's what your gunsmith meant about bore scopes just making you worry.
Have a great week
Old Rooster

Thanks, Rooster, I appreciate it. Any tips on what would be reasonable expectations for getting the carbon and copper out of the grooves? This looks a little dark, yet I'd spent several hours with carbon and copper cleaner, and fiber brushes and patches, as well as some passes with JB bore cleaning compound, but it didn't seem to make a difference. So, either my cleaning process is ineffective, or my expectations are not realistic, and you just can't get a barrel down to bare metal. What does your experience suggest?

 

[Old Rooster]

Guys I got my Teslong bore scope in but the adapter to my phone won't work on my Motorola phone.I need an adapter female USB to Micro USB.I sent an email to Teslong to see if an adapter from Amazon.com will work.
Anyone have this problem?
Old Rooster

 

[jd126]

Mine came with some adapter and also the USB that is attached to the cable snaps in half so to speak and has another adapter inside of it. I'm not familiar with all the connections so I can't say what adapter is what.

 

[Old Rooster]

jd126 I did not know the adapter opened up.
I'll try again later.
Jeff you can get it cleaner some of the time.When I want to make sure I get EVERYTHING out including the stuff I had just used I swab with rubbing alcohol.
The JB bore paste is great stuff but hard to get out sometimes so I use rubbing alcohol to get JB out along with a good bore brush.
How does the rifle shoot?
Some people will never use copper or bronze or stainless steel brushes but I have used copper brushes since I had my first rifle.
I take a portion of Butches Bore Shine and put it a bottle and put about the same amount of Kroil and get plenty in the barrel and let it soak then scrub with good quality bore brush like Pro-Shot then I clean 50 strokes at a time.
If anything will lighten the dark spots Butches Bore Shine/Kroil will.
If it does not come out then that will be the new normal for that barrel.
Let me know what happens.
Old Rooster

 

[claybreaker]

great thread, interested and learning.

Thanks,

 

[Jeffpatton00]

I had to buy an adapter for my new cell and it may be what you need. When you fold the connector on the Teslong cable you find a Micro USB connector, but if your cell uses a USB-C adapter, you need something like this: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-usb-type-c-to-micro-usb-adapter-white/5580935.p?skuId=5580935. Thx for the tip on Bore Shine/Kroil, I'll give it a try.

 

[Old Rooster]

Jeff my adapter came in today and the bore scope is up and running.
One thing,does yours show a cup like opening where the bore scope picks up the barrel lands and grooves?I'm being a bit picky but it's hard to see everything inside the cup.
That cup like feature is the tube side angle mirror I guess.
Does yours look like that?
Also I looked at 7 different rifles today and many have that dark streak on the lands.
On rifles I don't load hot the dark streaks are not as noticeable but both 300 win mags have it.One 30/06 has a Shilein barrel and it's pretty smooth but the T/C Encore has dark streaks like yours.I will say the Encore stacks 30/06 into 1 ragged hole at 100 yards when I do my part.
So the dark streak did not hurt the performance.I bet your rifle shoots well also.
That is what Ballistic Guy was saying as why he did not recommend the average shooter to bore watch too much as we don't know what to worry about or let go.
Cooling off here in Montana and cool mornings make me start itching to get out.My health is not great but I'm not dead so I get the itch.
Have a good Thursday,
Old Rooster

 

[Greyfox]

I have been using the Lyman Bore-Scope for a few years . While it doesn't have the image quality of my buddy's Hawkeye, it's proven to be reliable, and more then adequate for my purposes. I would not consider myself an expert by any stretch, but I use the scope initially with the inspection of a new barrel, and on a periodic basis(approx. every 500rds) to check and monitor general condition, fire cracking/throat wear, and any anomalies. Combining the latter with BTO measurement, accuracy and ES information, while qualitative, this can provide insights on barrel selection and life, load selection, and cleaning regime. Since the acquisition of my bore-scope, I would now find it difficult to not own one.

 

[Don A Parsons]

My gun Smith and I still do it to old way,,, either the rifling is in good shape at the cone and crown or its not,,, its just that simple...

If you can see issues with the naked eye then your good to make changes as needed...

Different angles of the light and trying different eye positions seems to working so far,,, my other two friends have been doing old school for years as well...

The bore optic would be nice for sure,,, but neither of us are into dropping $1000 + bucks for a quality unit when we can borrow our barrel makers optic if needed...

Of course we know where the issues are before we send him the barrels... Ha...

A good pair of glasses and a watchful eye saves us alot of coin...

Yo Yo Yo