Borescopes , don't fall into the trap !!

[Jeff3680]

Don't fall into the trap of buying a cheap bore scope to save you money . After buying a Teslong I have probably spent more in cleaning supplies than ammo ... And don't even calculate in the time .
It is amazing how much deposits can be left in a bore you thought was thoroughly cleaned .. A scope sure sheds light on your cleaning regime .

 

[joshb]

Yeah, but somebody told you not to look and you did anyway.

 

[Forum Boss]

And don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need a flawless, squeaky clean bore for your rifle to shoot well.

Let the TARGET decide how much cleaning you actually need.

I have some barrels that need regular brushing with heavy solvents. My three best-shooting barrels do best with very little brushing and a bit of carbon that would freak out some of the borescopaholics.

My best .22lr pistol shoots better with 40 rounds through it than right after an aggressive cleaning.

 

[Sieg]

Agreed, but it's nice to know what condition the barrel excels at.

 

[1shot]

I've been using a Hawkeye for 20+ years. If you use it as a learning tool to correlate what the the barrel is doing accuracy wise, to what you are seeing you will be fine. When the accuracy suddenly goes south, take a good hard look thru your borescope and now you have a visible reference whether the barrel is ready to be put out to pasture or not.
I hope this helps,

Lloyd

 

[Texas10]

It's not so much a trap as it it a new rabbit hole to fall down. On the up side, as you noted, it does remove any doubt about how well your cleaning regiment is working.

I personally don't see a downside to more and more accurate information.

 

[carlsbad]

I use the teslong like I used a borescope before--to look at issues, confirm chambers and necks, observe carbon rings, and track fire cracking.

I clean the same way I always did--BECAUSE IT WORKS.

Soon you'll figure out that if you clean your rifle down to bare metal every time you shoot it, you then have to put a significant number of foulers through it to get it back to shooting consistently. Don't remove stuff just so you can put it back on.

--Jerry

 

[grovey]

And don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need a flawless, squeaky clean bore for your rifle to shoot well.

Let the TARGET decide how much cleaning you actually need.

I have some barrels that need regular brushing with heavy solvents. My three best-shooting barrels do best with very little brushing and a bit of carbon that would freak out some of the borescopaholics.

My best .22lr pistol shoots better with 40 rounds through it than right after an aggressive cleaning.

Agreed... I had one shooting tiny holes last year, and won 4 local club fun matches in a row without cleaning it. Was shooting so well I was afraid to touch the thing!

 

[dickn52]

Many moons ago I shot competition 22LR. We never cleaned our 52D's until the end of the year. Won all kinds of stuff during the year. Coach said if you clean them, you have to 'foul' them again and he wasn't paying for that ammo.

 

[Hoodoo]

And don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need a flawless, squeaky clean bore for your rifle to shoot well.

Let the TARGET decide how much cleaning you actually need.

I have some barrels that need regular brushing with heavy solvents. My three best-shooting barrels do best with very little brushing and a bit of carbon that would freak out some of the borescopaholics.

My best .22lr pistol shoots better with 40 rounds through it than right after an aggressive cleaning.

If you take anything away from this thread, let it be this. Let the Target decide how much cleaning you actually need!

 

[Forum Boss]

True Story.

I was shooting in Texas with Gene Beggs, in his tunnel. We were shooting full-boogie short-range benchrest rifle with his 6mm Beggs cartridge (similar to 6 PPC). The more we shot the smaller the groups. But after 40-45 rounds or so I could tell Gene was getting antsy. He really, really wanted to clean that barrel, though our groups were getting smaller.

Anyway, I relented and told Gene he could clean the barrel after we took a lunch break. After we returned to the tunnel, I asked Gene to clean the barrel exactly as he would at a benchrest match. He used a bit of abrasive cream, and then two different solvents. Lots of brush strokes -- at least 15. Back and forth.

When he was done we went back in the tunnel.... And the results were, to me at least, shocking.

The initial 5-shot groups were 1/2" or worse. Mind you this is a benchrest cartridge shooting in a TUNNEL. After 15 rounds we saw definite improvement -- all shots touching with the fourth 5-shot group, i.e. rounds 16-20. At about 25-30 rounds it seemed the peak accuracy was back. And we got some of the smallest groups of the day at about 35 rounds after cleaning...

YMMV folks. This is the story of one rifle, one barrel. Your barrel could be completely different.

I am not advocating not cleaning -- I am only suggesting that shooters observe empirically what shot-count/fouling condition shoots best with their gun and their load.

 

[6MMsteve]

I actually use mine to look at dies and cases more than barrels

 

[mousegunner]

Many moons ago I shot competition 22LR. We never cleaned our 52D's until the end of the year. Won all kinds of stuff during the year. Coach said if you clean them, you have to 'foul' them again and he wasn't paying for that ammo.

I once heard that the best way to ruin a .22 was to clean it.

 

[dickn52]

I once heard that the best way to ruin a .22 was to clean it.

NOT sure about ruining it, but you do have to make it 'right' again.

 

[Nature Boy]

I got some Lock Eze based on a post I read here saying it reduces the need for fouling shots.

I have my F-TR rifle clean as a whistle (verified by my bore scope ) and will try it this weekend

My thoughts on cleaning are based on not letting hard carbon build up. Once that gets in there it’s hell to get out

 

[JEFFPPC]

True Story.

I was shooting in Texas with Gene Beggs, in his tunnel. We were shooting full-boogie short-range benchrest rifle with his 6mm Beggs cartridge (similar to 6 PPC). The more we shot the smaller the groups. But after 40-45 rounds or so I could tell Gene was getting antsy. He really, really wanted to clean that barrel, though our groups were getting smaller.

Anyway, I relented and told Gene he could clean the barrel after we took a lunch break. After we returned to the tunnel, I asked Gene to clean the barrel exactly as he would at a benchrest match. He used a bit of abrasive cream, and then two different solvents. Lots of brush strokes -- at least 15. Back and forth.

When he was done we went back in the tunnel.... And the results were, to me at least, shocking.

The initial 5-shot groups were 1/2" or worse. Mind you this is a benchrest cartridge shooting in a TUNNEL. After 15 rounds we saw definite improvement -- all shots touching with the fourth 5-shot group, i.e. rounds 16-20. At about 25-30 rounds it seemed the peak accuracy was back. And we got some of the smallest groups of the day at about 35 rounds after cleaning...

YMMV folks. This is the story of one rifle, one barrel. Your barrel could be completely different.

I am not advocating not cleaning -- I am only suggesting that shooters observe empirically what shot-count/fouling condition shoots best with their gun and their load.

What I see as the key in your tale is "A bit of abrasive cream". Over the years I have found when using Is so or JB it takes several groups to get top accuracy back. I have heard other good shooters state the same thing. What you experienced I think is normal .

 

[Dusty Stevens]

What I see as the key in your tale is "A bit of abrasive cream". Over the years I have found when using Is so or JB it takes several groups to get top accuracy back. I have heard other good shooters state the same thing. What you experienced I think is normal .

I use the abrasives after the 2 aggs for the day is over so thats 10 targets, maybe 110-120rds. A good barrel seems to be back on top after 7-8foulers if the abrasive was cleaned out good. I use butchs flooded on a brush, 2-3 soaked patches, then a patch with carb cleaner on it. That seems to speed up the fouling process to not pitch flyers and tighten it back up.

 

[Tommie]

I got some Lock Eze based on a post I read here saying it reduces the need for fouling shots.

I have my F-TR rifle clean as a whistle (verified by my bore scope ) and will try it this weekend

My thoughts on cleaning are based on not letting hard carbon build up. Once that gets in there it’s hell to get out

Hope you'll report back on that. I'm betting you'll become a fan of Lock-Ease.