Anybody using a Hawkeye borescope?

[jlow]

I just ordered this item – it’s the 17” version. My hope is it will help me keep an eye on the conditions of my barrel both in terms of wear and also fouling. Any tips from those who might have experience using this device? I currently shoot a number of rifles including a number of AR-15, AR-10, and a 308/260 caliber bolt action rifle.

 

[Jet]

JLOW

Money well spent. Will allow you to keep an eye on your cleaning routine, status of carbon ring, throat wear, etc.

Easy to use. Keep the lenses clean and make sure barrels are relatively clean and dry prior to using the scope on them.

Good Shooting.

Rich

 

[Irv Benzion]

+1. And excellent piece of equipment that will allow you to see what is occurring within your barrels.

Irv Benzion

 

[gpnktwn]

IT WILL OPEN YOUR EYES IN YOUR MIND WELCOME ABOARD THE CRAZY TRAIN

 

[jlow]

Thanks guys! I am looking forward to it. Any tips would of course always be welcomed!

I know they sell a :Luxxor portable camera for it but I was wondering if any of you had any luck taking photos with a regular camera?

 

[dmoran]

Here are 3 pictures I took with a digital camera placed over the eye piece of a Hawkeye:


Lead & Throat of a 6Dasher / Shilen barrel at 2600-rounds

The aftermath from under aged copper/carbon layer in a factory Remington barrel

The "pristine" look of a new Savage barrel (well maybe "not all that pristine")

 

[jlow]

Looks like one can just use a regular digital camera - that is good news! Thanks!

 

[snakepit]

jlow, I love my Hawkeye. I tried one of the cheap digital scopes on Amazon for a little over $200 and was very disappointed. Sent it back and they sent me another one which was no better so I received a refund and bought a Hawkeye. There are a couple of videos including one that Hawkeye has that show the different things to look for inside the barrel. I am not sure if you ordered it but one thing I did not get when I first got mine was the 90 degree eyepiece. Looking down the barrel with the straight eyepiece is ok when checking a barrel that is not installed on the stock but can be very cumbersome when it is mounted on the stock. It did not take me long to order the 90 degree eyepiece and it was well worth it, in fact I use it all the time. If I have a uninstalled barrel I set the barrel on my rifle stand and use the 90 degree eyepiece. One more thing, keep the mirror clean.

 

[bugman]

dmoran,

What is the freebore length on That dasher chamber?

Jack

 

[jlow]

jlow, I love my Hawkeye. I tried one of the cheap digital scopes on Amazon for a little over $200 and was very disappointed. Sent it back and they sent me another one which was no better so I received a refund and bought a Hawkeye. There are a couple of videos including one that Hawkeye has that show the different things to look for inside the barrel. I am not sure if you ordered it but one thing I did not get when I first got mine was the 90 degree eyepiece. Looking down the barrel with the straight eyepiece is ok when checking a barrel that is not installed on the stock but can be very cumbersome when it is mounted on the stock. It did not take me long to order the 90 degree eyepiece and it was well worth it, in fact I use it all the time. If I have a uninstalled barrel I set the barrel on my rifle stand and use the 90 degree eyepiece. One more thing, keep the mirror clean.

Snakepit – I did get the Hawkeye – the 17” one with the 90 degree eyepiece. Been playing with it and have been impressed. The images are clear and it is easy to inspect all the different areas. So far so good on my good AI AT barrels but the one on my old AR-10 is very worn, almost no threads close to the chamber which really surprise me... but that barrel is got 3k rounds down range so… The difference is startling when looking through the two ends of the barrel….

 

[snakepit]

jlow, when I first got my Hawkeye and got comfortable using it I checked out the barrel of a AR15 that had about 4 thousand rounds down it. It was a chrome lined barrel and the barrel was fired very hot a lot of the time. I was amazed how worn it looked and how bad the chrome was with large worn spots that were full of embedded copper. By the way it was my own AR15. One thing about using the Hawkeye is that it has caused me to change my cleaning routine on every one of my rifles because now I know which products and which cleaning steps work best for me.

 

[jlow]

LOL! I also have a very similar gun that I shoot 2-gun matches with....

 

[jlow]

Thanks Dave for the great tip- very much appreciated!

I actually did not realize that their light was just a flashlight threaded to fit into their adapter – will order one ASAP! BTW, I’ve been checking my barrels and one of them definitely have that carbon ring and carbon fouling in the first few inches of the barrel. My normal cleaning procedure with two carbon cleaners did not take all that stuff off and so now I have the IOSSO kit and will be cleaning it on a set schedule.

 

[jlow]

Hi Dave,

I got the LED Upgrade Combo II in but have a question. I unscrewed the Hawkeye aluminum housing off and the shinny reflector comes off but that black piece with the light bulb does not seem to want to come out. There is also writing on it that says “do not remove”… Any suggestion as to how to take it off so that I can put in the LED replacement bulb?

 

[LRPV]

I haven't put mine in yet, but I think you just pull the bulb out and stick the LED back in its place.

 

[jlow]

OK, I figured it out. What you said is correct, but a number of qualifiers are necessary and important.

First - both the incandescent and LED bulbs are attached to a flat black cylinder. You do just pull the incandescent bulb out of the flat black cylinder it is inserted into but DO NOT pull the original flat black cylinder...... You also do not pull out the LED bulb from the flat black cylinder it is attached to as it is permanently bonded to it. What you do is insert the LED bulb and the flat black cylinder it is attached to into the flat black cylinder the incandescent bulb was located. There are two holes on the original flat black cylinder and you insert the two "feet" sticking out of the bottom of the LED flat black cylinder into it. When you are done, the two flat black cylinder will be stacked on top of each other.

Put on the new reflector and put the whole thing back together replacing the bottom screw cap with the new one that comes with the LED assembly. Now if the whole thing is screw tight back together and you push the button at the bottom of the new screw cap, the light WILL NOT come on. To get it to work, you need to slightly unscrew the battery holder cylinder just like you used to do to turn on the incandescent light.

Once you do this, the whole thing will work.

 

[jlow]

BTW, thanks again Dave Berg! The new light is super bright and white and I am sure the batteries will also last longer. Excellent tip shared!

 

[SG4247]

Also do not place that borecope into a bore that has any special copper remover traces in it.

Montana extreme copper cleaner caused my mirror to delaminate and flake off. This made the 90 degree mirror tube un-useable.

I had to send it back for mirror replacement, which cost a cool $100 bill. Just came back two weeks ago. No warranty.

Now, I make darn sure there are no chemicals in the bore.

Tough lesson learned...

 

[jlow]

Its good advice – I pretty much never put the scope down the bore unless I have completely cleaned it, and use an air compressor to blow out the chamber and bore.

The last part is really important as the patches will frequently not dry the chamber/bore interface out. Any moisture in that area will also cause the first rounds out to be a flyer…