Adventures With a Borescope

I bought a cheapo borescope off of Amazon to survey my old Remmy 700V 223.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's had many, many rounds through it and I bought it used years ago.

After about 50-60 rounds my not hot rodded at all 55 grain Hornady SPSX loads will start disintegrating midflight (a nice gray streak.) While fascinating to watch, I find this phenomenon to be less than effective on prairie dogs. (The OEM barrel is 1 in 12" twist.)

When I clean the barrel, I'm good for another 50 rounds or so.

So today, my Amazon borescope arrived. I connected it up to a Chromebook and started surveying.

ACK!!!

Lots of carbon fouling. And I noticed that the lands in the throat just ahead of the chamber are more or less MIA.

So, I cleaned the snot out of the barrel and found that my old techniques, i.e., following the directions of the various chemicals I've used over the years don't always get the job done. A dry patch can come out clean but it's just riding over the carbon soot in the grooves and lands IMHO.

I had an old bottle of Remington "Bore Clean" gunk and gave it a shot after seeing the other stuff ignoring the soot. Sure, they got the copper out, blue patches etc. But the soot remained for the most part.

Remmy "Bore Clean" from what I understand is dirt mixed with oil. But it broke up the soot and brushing with a good bronze brush cleaned up the barrel pretty well. I've never used JB Bore Cleaner but I imagine both products are along the same lines, that is, a very fine abrasive suspended in oil.

The upshot is, the barrel condition sucks. :( I'm not too surprised. Lands worn in the throat and minor pitting throughout the length of the barrel. I've been pretty good about keeping the old girl oiled up and rust free, so the pitting I'm putting on the previous owner.

It still shoots pretty well by my standards, but I don't need the SPSX's grenading 50 yards out. (I still have a bunch on hand to reload and they really do work well on varmint type critters.) I've got Vmax's and a few Nosler BT's on hand too, but the cheapskate in me says to make those SPSX's work.

It looks like I get to shop for a gunsmith and a new barrel.

The borescope experiment, even with this El Cheapo, was very educational.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NETim

The borescope experiment, even with this El Cheapo, was very educational.

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I have a similar model, and it’s been educational. When I bought my CZ 457, some rifles were known to have accuracy problems caused by the leade being “smeared” by the use of a dull cutting tool. I bought the scope initially just to put that issue to rest, before wasting time and ammo finding out the old fashioned way. It was OK and shoots fine. It’s one of those “don’t need it but glad to have it” tools.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NETim

I bought a cheapo borescope off of Amazon to survey my old Remmy 700V 223.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's had many, many rounds through it and I bought it used years ago.

After about 50-60 rounds my not hot rodded at all 55 grain Hornady SPSX loads will start disintegrating midflight (a nice gray streak.) While fascinating to watch, I find this phenomenon to be less than effective on prairie dogs. (The OEM barrel is 1 in 12" twist.)

When I clean the barrel, I'm good for another 50 rounds or so.

So today, my Amazon borescope arrived. I connected it up to a Chromebook and started surveying.

ACK!!!

Lots of carbon fouling. And I noticed that the lands in the throat just ahead of the chamber are more or less MIA.

So, I cleaned the snot out of the barrel and found that my old techniques, i.e., following the directions of the various chemicals I've used over the years don't always get the job done. A dry patch can come out clean but it's just riding over the carbon soot in the grooves and lands IMHO.

I had an old bottle of Remington "Bore Clean" gunk and gave it a shot after seeing the other stuff ignoring the soot. Sure, they got the copper out, blue patches etc. But the soot remained for the most part.

Remmy "Bore Clean" from what I understand is dirt mixed with oil. But it broke up the soot and brushing with a good bronze brush cleaned up the barrel pretty well. I've never used JB Bore Cleaner but I imagine both products are along the same lines, that is, a very fine abrasive suspended in oil.

The upshot is, the barrel condition sucks. :( I'm not too surprised. Lands worn in the throat and minor pitting throughout the length of the barrel. I've been pretty good about keeping the old girl oiled up and rust free, so the pitting I'm putting on the previous owner.

It still shoots pretty well by my standards, but I don't need the SPSX's grenading 50 yards out. (I still have a bunch on hand to reload and they really do work well on varmint type critters.) I've got Vmax's and a few Nosler BT's on hand too, but the cheapskate in me says to make those SPSX's work.

It looks like I get to shop for a gunsmith and a new barrel.

The borescope experiment, even with this El Cheapo, was very educational.

---

I recommend Preferred Barrel Blanks. Get a Remage prefit with barrel nut. Set the headspace yourself. Mine are pretty accurate, and the price is reasonable.

My experience with a comparable model has been instructive. Some rifles were known to have accuracy issues when the leade was "smeared" by using a dull cutting tool, which is why I got my CZ 457. Initially, I purchased the scope only to resolve that matter, rather than squandering time and ammunition by learning the hard way. It shoots well and was ok. It's one of those things you're happy to have even if you don't need.