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I am looking at getting a borescope.

I see Hawkeye has quite a few options.

Assuming some members here have a borescope what do you find are the most important attributes?

I'm thinking of the .188 OD x 22" with 90 degree viewing angle.

I'm thinking this is the one most barrel makers and gunsmiths would use.

http://www.gradientlens.com/Rigid-Borescopes/Hawkeye-Classic-Slim.aspx

i have a hawkeye and love it. it is very clear and easy to use. i honstly dont know of another brand. thats the one the barrel makers use and i think it is the standard of the industry.. it was the only company at the shot show last year any way. the only downside is it doesnt do 17 cal. its too big. as of last year they didnt make a 17.

I have same hawkeye model. The length is important so you can look at the entire length of a longer barrel from both ends.


I use mine for:

Bore/throat inspection
determining which products/techniques really clean
crown inspection
seeing if my chamber job is smooth and parallel to bore
possible incipient case separation
inspection of interior of bolt body

Thanks guys.

I traded emails with Hawkeye yesterday and I think this is the one.

Azshooter...do you have 17" or 22"?


I think the shop can justify one to check machined parts..:-)

17"

Rembo,
I have a 17" and it shows all I want to see and then some. GD

Don't do it!!

Once you get a bore scope, you will want to look down all your barrels. Once you see the inside of the barrel, no matter how good it shoots, you will have an insane desire to rebarrel.

So far my borescope has forced me to take 4 perfectly good shooting rifles and have new tubes put on them just because the inside loked a little rough.

It will cost you big dollars for all the rebarrels, and the recrowning tools and the reamer rentals to set the chamber back, even if the rifle shoots just fine the way it is.

Trust me. I've been there.

Fast Ed

You'll wonder why you didn't buy one sooner, it's one of those tools that once you have it you will never want to be without it.

Don't getthe borescope! All your friends will want to look into their barrels!

I cannot think of a better way to prove to non owners that a cleaning method doesn't work.

And crowns! I can't tell you the number of times a guy will say his crown is fine and it isn't. Even saw a few new barrels installed with imperfect crowns.

well, I haven't gotten one yet. I've emailed Garadient Lens Corp twice and talked to them on the phone...they still haven't sent me a quote of the package I wanted to put together.

I'll get around to calling them again soon.

BT/DT and still have the T shirt.

After a while, you'll discover that a rough looking barrel may be a tack driver, so it's what happens at the range that's the benchmark.

However, when a barrel quits shooting like it did, very few substitutes for a look see. The scope can tell what's happening at the throat and how much fouling you're leaving when you think you've cleaned the barrel.

Once empowered with a Hawkeye, you'll never feel right without one.

Get the 17" with eyepiece focus and 90* mirror.

DF

Well,.....I got the Hawkeye in the mail a couple weeks ago and finally had the time and inclination today to unpack it and check it out.

Interesting piece of equipment.

Had a few rifles in the store room here at the shop...first up was a 700 CDL in 7 RUM I just had dropped off today...."has a about 100 rounds thru it"...my first impression was "yeah right".....throat looks like alligator skin.....:-)
Radial marks throughout the bore......no problem, pretty typical I'd guess. We'll see how it shoots.

Then.....I pulled out a Sako L57 in 308 that's in 98% condition on the outside......the bore on this is a huge contrast from the 7RUM...looks like it's been lapped. Throat is mint. Bore is shiney throughout.

I have some new blanks at home from Brux and Benchmark that I will have a look into to get a look at an unfired "good" barrel.