Bore Pics

[mrandig]

Back to the kitchen counter for some cleaning.

If you don't' have one, get a carbon fiber cleaning rod. I also like these disposable pipettes, as it keeps me from getting solvent everywhere. If you buy the pipettes off Amazon, they're like 1000 for $10 USD.

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I'm going to use Pro Shot Copper Solvent and JB bore cleaner. The Pro Shot works great; the JB paste is like a fine polish, but gritty enough to remove almost any type of rust, fouling. etc. I'm using VFG pellets, which is basically like a bore mop, along with the JB Paste.

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[mrandig]

Two wipes with solvent patches, the we move on to the pellets and JB paste. I'll let the solvent sit in the barrel for about 30-45 minutes, then run the pellets back and forth repeatedly. After that, a final solvent patch and dry patches until clean.

Repeatedly is a very subjective word. In this case, i ran the pellets back and forth about 30 times.

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In all, I repeated the entire process above, with solvent wipes, pellets, solvent wipes, and clean wipes, a total of 3 times. My arms are tired.

[mrandig]

Not really a true title.

What happened was I got bored. And tired. I was also becoming concerned at the rate I was going through cleaning supplies. Some of these supplies, particularly the VFG pellets, are in short supply at the moment.

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Let's see what it looks like now. Same shots, throat, 1/3 bore, 2/3 bore, muzzle.

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Almost looks like a rifle barrel. Unfortunately not a useable rifle barrel. Looks more like an old musket. An old musket that someone found buried in their back yard. Still a very ugly baby.

Kudos however to the Pro Shot Copper Cleaner, JB paste, and the VFG pellets. They did a better job then I was expecting. I suspect I could clean this bore a little more, but I don't think it would ever be enough.

[mrandig]

The indications at the throat almost look like they're a material flaw?

Bump...

Anybody have any thoughts? To me, this looks like a material defect that was inherent to the original steel bar, and then reamed and rifled over. It definitely doesn't look like it came from use, or wear, or the environment.

[mrandig]

I'm getting tired of all this cleaning.

I have just a couple more posts, then I'm going to call it a day. If I can make it to 8 rifles total (we're at 5 already), then I've officially hit the "paid-for-itself" point with this borescope.

This one is a Carcano Calvary M91 carbine from WWII. It's a Carcano. It's a cheapo. It's got a pretty cool bayonet. Not much else to say. I didn't even bother to clean this one. It's a Carcano.

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Overall, it doesn't look too bad. it doesn't look like it's been heavily used, but it is very, very dirty. Overall, the rifling looks good throughout.

[mrandig]

I couldn't get any responses about the discontinuities in the SKS barrel, but I am still going to post another oddity.

This is a Romanian contract VZ.24 that I won at auction (like most milsurps I have). In this case, there were several for sale, all in really rough condition; i put a low bid on each of them, figuring I'd have odds to win at least one. I ended up with them all. My VZ.24s have VZ.24s now. They've all be cleaned, repaired and are looking pretty good now.

Anyways, the bore on this one is fairly frosty. It does still have some shine however, and the rifling is decent enough.

The oddity on this one, is that it appears to have been counterbored at the muzzle by about 1". Maybe this was due to muzzle wear at some point, or another issue?

I don't know how this would shoot, but think it should be fine (mil-spec). I also think that the fouling would be unbearable, due to all the surface pitting.

Same pics as the ones before: throat, 1/3 bore, 2/3 bore, muzzle. The last picture looks a lot like the throat, but it is the muzzle end, where the counterbore ends.

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[Ovidio]

Wow, that bore is pitted...
But it might be still a shooter.
I’d just try.

[mrandig]

Wow, that bore is pitted...
But it might be still a shooter.
I’d just try.

The Turkish 1893 is a total loser.

As for the VZ.24, I think that one might be OK. I don't think it will get much use, but I do want to try shooting it someday.

[mrandig]

As my finale, here's my Arisaka Type 99, "Last Ditch Rifle". Complete with an intact mum, late model sights, hand carved wooden buttplate, and duffel cut stock (grrrr....).

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Same shots as before.

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Like new. Never been fired, only dropped once. Ba-dum-bump.

[mrandig]

That's all I'm going to do. Between 8 rifles, with all the pics, some extras and some retakes, there was at least 100 photos taken Not all got posted here obviously.

I'd say this borescope passed the stress test with flying colors. Overall it's a pretty handy tool, and well worth the $45.00. If you get one, just be careful with it, as it will break if bent too sharply.

Now, I've just got to get some oil on all these guns. I forget about that earlier. I won't take more pics for that.

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