Thank you Gents.
I think I will get a Lyman also. It should do what I want to do and not break the bank.
All I want to see is throat erosion mainly so I know when to start picking out the barrel blank I want to try next and have it on hand when a barrel goes shithouse and I go with a different rifle while that rifle is in the Shop.
Longrifles, I have a lot of targets that I use for checking zero at 100M and do know when a barrel is wandering out at the 1000 and beyond and have the smarts to know when to go 100M and see how it does.
I shoot at long range at least 3-5 times a week, many time 5-7 and ring the steel and have for years. Do you get to do that? or are you stuck to a range of 100-600 and paper or do you actually get to shoot long every other day or so to see what is going on and get to wondering how your barrel is doing as you have put anywhere from 2-20 rounds downrange, depending on conditions and if you hit what you aimed at?
Regards, FM
The rational behind my earlier post:
Tammy Forester. Atlanta Olympics Silver Medalist. Once upon a time I chambered a couple barrels for her. Sometime in the 90's she experienced a squib load. Bullet got stuck roughly mid barrel and she didn't catch it. She smoked another one right behind it. Thankfully it was just a rimfire on a target gun so the carnage made its way down the barrel. As a result of this, that barrel developed a bulge in it.
Running patches down the bore confirmed this. It felt as though the thing went from 22 to 25, and back to 22 again.
If we took a running poll on peoples impressions, the vast majority would likely vote that its cooked and she gets to buy a new stick.
That gun held (holds? -been out of that game for a long time) national records. She's an Olympian remember.
I've catered to clients that brought there own bore scope and picked out barrels from the inventory. Rimfire guys being the absolute most superstitious about it. I'd bet (joking) more than one summoned a demon via Ouija board out in my parking lot prior to walking in. -Eyes rolling back in head as they pushed a patch down a bore and "qualified it".
Fact of the matter, not one of these good folks demonstrated a repeatable, credible process for selecting a barrel.
"The bullet always tells the truth." That is why I say that.
Being able to shoot lots of bullets whenever a guy wants is a luxury I don't have anymore. I've not personally pulled a trigger for some time now. Cost of doing business... That said, I once shot a great deal of highpower, as a Marine and as a civilian, was on the US Palma Team, and did quite a bit of the "gamer gun" stuff for a few years.
Again, when a barrel shoots like shit, it'll tell you immediately. It'll either be too clean, fouled, loose, cold, hot, or at its expiration date. A bore scope won't tell you any of these things reliably.
Bullets always do.
Enjoy and have a great week all.