Help me interpret these borescope images

[ablock]

Good evening all. I recently purchased a used 24" 6.5CM barrel from a high quality manufacturer described as having ~200 rounds on it. Having received the barrel, a visual inspection of the exterior suggests that it is in excellent condition. However, I recently purchased a USB borescope and wanted to see what the barrel interior looked like as well.

Based on photos and videos I've seen elsewhere, I expected to see quite well-defined lands and grooves, with consistent rifling from throat to muzzle. I was somewhat confused by what I actually saw, but never having borescoped my own rifles before I don't have the experience to evaluate it (my other rifles are in storage so I can't compare them).

I'd appreciate any comments based on the images below. Please feel free to ask for additional detail or shots from the borescope. Thanks!


Chamber

Throat

A few inches down from the throat (straight on [SO] and right-angle mirror [RAM])

Half way down the barrel, SO and RAM

6 inches from the muzzle RAM only

2 inches from the muzzle, SO and RAM

 

[loveha]

It's in need of a good cleaning.

 

[Tokay444]

How’s it shoot?

 

[Dthomas3523]

Clean it. Carbon building up around the freebore/lands area.

 

[ablock]

How’s it shoot?

Don’t know yet.

 

[ablock]

Will try and clean today and take new pics. Will also compare to an unfired .308 barrel I have. Update to come.

 

[Huskydriver]

Don’t know yet.

Wait what...Let me get this straight.... Your going to clean it and are worrying about the "wear" and haven't put a single round through it yet lol?

Bro go shoot it...if it hammers .25" your first time out wtf would you mess with it?

 

[ablock]

Wait what...Let me get this straight.... Your going to clean it and are worrying about the "wear" and haven't put a single round through it yet lol?

Bro go shoot it...if it hammers .25" your first time out wtf would you mess with it?

I didn’t say I was worried about the wear. I said it looked different from what I expected and asked for the forum’s feedback since I don’t have enough experience to understand what I’m seeing.

 

[Huskydriver]

I didn’t say I was worried about the wear. I said it looked different from what I expected and asked for the forum’s feedback since I don’t have enough experience to understand what I’m seeing.

Let the target tell you what's going on. I have a few barrels with hardly any rifling left in the throat and still hammer.

Honestly to me it looks like a barrel that needs to be shot. Very little fire cracking in the throat and very little copper anywhere.

Go shoot it and report back

 

[Dthomas3523]

Y’all keep “letting the barrel tell you” when it’s time to clean.

This is one of those old wive’s tails that keeps hanging around.

While you’re at it, don’t change the oil in your car or the filters in you AC until “it lets you know” it needs it.

I learned the hard way how much bullshit this way of thinking is.

 

[spamassassin]

Looks like it gets cleaned with white-out.

 

[Huskydriver]

Y’all keep “letting the barrel tell you” when it’s time to clean.

This is one of those old wive’s tails that keeps hanging around.

While you’re at it, don’t change the oil in your car or the filters in you AC until “it lets you know” it needs it.

I learned the hard way how much bullshit this way of thinking is.

I didn't say never clean it chief...I said shoot it before you starting performing unnecessary work ?

 

[Dthomas3523]

I didn't say never clean it chief...I said shoot it before you starting performing unnecessary work ?

You said let the rifle tell you. That’s a BS statement.

When the rifle tells you, it’s too late. Cleaning is “preventative maintenance.”

 

[Huskydriver]

You said let the rifle tell you. That’s a BS statement.

When the rifle tells you, it’s too late. Cleaning is “preventative maintenance.”

I did but your missaplling what I'm saying here for your own cleaning agenda hero.

Is his barrel dirty to you? Looks fine to me.

He could spend 2 hours banging a cleaning rod around and gain 0 on target... I respect your opinion and contributions to the forum but your not the only crayon eater with experience singing lead around.

 

[Dthomas3523]

I did but your missaplling what I'm saying here for your own cleaning agenda hero.

Is his barrel dirty to you? Looks fine to me.

He could spend 2 hours banging a cleaning rod around and gain 0 on target... I respect your opinion and contributions to the forum but your not the only crayon eater with experience singing lead around.

Cleaning takes 10min. If you take longer, you’re doing it wronf

And yes. That throat has carbon building around it already.

Again, the rifle shouldn’t be telling you anything. Do you allow your car to tell you when it needs an oil change?

Do you wait until your AC stops working in the middle of the summer?

Your barrel is no different.

 

[Dthomas3523]

This carbon right here can build up enough in 400rnds or less and cause pressure issues.

 

[Milo 2.5]

Clean the barrel, you probably aren't using the same bullet or powder. Give your self a fresh start, a baseline to build from.
It seems you may be a new borescope owner too, just run the mirror attachment, the forward views really don't tell much if the barrel has carbon in it. Plus, things will look 5 times different when you scope a clean barrel, way brighter.

 

[Tokay444]

Don’t know yet.

/thread.

 

[Dthomas3523]

/thread.

Doesn’t matter how it shoots.

Cleaning is preventative maintenance.

 

[Dthomas3523]

And this is coming from someone who almost never cleaned and bought into the idea of waiting until rifle told you.

Your attitude changes when you basically waste all your time and money on a two day match or a big hunt because the rifle decides to tell you during the middle of it.

 

[rustyinbend]

In the immortal words of Rodney King ... (LOL - just jerkin' yer chain - don't unload on me)

 

[Dthomas3523]

Here’s a really good and fast cleaning method.

Do this after any match or extended range session and you won’t be spending 1hr+ when the time comes around to clean if you wait.

 

[rustyinbend]

Really? Seriously ??? A friggin' drill-brush? That would totally scare the crap out of me. I'll just stick to "old school" ... but thanks for sharing this great technique.

 

[Deleted member 10043]

Just, ...wait..., just take it out and shoot the shit out of the motherfucker.

 

[Precision Underground]

If I buy a used barrel the first thing I’m going to do is clean it and borescope it. To me it looks like a lot more than 200 rounds but hard to say without it being clean.

 

[ablock]

Since some of you think I should clean it, and this thread has attracted ? already, do you all subscribe to the "nylon brush only" protocol that's in the "Intro to precision shooting" thread here, or are bronze brushes acceptable?

FWIW, the Accuracy International user manual specifies a phosphor bronze brush.

 

[Precision Underground]

Since some of you think I should clean it, and this thread has attracted ? already, do you all subscribe to the "nylon brush only" protocol that's in the "Intro to precision shooting" thread here, or are bronze brushes acceptable?

FWIW, the Accuracy International user manual specifies a phosphor bronze brush.

It’s 100% true that you don’t need to clean for the sake of cleaning and loss of accuracy can tell you when it needs cleaning- assuming you aren’t going to store it for 2 months. But you have no idea how many actual rounds have been fired or when it was last cleaned. Why go into a new...new to you...rifle like that? If you don’t clean it and it shoots bad you will leave wondering if it just needs cleaning. It’s not going to shoot bad because you did clean it, and it may shoot bad because you didn’t clean it.

 

[ablock]

I’m 100% going to clean it, for the reasons you note. I was asking about brush types.

 

[Precision Underground]

I’m 100% going to clean it, for the reasons you note. I was asking about brush types.

I use nylon unless there is something stubborn that doesnt want to come out, which is rare. I don't think bronze will hurt your barrel though. I just use nylon because it works just as well most of the time if you let your bore cleaner do most of the work.

 

[Dthomas3523]

Since some of you think I should clean it, and this thread has attracted ? already, do you all subscribe to the "nylon brush only" protocol that's in the "Intro to precision shooting" thread here, or are bronze brushes acceptable?

FWIW, the Accuracy International user manual specifies a phosphor bronze brush.

Watch that video. If it’s good enough for Lou, it’s good enough for everyone else.