what to look for when checking bore
I have always bought fairly new guns and never paid much attention to bore condition. Lately i've developed an interest in old military guns and i have no idea what to look for in regards to bore. Any suggestions are welcome.
Thank you,
Sherwin Wood
Thank you,
Sherwin Wood
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Two main things to check for are pitting (little rust craters) and rifling (or lack thereof). Headspace is another good thing to check on older military rifles. 
SUPPORT THE I.N.S. , THE COUNTRY THEY SAVE COULD BE YOUR OWN0 -
what am i looking for in the rifling? is this something i can inspect visually? how do i check the headspacing? 0 -
You want the rifling to look strong and sharp. A shot out barrel will not show the sharp distinction between land and groove.
Pitting as mentioned before is/are craters spreading across land and groove.
If the bore is not shiney (dark) don't be overly alarmed about that as many of the older rifles, especially pre-WWII are that way, but they will still shoot great.
If you have a particular rifle in mind you can get a go/no-go gage for the headspace, or you could use a fired cartridge and 2 layers of masking tape on the cart. face (only), if the bolt is stiff to close or gives you a lot of difficulty, peal off the tape and try again. If bolt then closes normally your in the ball park. Although I recomend the go/n-go as the other is only a crude indication and if you use it follow up with a gunsmith check.
Also look at the bolt face, extractor and lugs, start with a couple mid to upper dollar rifles then you'll soon be able to pick up signs of wear as you go through the lesser cost rifles.
Do a little front end research, and it will pay off for you.
If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!0 -
When you look down the bore, you may want to make sure it is DRY. Maybe swab it out with a dry mop.
A thin film of oil can generate enough shine to cause you to not see, or at least overlook, some potential problems.
If we do not hang together we will certainly hang separately.0 -
Invest about $3 and purchase a bore light. This is a small AA-cell flashlight with a clear plastic curved rod attached to the tip of the light. You can insert the rod into the bore of the barrel and the resulting light will give you a very good look at what is inside (or not). Rust can be removed, a dark bore can still shoot well, but the pitting (actual voids in the metal itself) mentioned by Joey, is death to accuracy and I would not consider purchasing a rifle with a badly pitted barrel to use for shooting.
Mark T. Christian0 -
Good advice so far. Mainly a visual thing. A bright, shiny bore with sharp riflign is ideal. A dark bore is fine, so long as the rifling is still sharp. The crown shouldn't be defaced by nicks, rust, cleanign rod wear, etc. So far as headspace goes, I have seen ONE rifle in my collection of 45 that had problems worth mentioning. So it isn't critical to check but a decent idea.
"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf0
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