Judging bore/rifling conditions
Say you go into your favorite gun-shop, and see a decent-looking old military rifle on the rack; you haul it down, check it over, then---with a bore-light---you peek down the barrel to see how good the bore and rifling are. Now comes the tricky part:
What visual criteria determine if the rifling is poor, fair, good, very good, or mint?
What visual criteria determine if the bore is poor, fair, good, very good, or mint?
Is this a subjective judgement call based on looks alone, or is there some MECHANICAL way of determining how good the rifling is, other than shooting the rifle (which is, for some reason, frowned upon mightily by the store personnel while you're still inside the shop)?
The reason I ask is this: When I buy an old Mauser or Mosin-Nagant or anything used, I ALWAYS take a good look down the barrel with a bore-light. If I see no pitting, or if the bore is shiny and there's no pitting or things don't look all scratched up, I call the bore "good enough". Then I look at the rifling; if the rifling stands out in sharp relief, I call the rifling "good" or "very good". If the bore is like a mirror and the rifling seems very sharp, I think of that as "excellent" or "minty" or "near-mint". But I'd like the advice and more informed opinion of you folks who are practiced at judging such things. I'd appreciate it if you could perhaps tell me things to look for, including how to judge chamber wear.
Muchas appreciado in advance, mi amigos!
What visual criteria determine if the rifling is poor, fair, good, very good, or mint?
What visual criteria determine if the bore is poor, fair, good, very good, or mint?
Is this a subjective judgement call based on looks alone, or is there some MECHANICAL way of determining how good the rifling is, other than shooting the rifle (which is, for some reason, frowned upon mightily by the store personnel while you're still inside the shop)?
The reason I ask is this: When I buy an old Mauser or Mosin-Nagant or anything used, I ALWAYS take a good look down the barrel with a bore-light. If I see no pitting, or if the bore is shiny and there's no pitting or things don't look all scratched up, I call the bore "good enough". Then I look at the rifling; if the rifling stands out in sharp relief, I call the rifling "good" or "very good". If the bore is like a mirror and the rifling seems very sharp, I think of that as "excellent" or "minty" or "near-mint". But I'd like the advice and more informed opinion of you folks who are practiced at judging such things. I'd appreciate it if you could perhaps tell me things to look for, including how to judge chamber wear.
Muchas appreciado in advance, mi amigos!
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When "shopping" my way through a gun shop, gun show, or any other firearms venue, I always have the little bent plastic critter from my bore light in my pocket. If I need a more thorough look into a bore, I always ask if the owner has a bore light; if he says he does, it usually means he's not embarrassed to let someone inspect his cleaning job. If no light is forthcoming, or he suddenly rips it from my grasp; I pass.
Chambers are another matter. Most of the time at gun shows here, the action has been cabled, wired, or plastic-tied; and it takes an act of Bruce to get permission to place a go/no go gauge in it.
'Course, if it's in a gun shop; I can usually take it to the back of the shop where the gunsmith hides, and ask his opinion of its' condition.
In most cases, I'm looking for something specific; so I've done my homework, and am thoroughly familiar with the object of my quest.
If you know it all; you must have been listening.WEAR EAR PROTECTION!0 -
I don't usually pay that much attention to the rifling; there are different types, some deep, some shallow. You can best compare rifling between guns of the same type. The only thing I look for is shallow rifling at the muzzle, which indicates excessive wear.
I am more concerned with muzzle/breech wear & rust/corrosion in the bore. (I never consider a gun with a dirty bore; the seller is either lazy or dishonest.) I only buy .30 cal rifles, so I carry a .30 muzzle wear gauge & a throat erosion gauge; these are the only mechanical way to measure bore wear. As for rust/corrosion, I just eyeball it like you do; there is a fiber optic light that does this best, but I can't justify its (great) expense.
Neal0 -
I eyeball it. My way of thinking:
New: just what it implies. Never issued, only test fired by the factory.
Like New: bore identical to above but some other parts may show light wear
Very Good: Bore shiny but may show some wear. May be some very light darkening/frosting in the grooves.
Good: Appreciable frosting or darkening, but still sharp strong rifling, should shoot well.
Fair: Barrel shows excessive wear, is very dark, shows a lot of pitting/frosting, light doesn't shine through well.
Poor: Little rifling is left. Pitting is major, don't even bother with the gun. Anything better than this I consider for the right price.
"...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 -
BESIDE WHAT THE OTHER POSTERS MENTIONED LOOK AT THE MUZZEL, RIFLING SHOULD BE SHARP RIGHT TO THE END OF THE BARREL. MUZZEL WEAR INDICATES POOR CLEANING TECHNIC. IF POSSIBLE CARRY A CHAMBER PRISM (WW 1-2 USGI) TO INSPECT THE ORIGION OF RIFLING, THIS IS WHERE SHOOTING WEAR WILL SHOW UP. 0 -
Ummmm....Hey....Where does one get those wear gauges? And do they make them for 8mm Mausers and such? 0
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