• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

Best or Your Favorite Borescope

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BrantWW

Contemporary Accumulator
Joined
Aug 28, 2021
Messages
111
Reaction score
139
Location
Kingston, TN
I am looking for a new borescope. The one I have is too short.

Do you have a pick-of-the-litter or favorite to recommend?

Thanks,
Brant
 
I'm on my third digital borescope. The first one was the cheapest I could find on ebay. I was primarily interested in seeing how they worked plugging into my laptop. It was less than $10 and had a cable that was too flexible--no stiffness at all. Not one I would recommend, but I don't see anything on ebay like it now so that's probably best.

For the next one I got, I was specifically looking for one with a rigid cable and at least 4 feet long so I could see all the way to the breech plug in a long rifle. The brand I got was called Depstech. It was somewhere between $10-$15 at the time on ebay. The same thing looks like it goes for $35 and up now. I think it has an 8.5 mm diameter camera. It worked fine, but its focal length is 1.2 inch-3.2 inch, so one can only look straight ahead with it. It came with mirrors to look at 90 degree angles, but the focal length is too long to focus on the side of the bore. The rigid cable is over 16 feet long. Most of the ones I see on ebay now are wireless. Mine plugs into the USB port on my laptop.

This is an image from the Depstech.
WIN_20210601_23_06_10_Pro.jpg


I wanted something that I could look 90 degrees at the rifling, meaning it had to have a real short focal length. I saw someone recommend a Teslong and it has the short focal length I was looking for. I got the NTG100 model. It cost $45.99 on Amazon when I got it but looks like it goes for $49.99 now. Ebay has them from $50 to $60.

s-l500_a.jpg


s-l500_b.jpg


I like this Teslong NTG100. It has an even more rigid cable but still flexes. The probe is 45 inches long and is only 0.2 inches in diameter so it would fit into a .22 caliber bore. I would prefer a larger diameter camera for muzzleloaders, but it works. The focal length or depth of field is 0.4 inch, so I can see the rifling really well on the low side of the bore, but the side farthest from the camera is out of focus. You have to rotate the barrel to inspect 360 degrees around.

This is the one I like the best for the 90 degree view.

My experience has been that you get what you pay for. Less the $10 was barely passable. The $15 Depstech (now over $35) is good for looking at the breech plug face and seeing lengthwise down the rifling. I found it useful for looking for restrictions in a bore due to poor dovetail installation on one rifle. The $46 Teslong (now $50 to $60) is best for close inspection of grooves and lands and even goes down into the powder chamber in patent breeches. It satisfies my need for close inspection looking 90 degrees at the side of the bore. Just yesterday, I was using it to look at a large burr left from drilling for a vent liner in a flint patent breech. I could feel something prevent a small jag going all the way into the powder chamber but couldn't tell what it was until I looked through the borescope.

My images from the Teslong are on another computer or I would post some here. If it's important, I could transfer some images and post them later.

This has been my experience with digital borescopes. I've seen some really good photos posted by other people through their borescopes, so there may be better ones out there than what I have discussed here.
 
I'm on my third digital borescope. The first one was the cheapest I could find on ebay. I was primarily interested in seeing how they worked plugging into my laptop. It was less than $10 and had a cable that was too flexible--no stiffness at all. Not one I would recommend, but I don't see anything on ebay like it now so that's probably best.

For the next one I got, I was specifically looking for one with a rigid cable and at least 4 feet long so I could see all the way to the breech plug in a long rifle. The brand I got was called Depstech. It was somewhere between $10-$15 at the time on ebay. The same thing looks like it goes for $35 and up now. I think it has an 8.5 mm diameter camera. It worked fine, but its focal length is 1.2 inch-3.2 inch, so one can only look straight ahead with it. It came with mirrors to look at 90 degree angles, but the focal length is too long to focus on the side of the bore. The rigid cable is over 16 feet long. Most of the ones I see on ebay now are wireless. Mine plugs into the USB port on my laptop.

This is an image from the Depstech.
View attachment 94543

I wanted something that I could look 90 degrees at the rifling, meaning it had to have a real short focal length. I saw someone recommend a Teslong and it has the short focal length I was looking for. I got the NTG100 model. It cost $45.99 on Amazon when I got it but looks like it goes for $49.99 now. Ebay has them from $50 to $60.

View attachment 94541

View attachment 94542

I like this Teslong NTG100. It has an even more rigid cable but still flexes. The probe is 45 inches long and is only 0.2 inches in diameter so it would fit into a .22 caliber bore. I would prefer a larger diameter camera for muzzleloaders, but it works. The focal length or depth of field is 0.4 inch, so I can see the rifling really well on the low side of the bore, but the side farthest from the camera is out of focus. You have to rotate the barrel to inspect 360 degrees around.

This is the one I like the best for the 90 degree view.

My experience has been that you get what you pay for. Less the $10 was barely passable. The $15 Depstech (now over $35) is good for looking at the breech plug face and seeing lengthwise down the rifling. I found it useful for looking for restrictions in a bore due to poor dovetail installation on one rifle. The $46 Teslong (now $50 to $60) is best for close inspection of grooves and lands and even goes down into the powder chamber in patent breeches. It satisfies my need for close inspection looking 90 degrees at the side of the bore. Just yesterday, I was using it to look at a large burr left from drilling for a vent liner in a flint patent breech. I could feel something prevent a small jag going all the way into the powder chamber but couldn't tell what it was until I looked through the borescope.

My images from the Teslong are on another computer or I would post some here. If it's important, I could transfer some images and post them later.

This has been my experience with digital borescopes. I've seen some really good photos posted by other people through their borescopes, so there may be better ones out there than what I have discussed here.

Great info.

Thank you.
Branr
 
I'm on my third digital borescope. The first one was the cheapest I could find on ebay. I was primarily interested in seeing how they worked plugging into my laptop. It was less than $10 and had a cable that was too flexible--no stiffness at all. Not one I would recommend, but I don't see anything on ebay like it now so that's probably best.

For the next one I got, I was specifically looking for one with a rigid cable and at least 4 feet long so I could see all the way to the breech plug in a long rifle. The brand I got was called Depstech. It was somewhere between $10-$15 at the time on ebay. The same thing looks like it goes for $35 and up now. I think it has an 8.5 mm diameter camera. It worked fine, but its focal length is 1.2 inch-3.2 inch, so one can only look straight ahead with it. It came with mirrors to look at 90 degree angles, but the focal length is too long to focus on the side of the bore. The rigid cable is over 16 feet long. Most of the ones I see on ebay now are wireless. Mine plugs into the USB port on my laptop.

This is an image from the Depstech.
View attachment 94543

I wanted something that I could look 90 degrees at the rifling, meaning it had to have a real short focal length. I saw someone recommend a Teslong and it has the short focal length I was looking for. I got the NTG100 model. It cost $45.99 on Amazon when I got it but looks like it goes for $49.99 now. Ebay has them from $50 to $60.

View attachment 94541

View attachment 94542

I like this Teslong NTG100. It has an even more rigid cable but still flexes. The probe is 45 inches long and is only 0.2 inches in diameter so it would fit into a .22 caliber bore. I would prefer a larger diameter camera for muzzleloaders, but it works. The focal length or depth of field is 0.4 inch, so I can see the rifling really well on the low side of the bore, but the side farthest from the camera is out of focus. You have to rotate the barrel to inspect 360 degrees around.

This is the one I like the best for the 90 degree view.

My experience has been that you get what you pay for. Less the $10 was barely passable. The $15 Depstech (now over $35) is good for looking at the breech plug face and seeing lengthwise down the rifling. I found it useful for looking for restrictions in a bore due to poor dovetail installation on one rifle. The $46 Teslong (now $50 to $60) is best for close inspection of grooves and lands and even goes down into the powder chamber in patent breeches. It satisfies my need for close inspection looking 90 degrees at the side of the bore. Just yesterday, I was using it to look at a large burr left from drilling for a vent liner in a flint patent breech. I could feel something prevent a small jag going all the way into the powder chamber but couldn't tell what it was until I looked through the borescope.

My images from the Teslong are on another computer or I would post some here. If it's important, I could transfer some images and post them later.

This has been my experience with digital borescopes. I've seen some really good photos posted by other people through their borescopes, so there may be better ones out there than what I have discussed here.
At first when I looked at your picture of the bore I thought that it was a bullet sitting there sideways and the lube grooves filled with powder. Don't think it's that anymore but what exactly is the photo of? 🤔
 
I use the $50 Teslong. This was from a rifle I just bought from Rock Island Auctions. The red stuff wiped right out. Probably surface rust from sitting in a closet too long.

WIN_20210623_07_48_37_Pro.jpg
 
Thanks, everyone!

It looks like Teslong is the way to go. I wondered about the resolution as their cameras are 1MP rather than 2MP like some systems out there.

Brant
 
At first when I looked at your picture of the bore I thought that it was a bullet sitting there sideways and the lube grooves filled with powder. Don't think it's that anymore but what exactly is the photo of? 🤔

It does kind a look like a bullet, but thompson50 is correct--partially. It is the hole and threads into the breach, but for a drum rather than a vent liner, though from that perspective, one can't tell the difference.

It's a GRRW rifle and barrel. They quite often drilled a powder chamber into the plug face, then intercepted this with a hole threaded for the drum (or vent) like this.
IMG_3548_low res.jpg


The rifle I showed the borescope picture of might have had a shorter threaded journal because they simply drilled the hole for the drum partially through the face of the plug.

I suspect the "grains" seen in the photo are powder that was soaked with oil and didn't burn when the rifle was fired. If so, it will likely get burned up if the rifle is shot enough.

I do find a borescope very helpful in identifying problems in the bore.
 
Thanks, everyone. I bought the Teslong 100 with a 45" scope. I also ordered a four-piece side-view borescope mirror set. The set includes one of each size outer diameter side view mirrors:

0.2-inch (5mm)

0.28-inch (7mm)

0.33-inch (8.3mm)

0.47-inch (12mm)
1632943722341.png
 
Back
Top