How to use a bore light?

[sherpadoug]

Pardon the stupid question, but what is a bore light, and how do you use it? I have a 62 cal. smoothbore.

 

[Birdman]

There are several types but most folks use the one that is a small cylinder(battery powered)light that ya drop down the barrel and it sheds light on the inside so ya can see wheter there is rust or pitting or anything else on the inner surface of the barrel. YMHS Birdman

 

[john s mosby]

The one I use is made by CVA, it has a brass case about .430 dia by an inch long, it's powered by a watch battery. You turn it on and drop it down the bore so the light shines back up so you can see the inside of your barrel. Works great for 45 cal and up. Most muzzle loading shops carry them, mine came from Cabela's.

 

[vradin]

I made my own from an old maglight, some thin twisted pair, and a bit of shrink tube. I was looking at some of the commercial lights, but got paranoid about the thing getting stuck in the barrel. I wanted my light on a leash, plus I had the parts already and being a thrify (cheap) type I just used what I got.

I get a LOT uncomfortable looking down the muzzle, so I think the next thing is a dental mirror or maybe I'll figure out some sort of fiber optic video system to go with my inline wheel lock :crackup:

vic

 

[Herb]

A bore light is for looking at bores. I only knew of the kind that you drop into the bore, but Mac Tools makes a Stylus 3 Streamlight that you can shine into the bore at the muzzle and see all the rifling and the breech plug. It is 3/8" diameter, but with the knurled screw switch end won't go down a .40 bore. Would go into anything bigger, but no need to, you can see all from the muzzle. You can see all your .62 bore and breech plug by shining this in at the muzzle. Cost $18 from Checker Auto.

 

[khwils]

Go to your local Sporting goods store and go to the fishing section and get a LED bobber light. They are extremely small, they will fit down a .32, and cost under $5.00. Kurt/IL

 

[sherpadoug]

Actually I also work with model trains, so I have lots of small light bulbs I can put on some long stiff wire if I want the light at the breech end. I even have some that might pass through the touch hole! The question is: Do I want the bulb at the breech end where I will be looking directly at it? Or do I want to shine light down the barrel? I guess the best way to tell is to spend the five minutes to try both. :hmm:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I had a .66 cal smoothbore and just shining a light into the 5/64" vent gave enough illumination to see the breechplug face and bore.

 

[Tumblernotch]

I wonder if a guy could attach a fairly powerful light to a piece of fiber-optic wire (if that's what you call it) and stick it into the touchhole or through a cleanout in a percussion gun and get enough light to see the bore and breechface without a lot of glare? :hmm:

 

[vradin]

I wonder if a guy could attach a fairly powerful light to a piece of fiber-optic wire (if that's what you call it) and stick it into the touchhole or through a cleanout in a percussion gun and get enough light to see the bore and breechface without a lot of glare? :hmm:

Yes, very easily, and the light does not have to be that high powered. The medium or high intensity maglite clones work great, stay away from the blue-tint LED lites, they do glare a little even thru fiber. Getting good quality fiber is another story. You can find scraps or discards if you know someone in IT or networking. Typically we don't repair broken fiber as the repair kits aren't cost effective, so we just replace broken or cut fiber, and toss the old stufff into the bin.

vic

 

[lanedh]

Hi Sherpa Doug:

Several of the shooting supplies houses used to offer a thing called Bore-Bright mirrors. These are/were plated cylinders in several diameters (the smallest was about .30) flat on one end and concave on the other. They came in a plastic box. The were used with a penlight flashlight having a lucite wand curved 90 degrees to shine light down the barrel from the muzzle.

Depending on the calibre you want to examine, you might do better to solder fine wires to a minature lamp and connect to a battery. That way you can position the light source anywhere along the length of the bore to see more detail.

v/r, Bluejacket

 

[[email protected]]

I use a BORE ILLUMINATOR. it is made by WARREN ML Co.
OZONE ARIZONA. ph: 501-292-3268.
The one I have is for .45 cal and up. It is just a tiny mirror. You slide it down the bore and then shine a small flashlight ( mini mag etc) down the bore.
Lights it up like daylight! Wont blind ya neither.
It dont get any better than this!

*** WV SCROUNGER ***

 

[CoyoteJoe]

:RO: I've even used a polished flat based bullet as a bore mirror, got the tip from Dixie Gunworks catalog, what a great source of info, everyone should have one!

 

[Zonie]

One of the last things I do before the final installation of the breech plug is to polish the face of the plug so it is mirror bright.
That way when I shine my mini-Mag-Lite down the bore, I get a nice reflection. ::

One might say little things like this are a "reflection" of nice workmanship? :crackup: :crackup:

 

[CrackStock]

Nobody has mentioned it, but step one involves putting the gun in as safe a condition as possible.

Frizzen forward and cock down or hammer down on the nipple is a good start.

Running the ramrod down to its load/unload mark to ensure that the gun is really unloaded.

You might put on a patch and listen for the hiss of air that (hopefully) comes throught the vent or nipple.

A mirror is a nice touch to look for a load, but I doubt that the other two checks would fail you.

The light is then turned on and the breach end of the gun is lowered slightly so the light gently slides to the breach.

Look with the mirror or directly and you see what you see.

YMHS,
CrackStock