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Wilson arms barrel borescope question.

Dildobaggins

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 26, 2020
989
459
So I bought a borescope a few weeks ago, just out of curiosity, looked down my criterion and learned some things, then looked down a ballistic advantage barrel and yikes. Those pictures are for another day.

Bought this Wilson arms barrel blank from ragged hole barrels for $185.00 and was wondering a few things. Very new to the bolt action world. not 100 percent sure what I'm looking at. I didn't see any tooling marks to my knowledge? I understand it's only a $185 barrel. The only thing I did see was this. What would cause a nic/pit like that? (It's circled in red.) Anything to concern myself with? Any other thoughts on these pictures?
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Shoot it! It'll be fine. I've had barrels from known hide sponsors that looked a fair bit worse than that, but shoot very well! You ever see a factory rem700 barrel? Garbage......they still shot pretty decent though.
 
honestly it doesnt look THAT bad esp for a cheaper pipe. nicked probably from tooling.

that one nick depending on how far it is from the crown you may never even notice it.
I will check tomorrow and see, I don't recall exactly how far down it was.
Shoot it! It'll be fine. I've had barrels from known hide sponsors that looked a fair bit worse than that, but shoot very well! You ever see a factory rem700 barrel? Garbage......they still shot pretty decent though.
Lol I have not. I'm bringing it over to my father's tomorrow to have him see what his .270 savage barrel that shoots well looks like.
 
Borescopes should be illegal. They only create doubt. Shoot it. It can look like it has a family of hobos using it for a toilet through the borescope and shoot bugholes.
 
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Borescopes should be illegal. They only create doubt. Shoot it. It can look like it has a family of hobos using it for a toilet through the borescope and shoot bugholes.
Borescopes are a great tool . Some folks care about their equipment ,some don't .

OP , your pics need to be clearer to determine what you have going on there. Could be something, could be anything from dust to oil . Either way once you shoot it you will a better idea of what it is , and when it shoots well you will feel better . For the money spent it looks like a fine bore .
 
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You know what. If you don't like the barrel, I'll buy it from you. Borescope taught me one thing about myself- i.e. how poor I am at cleaning barrels.
 
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Borescopes are a great tool . Some folks care about their equipment ,some don't .

OP , your pics need to be clearer to determine what you have going on there. Could be something, could be anything from dust to oil . Either way once you shoot it you will a better idea of what it is , and when it shoots well you will feel better . For the money spent it looks like a fine bore .
What is the purpose of a barrel?

It is to repeatedly send a bullet to the same location, not to win a beauty contest. It makes no difference what they look like through a borescope, none at all. I'll pose you a simple choice to prove it:

Pick 1

1. A barrel that is perfectly machined and has beautiful lands and grooves, uniform coloration and smooth transitions...... and it shoots 2 moa.

2. A barrel that looks like the rifling was cut by a 1st semester student at the Helen Keller machinist school for the blind. Chunks missing, pieces sticking out, objects that may have at one time been included in a McDonald's happy meal..... but it shoots .25moa with anything you run through it.


You see, it does not matter what it looks like. I've seen pictures of barrels that look like a mobile home that was centered by a tornado and thrown into the next county, and they shot bug holes.
 
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I use a borescope for two things ... (1) identifying carbon rings, and (2) verifying (along with group size degradation) that a barrel is shot out and needs to be re[laced. If you try to study every barrel quirk or imperfection ... it'll drive you nuts.