Hawkeye Borescope

Seeing is Understand

- Terry Wieland

Terry Wieland

One of the most frustrating (yet fascinating) aspects of handloading is the fact that much of what we think

we know is little more than speculation. We can’t see a primer ignite, nor watch the powder burn, nor follow the bullet down the bore. This allows all kinds of theories – most of them unprovable – which give rise to all the endless debates in gun shops, shooting clubs and the pages of magazines. Which powder is better? Which bullet is more accurate? Do boat-tails promote gas cutting?

Even after the shot is fired, many of the areas we would most like to look at, to get some firm answers, cannot be readily scrutinized. Looking down the bore of a rifle reveals little beyond whether there are powder particles left in it, because what is seen is not the bore itself but the reflection of light off its metal surfaces. The same is true when examining the interior of a bolt to see if the walls are rough, or if oil has solidified to the point where it’s interfering with the striker fall.

Handloaders have their own problems in this regard. Much as we might like to examine the interior walls of a fired case to see whether there is corrosion, it’s awfully difficult to do. Shining a light in through the mouth of a bottleneck case, while manipulating it to see what the light is shining on, reveals about the same amount of information as holding a rifle bore up to a light and looking through it . . . which is to say, not much.

Forensic investigators section barrels and cartridge cases to study their surfaces under microscopes, which may be informative, but it’s pretty final. And, it doesn’t help much in analyzing why your own rifle is shooting poorly.