The right way to inspect a barrel.

[tabascoz28]

Barrel wise, on my latest purchase, my first milsurp, I asked the store what should I be looking for. Big mistake. Then the dealer shined a light in the barrel and you see your normal James Bond spiral, doesn't really tell you much.

Youtube showed me that you should put a bullet tip inside the barrel end to see if it grabs farther up. Just got a true 90 degree barrel endoscope. Look at all that copper! That's from another gun, the milsurp just got cleaned and had some carbon, almost 0 copper.

[Hateca]

Doesn’t mean crap. How does it shoot? Carbon will kill accuracy long before copper ever will.

[unclerandy]

Barrel wise, on my latest purchase, my first milsurp, I asked the store what should I be looking for. Big mistake. Then the dealer shined a light in the barrel and you see your normal James Bond spiral, doesn't really tell you much.

Youtube showed me that you should put a bullet tip inside the barrel end to see if it grabs farther up. Just got a true 90 degree barrel endoscope. Look at all that copper! That's from another gun, the milsurp just got cleaned and had some carbon, almost 0 copper.

What scope did you buy?

[ar15barrels]

Barrel wise, on my latest purchase, my first milsurp, I asked the store what should I be looking for. Big mistake. Then the dealer shined a light in the barrel and you see your normal James Bond spiral, doesn't really tell you much.

I look at throat wear, crown damage and obvious issues in the bore.
You can see all of these with the naked eye if you know what you are looking for.
Most people don't.

[tabascoz28]

Teslong on Amazon, it's cheap and I'm not going to recommend it as there are better options. But not seeing is not the best option. I actually like the fish eye lens ones where you can see in 360 all around down the barrel.

Today I wanted to see if my untrimmed brass is anywhere near the limit. I know it has more to do with consistency than length but maybe I don't have to set my trimmer so low.

[golfish]

I purchased a Rossi R92 a couple years ago (CBC gun) I inspected everything with a flesh light
I shot the gun 3x and 200 rd, even with a MLC member. Then one day I was reading about Rossi's with canted barrels.

It's so obvious with this gun. Its canted so far to the left that you would have to be blind or dumb not to see it. You can fix blind a little but you can't fix dumb. It's a darn good shooter, probably the best of my .357 lever guns.

[pythonfan]

I purchased a Rossi R92 a couple years ago (CBC gun) I inspected everything with a flesh light
I shot the gun 3x and 200 rd, even with a MLC member. Then one day I was reading about Rossi's with canted barrels.

It's so obvious with this gun. Its canted so far to the left that you would have to be blind or dumb not to see it. You can fix blind a little but you can't fix dumb. It's a darn good shooter, probably the best of my .357 lever guns.

The store didn't kick you out for pulling out your flesh light?

[tabascoz28]

Thanks for reminding me about my milsurp sights. It was off by about a foot. Sucks I have to remove a barrel cap just to adjust.

[golfish]

The store didn't kick you out for pulling out your flesh light?

lol, I sure wish they did.

[TrailerparkTrash]

I look at throat wear, crown damage and obvious issues in the bore.
You can see all of these with the naked eye if you know what you are looking for.
Most people don't.

^^^ This. The crown is examined and felt with my finger. I use magnifying glasses to look very closely at ANY damage to the crown, specifically a rough edge or chip/dent/marring at the end of one or more of the “rifling” valleys and/or ridges. If there’s any of that damage identified, I wouldn’t buy it. Usually that type of damage is all that’s needed to “throw” the bullet way of course.

The throat is harder to inspect, but still worth it. Look down the barrel with a bright light or scope for signs of what looks like rust (pitting) damage, but don’t be confused with just copper or carbon fouling. A barrel that sat without proper cleaning and which shot corrosive primers will look like a stucco wall in places.

Then what others have already said, if you can test fire it with the seller at a range with your own quality (I prefer American made) factory ammo, that’s a good sign. Look for accuracy results.