Borescopes

M

mshelton

Member
Been wanting a borescope for a few years now, had borrowed a friends Hawkeye a couple of times and really liked it, thinking of purchasing one in the near future and was wondering if they (Hawkeyes) are still pretty much the king? I've seen the Lyman, and while nice I'd rather spend the money on something that's just good glass and mechanical rather than electronic.

Any help or opinion is greatly appreciated.
 
If you just want glass, the Hawkeye is still the best thing going. If you can stand some electronics though, there are some very good electronic units (forget the Lyman, just look up borescopes on Amazon) for much less money. I've had a Hawkeye for ~15 years (and still do) but I mostly use an electronic "Teslong" now that I find more convenient.

GsT
 
GeneT said:
If you just want glass, the Hawkeye is still the best thing going. If you can stand some electronics though, there are some very good electronic units (forget the Lyman, just look up borescopes on Amazon) for much less money. I've had a Hawkeye for ~15 years (and still do) but I mostly use an electronic "Teslong" now that I find more convenient.

GsT
Click to expand...

What model TESLONG do you have??? Are you using it for cleaning results or chambering, or both ????

Thanks,

Al
 
I have a Hawkeye with the 90 degree eyepiece. It's an outstanding borescope. I had the chance to try a Lyman a while back. They're decent but the image quality wasn't half as good as the Hawkeye. What's the old saying, spend a little more, get a little more....

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
 
I used a Lyman for two years cleaning the mirror occasionally with brake cleaner on a soft patch. The last time I cleaned the mirror I wiped off 50% of the mirror coating. Tried to get a new mirror from Lyman to no avail.........no parts available for this unit....Lyman said I had to buy the complete unit. "I don't think so Tim".

I bought a replacement Hawkeye from Bruno's with 90 degree eye piece at a very fair price and never looked back. Resolution is incredible compared to the Lyman.

My only regret is wasting my money on a Lyman in the first place........ besides the no replacement parts policy.......it was very cumbersome to view the chamber on the lathe
 
Keep brake cleaner away from all borescopes!

Without doubt, Hawkeye is the only route if you care to see detail.
 
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Yes I know that the Hawkeye mirror reflective coating can be wiped away too.......it also happened to a friend.

However, I find it ironic that Hawkeye recommends isopropyl alcohol or acetone as an alternative for their Hawkeye lens cleaner for cleaning the mirror. I would have thought that acetone would be harsher than brake cleaner.

I'll stick to the Hawkeye lens cleaner to be safe.....

Thanks for the heads up.
 
Thanks guys, sounds like the Hawkeyes are still the best option (short of medical grade equipment) for a borescope.

Recon the order for one will go in shortly.
 
anything digital has a a resolution limit set by the imaging device.

There may also be less than first rate optics in front of the imaging device.

Devices that use an optical fiber bundle are in a funny place.
The fiber system sets a limit but moving the fiber in relation to the object allows some detail to be seen.

It is possible to put lens systems to allow for slightly better resolution.

The Hawkeye is a straight rigid optical chain using doped glass to act as lenses.

It is mostly limited by the Mark I eyeball looking though it.

There are cameras that can be purchased and attached to the Hawkeye.

Both from Hawkeye and other places.

The image resolution will be limited by the camera and screen.

You can also purchase the 90 degree eyepiece attachment from Hawkeye.

I have had a Hawkeye for many years and it is fantastic.
 
We have four complete Hawkeye setups at work. We have one video and one still camera setup from Hawkeye also. They are much better and clearer than the $20,000 Olympus systems we also have.
 
MilGunsmith said:
We have four complete Hawkeye setups at work. We have one video and one still camera setup from Hawkeye also. They are much better and clearer than the $20,000 Olympus systems we also have.
Click to expand...

I had access to some very high priced bore scopes for work.

I was very surprised when I purchased a Hawkeye years ago that the doped lenses worked so well.

It was brighter and sharper than far more expensive equipment I had used.
 
Received the Hawkeye in today, has the green eyepiece where the one I had borrowed has a black eyepiece.

Have to say the one I received with the green eyepiece is much clearer than the one I borrowed in the past so I have to say I'm more than happy with mine.

Thanks for the help.
 
Also as an update, the older model I had borrowed would not fit inside a 20 cal barrel with the 90 deg attachment but the new one I just purchased fits inside a 20 cal just fine, which is really nice considering I have a couple 20s.
 
One important benefit a good borescope does accomplish. Inspecting the leade area on a just finished chamber or on a "new to you" barrel. If the cone slopes in the chamber head are not equal it saves many hours and $ trying to get that barrel to shoot if the neck/freebore/ chamber leade is off center by even a small amount.


,
 
GeneT said:
This looks like the Teslong I have: https://www.amazon.com/Teslong-Endoscope-Borescope-Waterproof-Inspection/dp/B01HPCPFGY/

Ricco, the silvering on the Hawkeye mirror can be wiped off too. A replacement mirror tube assembly from Hawkeye cost me about $200.

GsT
Click to expand...

"5.5mm Diameter Waterproof Probe"

A little on the large size.

I have no idea what other manufacturers are using, but Hawkeye is a first surface mirror.
The coating is on the front of the mirror and has no real protection.
 
Six or eight years ago I contacted Hawkeye and asked if a co rep couldnt come to a match and demo the product.
They just might sell a few.. picture is worth lots of words.

No, the range was way too far (Sault Sainte Marie) from Detroit to do that. If you have a big shoot scheduled invite them and see what they say.
 
langenc said:
Six or eight years ago I contacted Hawkeye and asked if a co rep couldnt come to a match and demo the product.
They just might sell a few.. picture is worth lots of words.

No, the range was way too far (Sault Sainte Marie) from Detroit to do that. If you have a big shoot scheduled invite them and see what they say.
Click to expand...

I've seen Hawkeye show up at a lot of the major shoots such as the Nationals or Super Shoot. They will usually let you look at the bore on your rifle and give you a drawing ticket. Then later on towards the end of the match, they will draw from the tickets for someone to win a bore scope. Lots of Hawkeye bore scopes used in benchrest.
 
Hawkeye Mirror

My Hawkeye is about 17 years old. Sometime during the first few years I had it I replaced the incandescent bulb with an LED to get rid of the dingy yellow cast. After some years of use the mirror started to deteriorate. Last spring I sent the mirror assembly back to Gradient Lens to have the mirror replaced. Before sending it off, I asked if the replacement mirror would be any more durable than the original. I was told that it was pretty much the same design, but it now has a thin glass sheet over the aluminum coating and that durability is greatly improved. The cost was around $80 plus shipping. They turned it around good as new in about one week. Now, after about a year of frequent use the image quality is still excellent.

-Dave
 
I've had the Lyaman sitting in a box since they first came out. I finally decided to open it up and snap some pictures of a 6mm Creedmoor chamber I just cut. I'm not overly excited about it but have to admit, once you pull the pictures off the SD card, they appear much better quality than on the unit's screen. With HSS, 300rpm and .003 IPR seems to be a decent combo.

Freebore with the neck on the right:



More freebore and neck:



Lead:

 
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