How to determine condition of bore/rifling?

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zeegler

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I have a 1915 Lee Enfield No1MkIII. Obviously a 104 year old gun is not going to have super sharp rifling and a nice shiny bore. I'm assuming this particular rifle was never cleaned with much care because I've been cleaning it repeatedly since I got it, and my patches are still coming out filthy. Each time I go at it, I start with the brass brush to loosen up the dirt, then run 8-10 patches through it, then the brass brush again, and so on. I've done this probably 6 times so far, each time running maybe 20 patches through. The bore is definitely starting to look better, so I'm not wasting my time. Hopefully eventually, I will get patches coming through that are clean.

I'm just wondering what a reasonably nice bore should look like on something like this? Any advice is appreciated.
 
If the bore is pitted (and many Lee Enfield bores are from shooting corrosive ammo) then trying to get them shiney clean is a waste of time and money. Rather than scrubbing it excessively, let the bore cleaning solution do its work over time. You can use Wipe-Out, or alternatively cut a 1/4 in strip of patch, wrap it around your brush in a spiral, and wet the patch strip with bore cleaner. Pass through the bore once, let sit for 15 minutes, run through with the same patch.Let sit for half an hour, run a new wetted patch strip through the bore, wait for another half hour and repeat. Continue this cycle as required.
If the bore is pitted, you may get it to shine slightly, but that's about it. There is no point trying to get it squeaky clean as the pits will fill up with residue after one or two shots. Bear in mind that a pitted bore can still shoot well - let the range prove this out...
 
Depending on what cleaning solution you are using, you could be getting false findings. Many copper solvents will eat the bronze brushes giving the illusion of still having copper in the bore.
Try some Wipe Out foaming bore cleaner, leave it in the bore overnight and then patch the bore. It won't take out pitting but certainly is the best for copper and powder residue.
 
zeegler said:
I have a 1915 Lee Enfield No1MkIII. Obviously a 104 year old gun is not going to have super sharp rifling and a nice shiny bore. I'm assuming this particular rifle was never cleaned with much care because I've been cleaning it repeatedly since I got it, and my patches are still coming out filthy. Each time I go at it, I start with the brass brush to loosen up the dirt, then run 8-10 patches through it, then the brass brush again, and so on. I've done this probably 6 times so far, each time running maybe 20 patches through. The bore is definitely starting to look better, so I'm not wasting my time. Hopefully eventually, I will get patches coming through that are clean.

I'm just wondering what a reasonably nice bore should look like on something like this? Any advice is appreciated.
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A reasonably nice bore should look sharp and shiny.

What do you plan on doing with the rifle? Maybe stop cleaning it and do it.
 
Yeah i wouldnt worry about the bore. It is what it is and you already have the rifle. Id see if it shoots before i did anything. If it doesnt shoot maybe try cleaning it or switch to over sized cast bullets
 
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I've put a few rounds through it, but couldn't get it on paper. I couldn't even see where my shots were going. I'm thinking that perhaps my sights are way out, so I ended up buying a laser bore sight. I'm going to try sighting it in again tomorrow. The lands don't appear to be pitted and are pretty shiny, but maybe there is pitting in the grooves.
 
zeegler said:
I've put a few rounds through it, but couldn't get it on paper. I couldn't even see where my shots were going. I'm thinking that perhaps my sights are way out, so I ended up buying a laser bore sight. I'm going to try sighting it in again tomorrow. The lands don't appear to be pitted and are pretty shiny, but maybe there is pitting in the grooves.
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A bore sighter will help for sure. Best use it without the bolt and push it with your finger to hold it in to the chamber on the rim. The extractor on the bolt can cause it to push to the left due to the large chamber and under sized sighter.

If you have a muzzle one disreguard what i said above.


Also you can try shooting close to the target. Maybe 25 meters until you see where its hitting

A 1915 should have a windage adjustable rear sight. So that will make thing easy.
 
zeegler said:
I have a 1915 Lee Enfield No1MkIII. Obviously a 104 year old gun is not going to have super sharp rifling and a nice shiny bore. I'm assuming this particular rifle was never cleaned with much care because I've been cleaning it repeatedly since I got it, and my patches are still coming out filthy. Each time I go at it, I start with the brass brush to loosen up the dirt, then run 8-10 patches through it, then the brass brush again, and so on. I've done this probably 6 times so far, each time running maybe 20 patches through. The bore is definitely starting to look better, so I'm not wasting my time. Hopefully eventually, I will get patches coming through that are clean.

I'm just wondering what a reasonably nice bore should look like on something like this? Any advice is appreciated.
Click to expand...

What solvent are you using?
I might be an idiot for suggesting this , but if your using a copper solvent then I might suggest that the solvent is reacting with your bore brush and even the jag.
You'll never get it clean using a copper solvent and a brass brush/jag.
Well, in my experience anyways.
Rob
 
zeegler said:
I've put a few rounds through it, but couldn't get it on paper. I couldn't even see where my shots were going. I'm thinking that perhaps my sights are way out, so I ended up buying a laser bore sight. I'm going to try sighting it in again tomorrow. The lands don't appear to be pitted and are pretty shiny, but maybe there is pitting in the grooves.
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If you can't hit the target you sure don't need a bore sighter... put up a bigger target and closer... try it at 25 yards, then 50, then 100.

Bolt actions have a built in bore sighter - remove the bolt and sight through the bore on the target...
 
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