Bore Light Recommendations

[Tequila Shooter]

My little flashlight that I had been using finally gave up the fight, so now I’m looking for a new one.  I want something small so that it fits in my cleaning kit and prefer LED.  Checked all the regular places like Midway, Brownells and even Amazon, every one I looked at had mixed reviews.  So I wanted to see if anyone here has a recommendation. 

[G W Wade]

Gave up on those tears ago.    Just use the bent light pipe powered by sunlight.   Got one reminds of a tuba!   1 end is almost 1/2 in. tapering down  to 1/4       Battery models seemed too bright and usually dead          GW

[Choctaw Jack]

I use one marked Winchester. Small LED on a bendable stalk,powered by a single AA battery.I've seen them for sale at Wally World and Sportsmen's Warehouse. 

Battery lasts a really long time.

Choctaw

[Utah Bob #35998]

Got this a couple of months ago. Extremely bright and robust.

 

[Cat Brules]

Use a little strip of white paper to reflect ambient light through the bore with your eyeball at the other end.

 

 Cat Brules

 

 

[Pat Riot]

My favorite bore light is LED but it’s not the searing bright white most are. It’s more of a yellow light. Unfortunately I just discovered that the batteries inside leaked and I can’t get them out. It’s soaking in baking soda water right now. I hope I can replace it if I can’t save it. 
 

It’s a Hoppe’s bore light. 
 

 

EDIT: Thankfully, Walmart still carries them. Ordering 2, just in case. 
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hoppes-9-Bore-Light/23237487
 

 

Oh, and the little light pipe comes off and it makes a dandy little flashlight too. 

[Texas Joker]

Slide one of these down the barrel and look down the bore with a flashlight.

 

19510.jpg

[Pat Riot]

I just found these on Amazon. Check out the different options and variations. That chamber flag looks like it could be a flag and something to illuminate your bore. Not sure how green would look though. 
 

Pro-Shot UV Bore Light Illuminator https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01M0XFBMZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_1A9S440F71B9N2V1JRSG?psc=1

[Buckshot Bob]

A bright light on my bench and my fingernails 

[Pat Riot]

13 minutes ago, Buckshot Bob said:

A bright light on my bench and my fingernails 

What shade do you paint them? 

[Buckshot Bob]

Just now, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

What shade do you paint them? 

Neon colors usually work best 

[sassnetguy50]

I use 6" fiber optic slip on adapters for mini maglites.  They were $5 a piece, cheap enough for one in each tool box.

 

[grey ghost]

A sideways cartridge Ala lynn McAdams in winchester 73

[Pat Riot]

I find that a not too brilliant light lets you see things that ambient light reflecting off of a piece of paper or some other object does not and vice versa. I like to use lights and also a piece of white paper reflecting ambient light to see down and up a bore. 

[Cypress Sun]

This LED light/laser was a in the shooter packet at a large match here in Florida. At first, I thought that I'd never use it but have found that I use it all of the time for various things. It's great for a bore light or inspection of hard to look into places, has a magnet at the other end from the light and the laser is great for irritating the dog or wife. Operates on three of the little round batteries that are easily found at any store.

[Joke 'um]

I like cheap and dim.  When you find a weak enough cheap bore light, buy several.

High quality, high power lights generally make a bright gleaming flair and I can't see squat.

[Dutch Wheeler]

For about $6.00 each, these little Barrel-Lites work pretty good.  

 

[Pat Riot]

On 5/15/2021 at 7:24 AM, Joke 'um said:

 

I like cheap and dim

 

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

I have a couple like Cypress Sun's with different names on them. 

They work great and and pretty inexpensive. 

I keep one in my at home gun toolkit box, the traveling toolbox another on the workbench and a couple of spares to use as match prizes or "Just In Case".

 

A tip of the Stetson and a thank-you to Pat Riot for a reminder to check the batteries in mine.

[Pat Riot]

Okay, I got my “light pipe” type bore lights from Amazon. Also, I tossed the light portion of my Hoppe’s light that I posted above. The battery’s acid destroyed the tube and I couldn’t get the battery closest to the LED out. I kept the little rubber cup and light pipe to put on another light. 
 

Here are some photos of my Glock 34 with semi dirty bore (maybe 50 rounds fired) propped in a vise using the various light options I have at hand. 
 

Here is the light source - bench light

 

Here is the Glock in the vise under the light source. 

 

Here is the Glock with just a strip of white paper poking out of the slide reflecting light from bench light. 

 

These are the 3 light pipes I got from Amazon (above)

 

Orange - waste of money

 

Blue - actually not bad. Keeper

 

Green - Meh

 

Little rubber cup and light pipe from Hoppe’s light on an Olight single AAA battery mini light. 

 

OMG - No Way!

Little rubber cup w/ light pipe

 

Little rubber cup / light pipe with bench light source

 

Little rubber cup thingie with old mini Mag Light shining into it

 

 

BEST OVERALL in this test!

Strip of white paper under bench light. 

I wish I had another Hoppe’s light to show how it looked. I believe it to be the best overall. 

[Tequila Shooter]

@Pat Riot, SASS #13748 thanks for the in-depth review and pics!  I wonder how the blue “J” would work over the length of a rifle barrel. 

[Pat Riot]

3 hours ago, Tequila Shooter said:

@Pat Riot, SASS #13748 thanks for the in-depth review and pics!  I wonder how the blue “J” would work over the length of a rifle barrel. 

I will test it tomorrow for you. With pics. 

[Hendo]

1 hour ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

I will test it tomorrow for you. With pics. 

Outstanding. You can redeem yourself for making us look at 11 pictures of a Glock.

[Dakota Brown]

I use one similar to this(not winchester marked). Long flex tube can get into the bore (from 22s and up) and the single AAA battery really lasts long. Can be found on Ebay.

 

DB

[Pat Riot]

2 hours ago, Hendo said:

Outstanding. You can redeem yourself for making us look at 11 pictures of a Glock.

Yeah, sorry…some people just can’t handle that much “Perfection”! 

[Pat Riot]

@Tequila Shooter  @Hendo

 

Here are photos of my Glock lever action…oops! I meant Marlin 1894CB dirty bore with blue light pipe, white paper, green and orange light pipes then the blue light pipe and white paper with a clean bore. 
 

Blue

 

White paper 

 

Green

 

Orange

 

Blue - clean bore

 

White paper - clean bore

 

I really think the blue light pipe is better than the white paper in this test. The photos are so-so but are close to what I could see CAs what the photos show. 
The green and orange were a waste of money but the green would work in a pinch. 
 

EDIT: The bore isn’t perfectly clean. I just ran a bore snake through just to do the comparison. 

[Tequila Shooter]

@Pat Riot, SASS #13748  thanks so much for taking all that time and energy to do this. I was on the fence but after seeing your pictures I’ve made up my mind.  Thanks again and I hope you’re recovery is going good. 

 

PS - I don’t care what the women say about you, you really are a nice guy   

[Cat Brules]

That is so not cool, posting that photo of the couple, and labeling it “cheap and dim”.  Please do not do that any more.

 

Cat Brules

[Pat Riot]

28 minutes ago, Cat Brules said:

That is so not cool, posting that photo of the couple, and labeling it “cheap and dim”.  Please do not do that any more.

 

Cat Brules

Why? Is that one of your relatives?

it’s a meme photo from the internet. Lighten up. 

[DeaconKC]

I thought it was funny

[Buckshot Bob]

On 5/18/2021 at 12:16 PM, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Okay, I got my “light pipe” type bore lights from Amazon. Also, I tossed the light portion of my Hoppe’s light that I posted above. The battery’s acid destroyed the tube and I couldn’t get the battery closest to the LED out. I kept the little rubber cup and light pipe to put on another light. 
 

Here are some photos of my Glock 34 with semi dirty bore (maybe 50 rounds fired) propped in a vise using the various light options I have at hand. 
 

Here is the light source - bench light

 

Here is the Glock in the vise under the light source. 

 

Here is the Glock with just a strip of white paper poking out of the slide reflecting light from bench light. 

 

These are the 3 light pipes I got from Amazon (above)

 

Orange - waste of money

 

Blue - actually not bad. Keeper

 

Green - Meh

 

Little rubber cup and light pipe from Hoppe’s light on an Olight single AAA battery mini light. 

 

OMG - No Way!

Little rubber cup w/ light pipe

 

Little rubber cup / light pipe with bench light source

 

Little rubber cup thingie with old mini Mag Light shining into it

 

 

BEST OVERALL in this test!

Strip of white paper under bench light. 

I wish I had another Hoppe’s light to show how it looked. I believe it to be the best overall. 

And yet you never tested the mighty finger nail . I’m sooo disappointed.  

[Pat Riot]

11 minutes ago, Buckshot Bob said:

And yet you never tested the mighty finger nail . I’m sooo disappointed.  

I have no polish…at least none as flashy as yours. 

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

Over the years I have purchased dozens of bore lights.  Most were junk and are simply disposible items.  Use them till they break and toss them.  Most have cheap on/off switches.  The only two I have that have been reliable are these two.  The top is simply marked Dorcy.  To turn it on you screw in the knuled cap.  To turn off unscrew it.  No real switch to break.  Have no idea where I got it.  The other is the old lite pipe.  Only trouble with those is you need a separate light source.

[Cat Brules]

Those bore lights work best if the battery is weak.

 

The light pipes work welll If you maneuver them around until you have the light source in a weak position related to the light pipe, so that the light pipe does not deliver a super-bright light directly into the bore

           Both are good, in my opinion.

 

Cat Brules

[Pat Riot]

1 hour ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

Over the years I have purchased dozens of bore lights.  Most were junk and are simply disposible items.  Use them till they break and toss them.  Most have cheap on/off switches.  The only two I have that have been reliable are these two.  The top is simply marked Dorcy.  To turn it on you screw in the knuled cap.  To turn off unscrew it.  No real switch to break.  Have no idea where I got it.  The other is the old lite pipe.  Only trouble with those is you need a separate light source.

I am pretty sure those Dorcy lights could be found at Walmart. I do believe I bought one there but gave it away to someone at a match.