Borescopes are most commonly used for household repairs or trades like plumbing, but they can also help you make sure that the barrel or “bore” of your gun is clean as well. In fact, this use is what originally gave the borescope its current name.
Before there were endoscopes for medical practices and borescopes for plumbing repair, there was a borescope specifically for looking down into the barrel of a rifle. From there, the uses and the cable length expanded for many other uses.
Gun cleaning is an essential part of maintenance that you need to perform for your gun’s longevity as well as for safety reasons. Keep reading to learn more about the best rifle borescopes on the market, so you can clean your gun more thoroughly and with better care.
Best Rifle Borescopes for Better Gun Maintenance
1. Teslong NTG100 Rifle Borescope
Teslong’s NTG100 is a rifle borescope made for all gun barrels larger than .223 caliber. It connects through USB to a wide range of devices, from Apple to Android, and even desktop computers.
The borescope is over 3 feet long and comes with a side mirror to see from different points of view. The cable is perfectly flexible to direct the borescope with full control.
The micro-lens is only 5mm wide, which means it slips into the gun barrel with ease. Plus, while you’re viewing, you can adjust the lighting to get the best illumination and footage quality.
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2. GEECR Professional RFSCOPE-TW Borescope
The GEECR RFSCOPE-TW is a wand-style borescope made for .223-caliber rifles and other larger guns. The wand is a length of 26 inches, with an extra line and a rubber stopper for safety.
This borescope is powered by its own WiFi. You can take and use it in places where WiFi and cellular data aren’t available.
Take pictures and videos or view them in real-time, all in HD quality. The kit also comes with 3 accessories, making this borescope multitalented.
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3. Depstech WF010 Borescope
The WF025 rifle borescope by Depstech is a multi-use borescope that can be used for anything from rifle cleaning to plumbing.
This borescope is 11.5 feet at its full length. But don’t let that fool you: it’s completely lightweight and can be easily rolled up to be used in short-range jobs.
In the app, you can take pictures and videos that save right to your device. The camera shows all footage in 1080p quality stemming from the 2-megapixel camera.
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4. Oiiwak Borescope
The latest model of Oiiwak’s borescope is a high-powered snake camera that can perform almost any function, including gun cleaning. This rifle borescope has its own screen, so there’s no fussing with USB cords or WiFi.
The 5.5mm lens is great for slipping into gun barrels and illuminating any issues, with 6 bright LED lights. It also rotates 360 degrees for perfect viewing at any angle.
Your pictures are shown on the IPS screen and can be stored on the 8G memory card. You can easily transfer your photos to other devices with this card for better viewing or sharing with a gunsmith for advice.
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5. Teslong NTG450 Rifle Borescope
The Teslong NTG450 is a well-built rifle borescope that comes with its very own screen, eliminating annoying glitches or other errors. The screen has an SD card for saving and transferring your footage as well.
The screen is 4.5 inches and shows the ultimate 1080p resolution. This means you can see anything in your gun barrels, like scratch marks and other issues.
This borescope fits into any gun bore of 20 caliber or larger. The probe for it is 36” so you can use it on extra-long barrels.
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6. Lyman Rifle Borescope
The rifle borescope from Lyman Products is an inspection camera specifically for rifles You can fit this borescope in all guns, down to a 20-caliber.
It comes with a 3.5-inch screen that displays all of your footage in high definition. You can save images and footage and even transfer them to your other devices through USB or SD card transfer.
The camera is mounted on a 20-inch rod. This helps to keep the camera steady while you’re filming the inside of the bore and gives you more direct control.
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7. Reloading Basic Rifle Inspection Borescope
Reloading Basic’s Rifle borescope is the perfect camera for rifles that are 20-caliber or larger. This wand-style borescope is fitted with a 20-inch rod for the best vision inside any rifle barrel.
The camera has three lighting modes and is lightweight to carry with you on hunting trips, so your gun can always be in the best shape.
View your footage on the 3.5-inch display screen. There’s also a 128MB chip for saving and storing all of your images and videos.
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8. SKYBASIC Borescope
SKYBASIC’s borescope is an 8mm camera on a 16-foot cable. This borescope can be used for so much more than gun cleaning, including home improvement and inspections that cut home repair costs.
This borescope has its own screen that displays 1080p-quality photos and footage. Plus, you can control the lighting right from the screen.
The pictures and videos are stored in the 32G memory card. However, this device is also USB-accessible to view on your desktop.
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9. Yuanyi Rifle Borescope
Yuanyi’s rifle borescope is WiFi-powered and made for Smartphones. Not only can you use this for your rifle, but you can use it for a wide array of household projects as well.
This borescope works on all Android and Apple phones and even tablets. . It has an impressive 5-megapixel camera that shows the interior of your whole gun barrel in HD quality.
The camera is attached to a long cable that is ruggedly built. It’s flexible enough to bend and twist or to perfectly straighten out for use in a rifle barrel.
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10. Depstech Dual Lens Borescope
Depstech is a known brand for all kinds of scope devices. This dual-lens borescope is perfect for seeing inside the bore of your rifle, with perfect clarity from both lenses.
2 megapixels capture HD video right on the 4.5” screen. The footage is lit up by 7 blue LEDs to capture all details.
On the screen, you can choose which lens to view from. Or you can view it on split-screen to see both at the same time.
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FAQ’s Regarding Rifle Borescopes
Is A Wand Better Than A Normal Borescope?
A wand can make maneuvering a borescope much easier. But it’s not always better for rifles or any kind of gun, for that matter.
Sometimes the wand is unnecessarily large. This means that the lens might not be able to fit into certain guns or will have to be screwed in, instead of simply pushing it in.
The other issue is that you can really look around with a wand-style, you can only look straight in. The wand prohibits seeing the full interior of the barrel unless it’s further back.
What Are The Benefits Of Buying a Rifle Borescope?
Gun cleaning is absolutely imperative, as we’ve already stated. It’s a part of responsible gun ownership that everyone must adhere to.
When you have a borescope, you can see any imperfection in the inside of your rifle’s barrel. This could be a scratch or even something caught or stuck in the barrel. This is rare, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Is it Better to Get a Borescope for Smartphones Or With Its Own Screen?
Having a screen is handy and requires less work during setup, as they’re typically easier and more convenient to use. They also don’t require an internet connection for apps or software.
However, the built-in screens often don’t have the video quality that borescopes used with androids can. Plus, they’re a fair bit smaller than your average phone screen. If you do want an included screen, opt for a bigger one with at least 1080p video quality.
What Are Some Features To Be Looking Out For?
The most important feature you need to look for is a smaller camera lens. This will allow you to inspect smaller bores and actually be able to see around, as opposed to only seeing straight down the barrel.
The next feature to make your borescope has is a camera with high-definition picture quality. This is vital for being able to see everything in perfect detail.
Look for a camera with more megapixels in order to get the best quality footage. Plus, make sure that there is high lighting so that your pictures and videos and even clearer.