Good Bore Light

I can't be the only person here who has trouble with "bore lights".  Invariably, every one I own stops working, and after disassembly and fiddling around with batteries and stuff, it eventually starts working - for a while,  Out of maybe ten that I've had, not a single one continued to function without issues.  Anybody here know of a good bore light, even if it costs more?  (Reading the reviews from several vendors yesterday, that was the most common reason for a poor review.). Even when they fail, I can usually get them working again - but only for a while.

Plan "B" is to buy one each of these, assuming that at least one of them will work the next time I need it:
[url=https://www.midwayusa.com/s?userSearchQuery=bore light]https://www.midwayusa.com/s?userSearchQuery=bore%20light[/url]

Streamlight reach.

https://www.amazon.com/Streamlight-65658-Stylus-Flexible-Extension/dp/B0009JVQEG/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1524839970&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=streamlight%2Breach&th=1

How long have you had and used yours?  No issues?  Thanks!  It's worth the extra $$ to have something that will work reliably!

If it’s a revolver I use any old flashlight shining off my thumb nail with my thumb pressing against the recoil shield. If it’s a pistol barrel that can be removed I’ll hold it up to the sky, ceiling light, or put the flashlight towards one opening. All else ... make do I guess.

Just buy a high end bore scope

mikemyers wrote:How long have you had and used yours?  No issues?  Thanks!  It's worth the extra $$ to have something that will work reliably!

10+ years. Buy once, cry once.

Personally I like the plain J type with nothing but natural light powering it.  Most bulb styles are too bright for me

Make sure you can get AAAA batteries! I got a stylist flashlight to evaluate when they came out 20+ years ago mine is still working fine!

Hello mikemyers,

Old school has served me well for decades....

A white patch / fingernail to reflect the light into the bore or a bent piece of fiber-optic plastic.  If you need to see a detail just inside of the muzzle then push a patch just inside the muzzle and illuminate with a bench light.

Don't over think it.  My two cents.

Jim

Business card or finger if I'm in some rancid gun shop with poor lighting. If I'm in my nice cozy basement I just hold it 10 degrees or so off my worklights. But I'm not out buying high-dollar used guns and such, so I've no need for microscopic inspection.

Shoot! Shoot some more. Run a bore brush then patches through the bore and shoot some more. If you’re getting leading just clean it and shoot some more. I don’t think I forgot anything......
Jon

I like Chris' idea, a high end bore scope.  That, and an endoscope to be sure, the one with a 4K camera attached...  I really did get to watching some YouTube videos on a bore scope - fascinating, and very costly.  I like tools, and I like gadgets, which usually get added to my collection, and sit around for ages until I (sometimes) really do need to use one of them.  Anyway....

I now have three compact bore lights, with different names on them, all of which appear to be the same design, with a cheap internal switch which can't make up its mind whether or not to work....     all of which are  getting disposed of....      and one ancient aluminum one I found while digging around in my stuff.  It can be taken apart, and has a very obvious "mechanical" switch.   I have no idea who makes it, but I put in new batteries and it works swell.  

Not sure if I really "need" a bore light, but when I want to use something, and it doesn't work, I usually find myself stopping whatever it is I'm doing, and fixing the problem....

.....but if you get one of these, don't put it away for storage with AA batteries left inside it.  (I had put this one away in a plastic baggie, with the batteries removed, but still in the bag - and the inevitable happened.  Had the batteries been left inside, not outside, the whole thing would now be in the garbage....)

I get the small ones at gunshows (similar to the 2nd from the left in the picture) for $5 each

they seem to last a year or so, 
that's a year rattling around in a briefcase with other assorted stuff and 15 shows a year, + shop time,

Chris Miceli wrote:Just buy a high end bore scope

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/general-gunsmith-tools/borescopes/borecam-digital-borescope-prod81507.aspx

Simple bore light that attaches to many small flashlights and works great bore light especially in pistols. dipnet