Henry Krank Improved Bore Light

Bore lights come in all shapes and sizes, but this must be the smallest one yet! Measuring a little over an inch long, and only 4mm in diameter, the light will fit into any bore of .17 diameter or more and fits fully into the barrel so that you do not have to hold it in place. To turn the light on and off you simply push or pull the top.

The light is a totally selfcontained and sealed unit, so you cannot change the batteries. When the batteries are dead you simply dispose of the light. Unlike other bore lights, this one emits a yellow light, which proved very efficient at lighting up the rifling in the barrel. There is less glare than you get from white lights and the edges of the lands are really well illuminated, as are any areas of heavy leading.

A lot of bore lights, particularly those with a curved clear plastic illuminator that you have to hold in one end of the barrel while trying to look down the other, can be difficult to use and need at least one hand to operate. With larger calibres, it is possible to use this unit to make a custom bore light to suit your gun. By simply making up a dummy round, and then drilling a 4mm hole in the front of the bullet, you can slip this bore light into the front of the round and chamber it in the normal way. This holds the light dead centre in the bore and frees up your hands to do other things. Ready-made calibrespecific bore lights that fit into the chamber cost significantly more than the light on test and, with a dummy round made up for each of your calibres, you have the ability to use one light for all your guns.

Conclusion

This bore light might seem a bit on the expensive side, considering its size, but it does in fact support the old saying that good things come in small packages. As the unit is so small, care is needed to avoid dropping it into the gun’s action or forgetting it is in the barrel. The amount of illumination this tiny little light generates is more than enough to allow you to inspect the rifling and pick up any issues with the barrel of your gun. Its size makes it suitable for a huge range of calibres and the ability to fit it to a dummy round in the manner described above makes it possible to turn it into a very quick and economical calibre-specific bore light. This is a great little tool and well worth adding to the shooting bench.