A Little Mistake That Every Gun Owner Prays Doesn't Happen

Like any parent, I had mixed emotions when my daughter Lilly went off to college by herself.

Of course, I was happy that she was going to a top college of her choice, but on the other hand, I was sad to see her go. It was hard not to worry about her being away on her own for the first time in her life, and living alone in a rental home close to campus!

“Oh Dad, I’m not a baby. I can take care of myself!” ― she said to me

But I have to admit I was emotional the first night she was away. I felt like a classic “empty nester”. I even went to her room and looked at her empty bed, and I thought about all the things that could happen to my daughter.

“Stop looking in her room, and come to bed!” ― My wife said

She was sad too, but we’d have to get over it and let our little girl learn to fend for herself in the big wide world.

Every week we’d put together a “care package” and send Lilly a Priority Mail box full of stuff we thought she might want.

We would send some of her favorite cookies from the local bakery. My wife put in some cosmetics and shampoos, and I would buy her essential things she needed that I would buy online for her. You know, things like phone charger cables that she lost, batteries, a wireless booster, and connectors. Lilly always left the “tech stuff” to Dad, and I was happy to get her what she needed.

And since my “little girl” was away, I was always thinking about her and her safety.

That's why when she came home to visit for Christmas, I persuaded her to take her pink AR-15 that I gave her for her 18th birthday, back to her new home - just in case.

More time has passed, and my wife and I started to get used to the fact that our little girl is now comfortable on her own, living her own life.

But when the news reported that trouble and unrest started in her new town, I immediately picked up the phone and called Lilly for her to come home. But the little rebel wouldn't listen - she was waiting for the next semester to start, and she was lucky to keep a well-paying job she landed as an intern, so she didn't want to leave town.

That's when I jumped into my truck and drove nearly 300 miles. I can't be there with her all the time, but my job as a father is to make sure she can at least hold her own.

First thing the next morning, we are out on the range, just like when she was little and i was teaching her to shoot with a .22

We line up on the firing line, targets with menacing-looking bad guys stapled to them are about 25 yards away. Lilly preps her pink AR, and you can tell she hasn't touched it in a couple of years.

I watch my little girl square off to the target, click the safety off, exhale slowly, and squeeze the trigger.

Pop!

There’s no bang and I know instantly it’s a misfire. Maybe a squib? A round stuck in the barrel?

Looks like the pink AR is out of commission until I can break it down and clear the bore.

I go to my truck to fetch the tool box, and then I hammer the round out of the barrel using a wooden dowel. Now, I’ve got to take it to a gunsmith to get it inspected. I’m hoping there’s no bulge in the barrel because that would call for a total barrel replacement.

I’ve talked to armorers, competitive shooters, hunters, and gun collectors and they all agree that a weapon not maintained is a dangerous weapon. Obstructions in the bore, dirt, and corrosion around the throat, plugged up gas ports, a damaged firing pin, dealing with a squib — any one of these is enough to cause a malfunction that can cause serious injury to your hands and face.

Who wants a malfunction in a gun you're trusting to save your beloved little girl's life in a crisis?

Sure, you can use your cleaning rods and ropes to squeegee out the barrel, but how can you know about the overall health of your weapon? Every shot you take produces chamber pressures of 50,000 PSI or more. It’s enough to force the brass walls of the round to expand and press against the walls of the chamber.

Any crack or defect in the metallurgy will grow with successive firings. It’s just a matter of time until such a defect — a situation you know nothing about — could lead to a full, catastrophic malfunction.

Even seemingly minor accumulations of dirt, dust, spent gunpowder, lead, copper, and brass filings can cause problems. Most of that contamination occurs around the firing chamber and the muzzle.

So, rather than carrying Lilly's Rifle to a local gunsmith in an unfamiliar town and paying his fees, I picked up another tool I always carry in my tool box, that I picked up online for less than $60 (hey, i'm the "tech" Dad after all, remember?).

The Endosnake Viper 3.9 mm Borescope

It’s a tiny camera with an LED lighting system at the end of a long cable. It lets you look inside your barrel, to inspect the chamber, the firing pin, trigger mechanism, the muzzle, and the full length of the bore in full HD color.

You can see what the camera sees inside your weapon on any Windows PC or laptop, and on tablets and smartphones (IOS and Android). Just insert it into the barrel at either the muzzle or chamber and the camera shows you exactly where you need to do some extra cleaning, oiling, and maintenance. I found that it’s also ideal for checking your suppressor for strikes.

The guys behind this borescope — they’re former Armed Forces, Police officers, first responders, special operators, and the like — spent the better part of a year listening to what gun owners want. They learned that no one made a borescope that fits inside a .22 caliber or a 5.56 mm AR-15, so they designed the Endoscope Viper 3.9 Borescope.

How It Works

The camera and cable (from 3 to 15-feet long) plug directly into an Android device or Windows PC. For iPhone and Mac users, a Wi-Fi Box provides wireless connectivity. An array of six micro-LEDs surrounds the camera itself.

You can adjust the brightness to provide varying levels of illumination, which makes it easy to inspect every detail in the HD image. Just push a button on the tiny control pod to take a snapshot or record a video.

The Endoscope Viper 3.9 is rated IP67, which gives you complete protection against the admission of dust and dirt. Even submerging the camera under one meter of water for up to a half-hour causes no damage. This borescope is engineered to last.

Not only that, but you can also use the Endoscope Viper 3.9 for countless jobs around the house and garage. Use it to look inside drains, inside walls, HVAC pipes, dryer vent pipes, auto engine components

— actually, it’s an invaluable tool you can use for any job where you need a camera that’s only 0.154 inches (3.9 mm) in diameter.

It even comes with tools you can attach: a hook to snag things that have fallen into inaccessible places; a magnet that grabs ferrous items and lifts them out of dark corners; and, a mirror that directs the camera’s view upward — which is especially helpful to inspect the ultra-finest details of your rifle bore or any other item you’re inspecting.

Endosnake Viper 3.9 Borescope

It’s like having a $300 per hour gun inspector on speed-dial in your pocket.

With the Endosnake Viper 3.9 borescope in your toolkit, you can keep your weapons in clean, pristine, safe condition, and detect problems before they damage your weapon or become dangerous.

Internet-only offer

EndoSnake is ONLY available online and can't be found in stores.

There is just a limited amount on EndoSnakes available. Click the button below and order yours now before it's too late. As a bonus Endosnake is currently 20% OFF!

🔥 Limited Quantity Available / Over 70,000+ Units Sold

There is just a limited amount on EndoSnakes available. Click the button below and order yours now before it's too late. As a bonus Endosnake is currently 20% OFF!

🔥 Limited Quantity Available / Over 70,000+ Units Sold