Shooting Team Targets Barrel Flaws
Gradient Lens Corp.’s Hawkeye
Precision Borescope
Everything is metered here. Each breath is synchronized
and predetermined, each heartbeat monitored, each movement
calibrated to the stringent specifications of Olympic perfection.
A 14-year-old girl raises her rifle with robotic calm,
rests her cheek against the stock and peers through the
scope--one slow breath--finds her target and counts three
heartbeats--another slow, even sip of air--the world around
her dissolves into darkness as she’s plunged into
a 2x2 in. window of magnification. She pulls the trigger.
The rifle’s report is an affirmation; her precision
is incontrovertible. The target bears the surgically precise
scars of her marksmanship, but she’s unimpressed.
She’ll repeat the ritual hundreds of times over,
committing each blink and breath to muscle memory, establishing
an even stricter pattern of action. In competitive shooting,
even the most miniscule tremble can prove disastrous. There’s
no room for error, because she’s aiming for the 2004
Olympic games in Athens.
A marksman’s aim is only as good as his or her
firearm. Modern rifles and pistols are intricate machines
that require exceptional care and rigorous inspection in
order to perform at consistently high levels. Even trivial
marring or graft in the barrel of a firearm can drastically
compromise the rifling, rendering
even the most astute marksman subject more to luck than
skill. Competitive shooting is a sport in which millimeters
matter, and corrosion, wear and other defects must be eradicated
to give the marksman his or her best chance to win. You
can’t be sure that your firearm is free of these
problems if you can’t see them, however. Luckily,
Gradient Lens Corp. of Rochester, New York, has donated
a Hawkeye Precision Borescope to the USA Shooting Team,
ensuring that the Olympians’ firearms are as precise
as the Olympians themselves.
Gradient Lens boasts a history of affiliation with national
programs, and company alumni have attained high-profile
governmental positions. The company’s founder, Duncan
T. Moore, Ph.D., served as senior technical advisor to
the president of the United States. The current president
and chief scientist of Gradient Lens, Douglas Kindred,
designed the Hawkeye, which has been sold to more than
18,000 customers since its introduction in 1996. Sold to
automotive, aerospace, metalworking, home inspection, veterinary
and shooting markets, the Hawkeye is lauded for its low
cost and exceptional versatility. The bore-scope became
an instant success with gunsmiths who use it to diagnose
and solve firing problems, and a favorite inspection tool
among benchrest enthusiasts.
The USA Shooting Team uses the Hawkeye to inspect new
barrels, monitor the effectiveness of its cleaning techniques
and check for erosion. This type of quality control is
imperative to success on the world stage. “We’re
always looking for that edge for our high-performance athletes,” says Olympic bronze
medallist and two-time world champion Wanda Jewell, who
also works as USA Shooting’s director of operations. “No
athlete can accomplish his or her goals with equipment
that isn’t at peak accuracy. This borescope, what
it adds to our ability to monitor equipment, and our relationship
with Gradient Lens, is an incredible addition to our team
as we prepare for victory in Athens.”
As the USA Shooting Team prepares for the upcoming games
in Athens, members of the squad can rest assured that their
firearms are in top condition. Because flawless mechanical
functionality is a prerequisite for victory, the peace
of mind afforded by the Hawkeye Precision Borescope helps
shooters maintain their focus on the target while reaching
for the gold.
Gradient Lens Corp.’s Hawkeye Precision Borescope
- Three diameter offerings: Slim, Hardy and SuperSlim
- Direction-of-view is 00 straight ahead
- Mirror tube adapter adds 900 direction-of-view
- Stainless steel body and tube
www.gradientlens.com
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