ESTUDYR
FTT 201 — Week 2 Quiz: Questions & Answers (Fall 2025/26 Update)
100% Correct Solutions | Sonoran Desert School
1. One possible indicator that a barrel is likely to shoot poorly is pitting near the crown.
A. True
B. False
C. Only when pitting is inside the throat
D. Only when pitting is on the outside of the barrel
Answer: A. True
Rationale: Crown pitting affects bullet exit and accuracy — visible crown damage
commonly degrades accuracy.
2. Uneven short points (lands in the throat) are usually caused by:
A. Improper ammunition
B. Cleaning rod damage
C. Over-polishing of the bore
D. Barrel overheating
Answer: B. Cleaning rod damage
Rationale: Improper rod use can nick or deform lands, producing uneven shortening or
points.
3. According to Joe Carlos, to know a barrel’s current capabilities you must:
A. Inspect it under a microscope
B. Measure bore geometry
C. Shoot it
D. Run a bore scope only
Answer: C. Shoot it
Rationale: Actual firing performance reveals real-world accuracy beyond inspection
alone.
4. The electropolishing process both improves barrel accuracy and is safe for the
environment.
A. True
B. False
C. True only with special wastes handling
D. False unless neutralized correctly
Answer: B. False
Rationale: Electropolishing can improve accuracy but it involves hazardous chemicals
and waste; safety/environmental issues exist.
5. Joe Carlos' experiment showed that electropolishing was:
A. Ineffective for all barrels
B. Only useful for new barrels
C. Harmful to rifling
D. Effective for increasing the accuracy of damaged barrels
Answer: D. Effective for increasing the accuracy of damaged barrels
,ESTUDYR
Rationale: His tests indicated electropolishing can restore or improve accuracy in some
damaged bores.
6. The fire-lapping process involves:
A. Ultrasonic cleaning of the bore
B. Reaming the barrel to new specs
C. Firing cartridges with progressively finer grit abrasive-coated bullets
D. Mechanical honing with rods only
Answer: C. Firing cartridges with progressively finer grit abrasive-coated bullets
Rationale: Fire-lapping polishes the bore by firing abrasive bullets to smooth
imperfections.
7. Fire-lapping has about the same average effective improvement on accuracy as
electropolishing.
A. True
B. False
C. Only for new barrels
D. Only for large calibers
Answer: A. True
Rationale: Studies often show comparable average improvements between fire-lapping
and electropolishing.
8. There is generally more need for fire-lapping in:
A. Mandrel-rifled bores
B. Button-rifled bores
C. Cut-rifled bores
D. Smoothbore barrels
Answer: B. Button-rifled bores
Rationale: Button rifling can leave more tooling marks that benefit from fire-lapping.
9. Fire-lapping does not remove metal from the barrel.
A. True
B. False
C. Only with dry grit
D. Only when done by hand
Answer: B. False
Rationale: Fire-lapping is abrasive and does remove small amounts of metal to polish
the bore.
10. "Throat maintenance" bullets were found to:
A. Damage accuracy over time
B. Be ineffective for most bores
C. Require special powders to function
D. Have a reliably positive impact on accuracy
Answer: D. Have a reliably positive impact on accuracy
Rationale: Properly designed throat maintenance rounds can polish throat areas and
help accuracy.
11. According to Frank Fry, the two basic metal preparation processes are:
A. Chemical and mechanical
, ESTUDYR
B. Hand and machine
C. Electroplating and bluing
D. Sandblasting and buffing
Answer: B. Hand and machine
Rationale: Fry distinguishes manual (hand) finishing and mechanized (machine) finishing
methods.
12. The first of three steps to hand finishing is:
A. Polishing with rouge
B. Heat treating the part
C. Remove machine marks with files
D. Apply bluing solution
Answer: C. Remove machine marks with files
Rationale: Hand finishing begins by removing tooling marks before finer polishing and
finishing.
13. Which wheel type used in machine polishing will cut the fastest?
A. Muslin
B. Sisal
C. Felt
D. Leather
Answer: C. Felt
Rationale: Felt wheels with appropriate compounds remove material quickly in
polishing.
14. To prevent loss or "pulling" of letters and numbers during polishing, these areas should
be polished by:
A. Using a high-speed wheel
B. Chemical etching only
C. Hand
D. Sandblasting
Answer: C. Hand
Rationale: Hand polishing preserves delicate stamped or engraved characters from
being rounded off.
15. When using a wheel for polishing you should:
A. Polish with the sharp edges pointed opposite the wheel rotation
B. Use only coarse grits
C. Always polish with sharp edges pointed in the same direction the wheel is turning
D. Never secure the part — freehand only
Answer: C. Always polish with sharp edges pointed in the same direction the wheel is
turning
Rationale: That technique reduces snagging and tearing of fine detail.
16. If stamping has been damaged or pitted, you should:
A. Re-stamp over the damaged area
B. Fill and re-engrave the numbers
C. Leave the damaged stamping alone
D. Replace the entire part
FTT 201 — Week 2 Quiz: Questions & Answers (Fall 2025/26 Update)
100% Correct Solutions | Sonoran Desert School
1. One possible indicator that a barrel is likely to shoot poorly is pitting near the crown.
A. True
B. False
C. Only when pitting is inside the throat
D. Only when pitting is on the outside of the barrel
Answer: A. True
Rationale: Crown pitting affects bullet exit and accuracy — visible crown damage
commonly degrades accuracy.
2. Uneven short points (lands in the throat) are usually caused by:
A. Improper ammunition
B. Cleaning rod damage
C. Over-polishing of the bore
D. Barrel overheating
Answer: B. Cleaning rod damage
Rationale: Improper rod use can nick or deform lands, producing uneven shortening or
points.
3. According to Joe Carlos, to know a barrel’s current capabilities you must:
A. Inspect it under a microscope
B. Measure bore geometry
C. Shoot it
D. Run a bore scope only
Answer: C. Shoot it
Rationale: Actual firing performance reveals real-world accuracy beyond inspection
alone.
4. The electropolishing process both improves barrel accuracy and is safe for the
environment.
A. True
B. False
C. True only with special wastes handling
D. False unless neutralized correctly
Answer: B. False
Rationale: Electropolishing can improve accuracy but it involves hazardous chemicals
and waste; safety/environmental issues exist.
5. Joe Carlos' experiment showed that electropolishing was:
A. Ineffective for all barrels
B. Only useful for new barrels
C. Harmful to rifling
D. Effective for increasing the accuracy of damaged barrels
Answer: D. Effective for increasing the accuracy of damaged barrels
,ESTUDYR
Rationale: His tests indicated electropolishing can restore or improve accuracy in some
damaged bores.
6. The fire-lapping process involves:
A. Ultrasonic cleaning of the bore
B. Reaming the barrel to new specs
C. Firing cartridges with progressively finer grit abrasive-coated bullets
D. Mechanical honing with rods only
Answer: C. Firing cartridges with progressively finer grit abrasive-coated bullets
Rationale: Fire-lapping polishes the bore by firing abrasive bullets to smooth
imperfections.
7. Fire-lapping has about the same average effective improvement on accuracy as
electropolishing.
A. True
B. False
C. Only for new barrels
D. Only for large calibers
Answer: A. True
Rationale: Studies often show comparable average improvements between fire-lapping
and electropolishing.
8. There is generally more need for fire-lapping in:
A. Mandrel-rifled bores
B. Button-rifled bores
C. Cut-rifled bores
D. Smoothbore barrels
Answer: B. Button-rifled bores
Rationale: Button rifling can leave more tooling marks that benefit from fire-lapping.
9. Fire-lapping does not remove metal from the barrel.
A. True
B. False
C. Only with dry grit
D. Only when done by hand
Answer: B. False
Rationale: Fire-lapping is abrasive and does remove small amounts of metal to polish
the bore.
10. "Throat maintenance" bullets were found to:
A. Damage accuracy over time
B. Be ineffective for most bores
C. Require special powders to function
D. Have a reliably positive impact on accuracy
Answer: D. Have a reliably positive impact on accuracy
Rationale: Properly designed throat maintenance rounds can polish throat areas and
help accuracy.
11. According to Frank Fry, the two basic metal preparation processes are:
A. Chemical and mechanical
, ESTUDYR
B. Hand and machine
C. Electroplating and bluing
D. Sandblasting and buffing
Answer: B. Hand and machine
Rationale: Fry distinguishes manual (hand) finishing and mechanized (machine) finishing
methods.
12. The first of three steps to hand finishing is:
A. Polishing with rouge
B. Heat treating the part
C. Remove machine marks with files
D. Apply bluing solution
Answer: C. Remove machine marks with files
Rationale: Hand finishing begins by removing tooling marks before finer polishing and
finishing.
13. Which wheel type used in machine polishing will cut the fastest?
A. Muslin
B. Sisal
C. Felt
D. Leather
Answer: C. Felt
Rationale: Felt wheels with appropriate compounds remove material quickly in
polishing.
14. To prevent loss or "pulling" of letters and numbers during polishing, these areas should
be polished by:
A. Using a high-speed wheel
B. Chemical etching only
C. Hand
D. Sandblasting
Answer: C. Hand
Rationale: Hand polishing preserves delicate stamped or engraved characters from
being rounded off.
15. When using a wheel for polishing you should:
A. Polish with the sharp edges pointed opposite the wheel rotation
B. Use only coarse grits
C. Always polish with sharp edges pointed in the same direction the wheel is turning
D. Never secure the part — freehand only
Answer: C. Always polish with sharp edges pointed in the same direction the wheel is
turning
Rationale: That technique reduces snagging and tearing of fine detail.
16. If stamping has been damaged or pitted, you should:
A. Re-stamp over the damaged area
B. Fill and re-engrave the numbers
C. Leave the damaged stamping alone
D. Replace the entire part
