It was more to check its state after a few hundred pellets. To be honest I haven’t been getting the accuracy/consistency to really see a deterioration if there was one. I’m not blaming the rifle. It’s more about me breaking the age old rule of not changing too many variables at one time. I think I’m giving up for now on the “minimal contact - free recoil” and going back to a good ole grip. I figure you’ll like that lol. I think I will clean the liner and give it a light polishing though. I’m definitely a fan of barrel polishing. There are black rings running the length of the barrel. They are more prominent when looking at the scope. They’re visible somewhat in the photos. They weren’t there after the initial cleaning. I’m not sure what they are, maybe grease or something. You can see them in the first two photos above, they’re complete circles, relatively uniform and evenly spaced - makes me think they’re being created by the pellets.