Thread: Is it 'Cold Bore' or 'Foul Bore' ?

I found how I clean depends on the barrel,
My kreigers I find I clean till spotless (Carbon and Copper) and it take 1 to 2 shots to come right
but my TF when match shooting I just remove carbon and a little copper after every two matches( about 24 shots), if I remove all the copper it takes around 10 shots to come right, a bit a a balancing act with the TF

My rounds march up the page as the barrel warms up (about 5mm higher per shot at 200m). The first one is always a tiny bit left (pretty good i think as far as foulers can go). Once up to a working temp it pretty much holds a stable POI on the page as long as it doesnt cool right down. A lot of a rifles behaviour in this department depends on your breaking in method (or so i've been told by my betters). I was pedantic az with this one and it seems to have payed off. Everyone seems to be able to shoot well with it

Originally Posted by DAF

I found how I clean depends on the barrel,
My kreigers I find I clean till spotless (Carbon and Copper) and it take 1 to 2 shots to come right
but my TF when match shooting I just remove carbon and a little copper after every two matches( about 24 shots), if I remove all the copper it takes around 10 shots to come right, a bit a a balancing act with the TF

Could you define the difference between clean and comes right in terms of group size? For the bennifit of looking at it from a hunting vs comp accuracy point.

Originally Posted by el borracho

whats your decrease in speed with HB -must be slightly different even to moly

Its not as slippery for want of a better word. I dont lose much at all as I use less powder to get the same speeds as moly.

Originally Posted by sneeze

Could you define the difference between clean and comes right in terms of group size? For the bennifit of looking at it from a hunting vs comp accuracy point.

My 308 FTR Rifle after I have cleaned to remove all carbon / copper the first shot is low and the second wont group also if I were to include in the group it would be about a 2 inch group at 100, but after that it always groups nicely mostly around 1/4 inch, my SAUM is the same where it needs from totally clean, a fouler shot before it groups nice.
My F-Class Rifle with a TF barrel, if you clean everything, it takes around 9-12 shots before I will give a consistent tight group

Cheers it was the measurement I was looking for ,its often stated as a difference but rarely defined in terms of group size. 2 inches is considerable. Im guessing there is some wiggle room in peoples definition of clean here. Have you tried anything in the bore to bring the frist shot back into the group or not bothered?

for me I just learned the quirks of my barrels and live with it, I found when in competition knowing when clean and how much to clean is all part of the challenge

Yes I thought that might be the case, little point trying to find something that is better when a couple of fouling shots will give the best. A little different from a hunting point where getting the first shot back closer to the group can be quite usefull, a patch of kroil follwed by a soft dry patch gives very aceptable results for me with the first shot being hard to pick from the rest. This is from a solvent and bronze brush clean not a JB or autosol scrub .It wont win any medals but it will put plenty of meat on the table.

Been thinking about this a little lately. Cleaning the barrel after every use is something I have taken seriously. I thought getting the barrel clean for load development meant more consistency, but when you do three or more loads without cleaning that is not really correct.

I'm starting to think (hence old thread revive) perhaps leaving the barrel just with the swipe of oil/clean patch before using approach. This will be a mental challenge.

Yeah, me too. Took my bro-in-law @CamD for a hunt recently and got him set up on his first animal, a young stag at 315m TBR. His first shot was a clean miss, which could have been due to the situation and distance but he shoots bloody well at the range. Then I remembered I’d cleaned the copper after the last session with that rifle. Fortunately the stag didn’t know where the shot came from and stopped in a clearing, and Cam’s second shot was right on the money

if rifle has had abuse on days hunting,it will get maybe 3-4 lightly oiled patched down bore,then put away after a good external whipedown with oily rag.... been using breakfree for years and dont do the clean pacth before use thing...
about every two years or thereabouts get all fancy and do the whole copper solvent clean....then go back to lazy couple of patches after use...as dont range shoot,purely meat/varmit hunter pin point isnt criticle for me,dont shoot past 350 so again not criticle.
have cleaning rods with spear jags across antlers in reloading room...takes but a minute to whip a couple of patches through bore,no matter how tired I am, and can then sleep, knowing bore isnt deteriating.
the rifle that just died after 32years of this treatment put 3 shots into group under an inch before my cockup...so cleaning method cant be all bad.
I cant see diference in poi between really clean/de copperfied and dirty.....

Greetings All,
Most people fall into somewhere between fastidious and lax on rifle cleaning after a few years. This is pretty much where I am. A patch with Hoppes no 9 followed by a nylon bristle brush and patches to clean with a little Hoppes left in the barrel and wiped out before the next use does it for me. From time to time they get much the same treatment with a copper solvent followed by Hoppes. My rifles don't seem to move much between and fouled but for me the first shot from a clean cold bore is what is important. Mimic the conditions you will have when hunting. I never put oil in the bore, too hard to get out. Some of the long rangers I know leave their bores uncleaned during the season.
I find the idea of barrel break in amusing. 20 years ago if you asked someone how they broke in their hunting rifle barrels you would have got a blank look at best. Some think a complicated break in procedure is essential for decent accuracy. Others think it is a conspiracy by gunsmiths to get you to wear out your barrel faster or provide another excuse if your barrel does not meet your expectations. I am somewhere in the middle on this as well. A clean every few shots at first and making sure the barrel doesn't get too hot is about it for me.
Regards Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by Tikka7mm08

I'm starting to think (hence old thread revive) perhaps leaving the barrel just with the swipe of oil/clean patch before using approach. This will be a mental challenge.

Yep, get rid of the carbon after each shooting sesh, but leave the copper. Once you notice your groups opening up (round count will be totally dependent on your rifle - might be as low as nine or as high as 125), then get rid of all the copper and start again.

After a light clean,1st shot is about 25mm to the right,all the rest of the shots within 15mm of bull.A deer is a big target out to 300yds so only give the tika a clean every so often.Depends on dirt, dust and rain.

For hunting purposes and with the advent of suppressors I always carry a couple of subsonic fmj loads, for possums around camp and to foul the bore prior to a long shot. Suppressor pushed into the leaf litter and mmmppf! you wouldn't here it going off from further than 5m away