Rifle Bore Stabilization

[JWFilips]

Went out to the range this morning to continue tuning up my .234 loads.

Set all up on a nice calm day ( at 50yds) and fired 5 fowling shots first, to stabilize the bore ( usually takes between 3 to 5 to get it shooting sweet.



Well It was still acting up by the 12th round! Then it stabilized & started shooting well. Never took me that long to get it working at it's peak. One of our oldest shooting buddies was at the range with me & I told him of my issue ( he is a benchrest shooter mostly 6 mm BR ) He looked at my targets and said he has had that same issue in the past with some of his barrels also. He said he was talking to his barrel suppliers about that issue and they told him he is cleaning too much! He said maybe that is my problem.



Well I started thinking this has been the worst outing ever to try to stabilize my bore . I never had to shoot 12 shots before it settled down...(Once it did I shot 60 more shots with no surprises.)

However I think back to this past week & I did scrub my bore a lot more then I usually do. Last weekend I was pushing my water quenched alloy far more then I ever did before ( around 2000 fps) When I returned from the range & I ran some patches through the bore I did have more gray wash and some leading near the last 3rd of the bore then I have ever seen before. So I did a bunch of soaking & bronze brushing every few days until it was all gone. So I did clean my bore far more then usual.

Maybe there is some truth in that statement from this observation. (?)

 

[RicinYakima]

I believe that there is some truth in that. I started shooting benchrest with 22LR's. Cleaning the bore always required more foulers, just like changing ammo. When I started shooting CBA benchrest matches, I carried on with cleaning the bore when ever I changed lube types. When my shooting buddy and I wrote an article for the CBA's Fouling Shot magazine, we did a good amount of research and got very good feedback on cleaning practices. The common wisdom is that the bore needs consistence of fouling and lube for groups. Since 2006, for the match rifle, I just push one dry patch through the bore at the end of the day, and a lightly lubed patch (with bullet lube) down the bore before I start shooting the next time. After three foulers, I'm good to go. Of course I live in the desert and never have to worry about rust, so that my be an issue with other folks.

 

[Ian]

I try to preserve the last shot condition of the bore whenever possible.

 

[smokeywolf]

I rarely go to town cleaning the bore on my rifles. The occasions when I have was usually with the purpose of clearing copper fouling. Unlike most of you, I have never shot competition. So that has not influenced my cleaning practices. Because I never know how long a rifle may sit in the safe before it goes out again, I have to clean the bore with more of a thought of storage, than the next trip to the range.

 

[Rick]

I can't speak to rifles but I can speak of revolvers & cast. Shooting silhouette there are four distances in each match, 50 meters, 100 meters, 150 meters and 200 meters. Sight settings are a number of clicks up from bottom for each distance, for example 12 clicks up for 50 meters, add 6 clicks for 100, add 8 for 150 etc. If you clean the bore after a match it will take at least 25 shots and possibly more to bring the sight settings back to where/what they were before cleaning. My loads didn't lead the bore and the bore maybe got cleaned once a year. The cylinder however gets cleaned after each time at the range to eliminate bullet lube build up and re-lube it. The outside of the revolver gets cleaned also to keep it purty but the bore? Why ruin a good thing?

 

[fiver]

clean.... a barrel?
you must mean one that gets copper shot through it.

 

[Brad]

My revolver barrel hasn't been cleaned in a 400 rounds. A dry patch is all I have done and that was to see if leading was present, it wasn't. I don't even clean the cylinder each trip.

I clean my cast bullet shooting barrels every year or so just because I can? I like to let them be if they are shooting well.

Max I do is a few wet patches, dry the bore, and go shoot more.

 

[Ben]

I once read of a fellow that shot cast bullets in a Springfield 1903 , 30-06 in matches.
He traveled to 7 of them and won 5.

Guess What ? ?

He never cleaned the rifle.

 

[Brad]

If i get that grey antimony wash I run a brush for a few strokes the a dry patch. Usually takes care of it. Doesn't take any shots at all for the bore to settle right back in.

 

[JWFilips]

Thanks You, Folks;
I'm always learning new stuff here! Ok; so a somewhat standard procedure for a cast boolit rifle would be something like a shooting session at the range then maybe a dry patch followed by a lubed patch (?) Then I'm good to go for next time. Or if it was shooting great when I left the range leave it alone since I will be going back in a few days (?)

Sorry to sound like a novice here folks, but when I think back I have really only been shooting cast boolits in my "rifles" for just a year and a half. (That was a year and a half of bore scrubbing....wish I knew better then!)

 

[Brad]

Unless you have leading I would leave it alone.

I do clean the chamber on some rifles from time to time to keep them feeding well. My Marlin 32-20 will get failures to extract once the chamber gets really dirty. A few wet patches into the chambers, then a dry one followed by a dry one clear thru the bore.

If The rifle needs cleaning it will let you know. Groups could go to hell, case don't feed right, or some other indication of grunge building up. Until you reach that point I suggest leaving it alone.

 

[fiver]

I have a few guns that have never seen a patch let alone a brush. [since new]
some of them I have had for well over 20 years.
I clean and oil the action or bolt, and maybe, just maybe swab out a chamber.

 

[RicinYakima]

JWFilips, I am practicing for the National Military Rifle CBA matches now with four ten shot groups each week in the 03A3. Now that it is May and the humidity here is down to less than 10%, sometimes I brush the front of the chamber and throat with a nylon bore brush. Even the best lubes get dry with powder fouling and primer fouling over the week some times. Usually two passes with the brush and one barely damp patch to push the chunks out. Then three fouling shots and ready to go. HTH, Ric

 

[JWFilips]

Great information! Started the new routine yesterday on my GEW 98. ( taking a break from my .243 since I finally got it shooting right)
My 8mm is my favorite rifle & I shoot it a lot. I think you guys have even made it even more enjoyable now!
Thanks
Jim

 

[Ian]

JWFilips, I am practicing for the National Military Rifle CBA matches now with four ten shot groups each week in the 03A3. Now that it is May and the humidity here is down to less than 10%, sometimes I brush the front of the chamber and throat with a nylon bore brush. Even the best lubes get dry with powder fouling and primer fouling over the week some times. Usually two passes with the brush and one barely damp patch to push the chunks out. Then three fouling shots and ready to go. HTH, Ric

I recall Corky mentioning that he would run about 1500 rounds between cleanings in the military rifle matches before he had to clean the hard ring of accumulated lube fouling out of the front of the chamber, and the bore itself could go just about forever with his choice of lube and load.

 

[fiver]

I believe he shoots 4227 in the 0-6 [around 22 grs]
his lube I would bet is felix [maybe even still from the original kitchen sink batch]

 

[JWFilips]

Love to have the honor of knowing who "Corky" is (?)

 

[Rick]

Love to have the honor of knowing who "Corky" is (?)

sundog!

 

[Ben]

Great information! Started the new routine yesterday on my GEW 98. ( taking a break from my .243 since I finally got it shooting right)
My 8mm is my favorite rifle & I shoot it a lot. I think you guys have even made it even more enjoyable now!
Thanks
Jim

Jim,

I shoot the 8 X 57 mm quite a bit now.
Tell me about your loads please.

Ben

 

[JWFilips]

Thank You.... I know that Name! Alway enjoy reading about the well known cast boolit shooters. When Felix passed: I read every article that was put up about his life. It is a fascinating new world for me to learn about all these folks ( also all you folks!)
always trying to learn as much as I can in the time that I have. My Life is a learning experience; and for me the enjoyment comes from putting what i have learned into practice....If I succeed it is another step forward