My AR shoots about 1½" to 2 inches to the right from a cold barrel & settles in after 8 or 10 rounds. Anyone know what could cause this?

ETA: this is @ 50 yards.

Well it could be the barrel, but first thing is to determine if your sighting method is shifting, or the gun itself.

Freefloat barrel? Irons, optic, or scope? How are they mounted?

Quoted: My AR shoots about 1½" to 2 inches to the right from a cold barrel & settles in after 8 or 10 rounds. Anyone know what could cause this? ETA: this is @ 50 yards.

A) this can be caused by over cleaning of the barrel--e.g. a little fouling puts the carbon and copper back in its place.
B) this can be caused by heat of firing rounds--e.g. the barrel changes its shape due to heat.
C) this can be caused by friction between the hand guards and the attachments

My gun shoots better with the hand guards off (when I have a bench rest to put the hand guard spring loaded collar upon.)

D) what yo should do:: many guns have such a property. So leave the gun zeroed for the reppetitive firing solution, and know and remember the cold clean bore zero-offset. Thereby, you can take that first shot with confidence (cause you know where it will land) and as the gun heats up you can simply use the sights with the (long term==repetitive firing) zero as determined.

Quoted: Well it could be the barrel, but first thing is to determine if your sighting method is shifting, or the gun itself. Freefloat barrel? Irons, optic, or scope? How are they mounted?

The gun is an S&W AR15A....16" barrel, Troy BUIS, & an Ultradot red dot. The scope is mounted on a ½" riser. It's not my sighting method & doesn't seem to matter which sight I start out with. It's only the first few rounds that go 2" to the right & as the barrel heats up they drift to where I dailed the sights in from the last range session. Afer about a dozen rounds it's settled in. I'm not overly concerned about it, 2" is still minute of bg @ 50 yds.

I have a 20" gov profile rifle that strings it shots at least 4" low and 3" left as it heats up. I've tested it enough to determine the heat is what moves the groups. Also as already stated the first few rnds on most any rifle can go anywhere because of lube in the barrel. Most hunters I know fire a fouling rnd or two before hitting the feild.

Quoted: Teflon in the bore from CLP having to burn off (read change in barrel harmonics until the Teflon burns off/out of the bore).

I don't use Breakfree CLP.