Posted: 10/14/2009 9:23:28 PM EDT
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I see bolt action "sniper platform" users cleaning every box of ammo. I'm curious, will a dirty barrel open up a group, change the point of impact, or both?
Also, approximately how dirty would a barrel have to be to notice? I haven't cleaned my Rem. 700 in about 300 rounds and I don't notice anything significant. |
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Quoted:
It depends on the barrel. A hand lapped barrel will not foul as fast as a standard cut barrel. A fouling shot is usually fired after a cleaning too. Cleaning after a box of ammo may be done while the barrel is being broke in too. How many rounds does it take to break in a barrel? I watched a guy clean his barrel 5 times in 100 rounds. |
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You saw someone doing a break-in procedure most likely.
I fire-lap first with a wet then dry patch every round, then switch to one swab every 2 rounds after that with a cool-down period, It really depends on the specific rifle. I've run 300 rounds thru certain barrels that way before they really settle down. Benchresters will usually not swab that much during a match, but some of the guys can get really anal about it. |
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The questions you are asking have no across the board answers. The answers will vary depending on who you ask, what they shoot, and the level of precision they're trying to achieve. Some bench rest shooters won't even clean their barrels with brushes, and swear by patch only. They might clean every round for 100 rounds on a break in. Or maybe fire lap the barrels. Your Remington 700 with it's hammer forged barrel may not be accurate enough to tell the difference between round 20 and round 300. But other guns might be. Finally, while some general "best practice" regime could be cooked up, it will always be in question by those who have developed their own theories based on their own anecdotal accounts. I don't do any "serious" precision rifle shooting, other than prairie dogs. I've tried a number of different theories on a number of different rifles, and what I've come up with is this. What works in my Model 70 Heavy Varmint doesn't work with my .308 Mauser. Every gun I've owned acted differently in response to fouling, a couple actually shoot better after a few rounds. As far as breaking in, I've not noticed any difference in accuracy after shooting 5 and cleaning for 20 rounds, so I leave it at that myself. I'm sure someone with a Hart barreled 6mm will disagree. My advice is to experiment with your rig and see what works best. |
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Quoted:
The questions you are asking have no across the board answers. The answers will vary depending on who you ask, what they shoot, and the level of precision they're trying to achieve. Some bench rest shooters won't even clean their barrels with brushes, and swear by patch only. They might clean every round for 100 rounds on a break in. Or maybe fire lap the barrels. Your Remington 700 with it's hammer forged barrel may not be accurate enough to tell the difference between round 20 and round 300. But other guns might be. Finally, while some general "best practice" regime could be cooked up, it will always be in question by those who have developed their own theories based on their own anecdotal accounts. I don't do any "serious" precision rifle shooting, other than prairie dogs. I've tried a number of different theories on a number of different rifles, and what I've come up with is this. What works in my Model 70 Heavy Varmint doesn't work with my .308 Mauser. Every gun I've owned acted differently in response to fouling, a couple actually shoot better after a few rounds. As far as breaking in, I've not noticed any difference in accuracy after shooting 5 and cleaning for 20 rounds, so I leave it at that myself. I'm sure someone with a Hart barreled 6mm will disagree. My advice is to experiment with your rig and see what works best. Thanks for the thorough reply. And I wasn't asking from a participant perspective. Mostly just curious. I have a 1903a4 build I've shot about 300 rounds through as well and haven't noticed any issue with accuracy. I'm guessing the break in and cleaning regimes are mostly geared towards serious precision rigs? |
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Quoted: Also, approximately how dirty would a barrel have to be to notice? It depends on how good you and the rest of the rifle are. You and the rifle have to be pretty good before you'll notice a lack of accuracy from cleaning. If you're shooting 1" groups at 100 yards, forget it. If you're shooting 1" groups at 400 yards, then you're likely to notice it.  |
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Quoted:
The questions you are asking have no across the board answers. The answers will vary depending on who you ask, what they shoot, and the level of precision they're trying to achieve. Some bench rest shooters won't even clean their barrels with brushes, and swear by patch only. They might clean every round for 100 rounds on a break in. Or maybe fire lap the barrels. Your Remington 700 with it's hammer forged barrel may not be accurate enough to tell the difference between round 20 and round 300. But other guns might be. Finally, while some general "best practice" regime could be cooked up, it will always be in question by those who have developed their own theories based on their own anecdotal accounts. I don't do any "serious" precision rifle shooting, other than prairie dogs. I've tried a number of different theories on a number of different rifles, and what I've come up with is this. What works in my Model 70 Heavy Varmint doesn't work with my .308 Mauser. Every gun I've owned acted differently in response to fouling, a couple actually shoot better after a few rounds. As far as breaking in, I've not noticed any difference in accuracy after shooting 5 and cleaning for 20 rounds, so I leave it at that myself. I'm sure someone with a Hart barreled 6mm will disagree. My advice is to experiment with your rig and see what works best. This is dead nuts on!! |