TennVol
Member
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- 96
I have always cleaned my hunting rifles as soon as I return home from the range. But, on my next trip to the range, the first shot is never close to the same point of impact as the last shot from the previous trip. It has been as much as three inches off where it should be. I know part of the answer is the last shot from the previous trip was from a warm barrel and the 1st shot of the next trip is from a cold barrel. I also know part of it is from the fouling that accumulated during the previous trip and the next trip is from a clean barrel.
All of my final scope adjustments were predicated on the last string I fired from a warm & ?dirty? barrel. On the next trip to the range (or to the field when hunting), I can't do anything about the warm vs. cold barrel, but I can do something about the ?dirty? barrel.
My hunting partners and I were trying to figure out what is the best course of action. The way we see it, we have three options:
1) Leaving the gun barrel dirty from the last range session to minimize the change in point of impact from a dirty vs. clean barrel,
2) Clean it like normal and take our chances when firing the 1st shot while hunting, or
3) Fire a fouling shot the day prior to leaving for our hunt.
If we were only taking shots under 100 yards, it really wouldn't be a problem, but we have killed deer and elk out to 300+ yards using a solid rest. If you assume the first shot from a clean/cold barrel could be as much as three inches off where you expect it to be, that translates into as much as nine inches off at 300 yards, and that is unacceptable.
My rifle is a synthetic stocked, stainless steel barrel .300 WSM. I store it in a location with almost no humidity, so rust isn't going to come into play with leaving the barrel dirty. I always wipe down the exterior and lube the bolt and chamber.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
MSgt, USAF
1984 to present
All of my final scope adjustments were predicated on the last string I fired from a warm & ?dirty? barrel. On the next trip to the range (or to the field when hunting), I can't do anything about the warm vs. cold barrel, but I can do something about the ?dirty? barrel.
My hunting partners and I were trying to figure out what is the best course of action. The way we see it, we have three options:
1) Leaving the gun barrel dirty from the last range session to minimize the change in point of impact from a dirty vs. clean barrel,
2) Clean it like normal and take our chances when firing the 1st shot while hunting, or
3) Fire a fouling shot the day prior to leaving for our hunt.
If we were only taking shots under 100 yards, it really wouldn't be a problem, but we have killed deer and elk out to 300+ yards using a solid rest. If you assume the first shot from a clean/cold barrel could be as much as three inches off where you expect it to be, that translates into as much as nine inches off at 300 yards, and that is unacceptable.
My rifle is a synthetic stocked, stainless steel barrel .300 WSM. I store it in a location with almost no humidity, so rust isn't going to come into play with leaving the barrel dirty. I always wipe down the exterior and lube the bolt and chamber.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
MSgt, USAF
1984 to present