Dirty Rifle?

[chemist308]

I'm hearing that dirty rifle bores tend to shoot better. Normally I'd clean the gun immediately when getting it home, if not even swab the bore some between groups. But I'm hearing that some long range shooters will allow a rifle to go 300 round before cleaning it, and claim it shoots better dirty. Is there any truth to this?

 

[rcmodel]

Yes, and no.

Powder fouling is necessary, as a freshly cleaned & oiled bore will not normally shoot to zero until it becomes dry & powder fouled again.

On the other hand, neither will a copper jacket fouled bore if you never clean it.

Bench rest champions clean after every five shots and start out clean.

Long range match shooters don't clean until the match is over.

But they all clean sooner, or later.

rc

 

[119er]

I don't know to quantify dirty, but after I clean a rifle of known performance it may take one or two shots for it to "settle" into its zero. Some hunters I know will sight in their rifles and leave the bore fouled all season to avoid a shifted POI.

I once was paranoid about cleaning my guns to an inspection grade level of cleanliness. Now I don't sweat it so much and have not really noticed any change at all. Long range shooters are more likely worried about wear/damage that comes from cleaning. I don't think I have gone 300 rounds, but I guess you could shoot until accuracy drops off. Every gun will be different in how long it takes to foul the barrel to the point of losing accuracy.

 

[jmr40]

My rifles generally shoot a little more consistently after 6-10 rounds have been down the barrel. The difference isn't huge, but real. I generally give my rifles a good cleaning shortly before hunting season, but get to the range and shoot a few groups before hunting season to verify zero and foul the barrel. I don't like to clean the barrel again until after the season unless it gets rained on. I will wipe out the action, just not the barrel They all get taken down and cleaned good after the season

I do most of my target practice and load experimentation in Jan-March when I generally have the range to myself. I'll sometimes shoot 200 or more rounds through mine at this time of year without cleaning the barrel. If I start to notice accuracy suffer, then I clean. How many rounds before accuracy suffers depends on the barrel.

I shoot less during the hot summer months, but always give everything a good scrubbing in August.

 

[taliv]

i believe if you could clean between every round, you would achieve the maximum consistency. i have no proof of that of course, just my suspicion.

but that is impractical for long range bench rest shooters because wind is a larger factor, and the time spent cleaning is time waiting for the wind to change. better to get your rounds down range as fast as possible.

and it's impractical for the more practical type field/sniper shooters because we may need to shoot 100+ rounds between opportunities to clean.

so barrels get powder fouling to a point, and then sort of maintain that level of fouling. once you hit that level, it's "consistent". getting there is not. so that's why it's best to either clean very frequently or not at all.

 

[sage5907]

I'm a hunter and not a target shooter so I look at accuracy through the eyes of a hunter. If you shoot a 5 shot group with a clean barrel the first shot will usually not group with the others. To solve this situation I shoot one round through the rifle before I use it for hunting. If I knew all my shots would be less than 200 yards it probably wouldn't be necessary to foul the barrel, but when distances get out around 300 yards it really makes a difference. I believe that a hunter who can accurately shoot a rifle that delivers minute of angle accuracy can handle any hunting situation. I shoot about 20 rounds in a practice session and I usually clean after about 60 rounds unless I am going to store the rifle and then I clean it immediately. If the rifle shows any sign of copper fouling I clean with solvent and a brush and leave a thin coat of solvent in the barrel.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I clean mine once per year, whether it needs it or not...right after deer season is over.

By the time the next deer season rolls around it has a hundred or so rounds through it and is ready to go.

I am a medium to long range hunter....600-800 yards.


After a day at the range, I just run an oily patch or two through it and put in safe...then a tight dry patch before shooting again.

 

[BigBore45]

really it matters, but each rifle is different. I have a remington 700 well an action anyways that needs 1 fowler shot. if not, im still within 2" of zero. my wifes remington 700 that is factory takes 4 fowler shots. or it can shoot around 3 " of zero. all this is at 100 yards my cal is .308 hers .243. i leave mine dirty till the accuracy drops off seems to be the 300-400 rd range depending on what load i shoot. hers i clean every time, she might not shoot for 2 months so do not want rust or to forget how many have been threw it. hunting i clean mine and lube it. go to the range to check zero and leave it dirty till my hunting is over.

 

[Steve S.]

I think that all of the opinions/ experience is true when it comes to cleaning. I am sure that all of my gun bores can take many more rounds before cleaning than I allow them to have. I clean after every range session; I discovered BoreTech and cleaning is now a breeze - so I say "why not" and I clean - since I am extremely anal about my firearms, cleaning becomes therapy - keeps me from drinking, smoking, gambling, drugs, prostitution, etc - sorry, I embellished a bit but those that are anal will understand. Good shooting!

 

[Trent]

I don't clean my 300 win mag between F-Class shoots. I clean the bore about every 180-240 (3-4 60 shot matches worth).

It takes 5 or so shots to get it to settle back down after a cleaning.

I never, EVER, put it away clean. When I do clean it, it's at the range, and I always foul it with 5 or 10 shots before packing it up to bring it home. That way I don't have to wonder before the next match. I just unpack and shoot.

(I shoot high master scores in F-Class, FWIW)

 

[Jackal]

I havnt cleaned my coyote rifle in years. Still puts bullets where I need them.

 

[3212]

I don't check groups until 6 shots after a cleaning.Then I don't clean until after deer season.This method has been good enough to harvest more than 60 deer out to 270 yards.

 

[MrBorland]

I started shooting High Power rifle competition this year. I clean my rifle every 250-300 rounds, and from what I can tell, that seems fairly normal among other HP shooters. I notice no apparent degradation of accuracy in that interim.