Anyone Foul their barrel before Hunting

[Billy The Kid]

You can count me in x6, if I am not shooting corrosive there should be no problems!
Quote:

stanway wrote:
dw wrote:
martinbns wrote:
After final sight in of my game loads, I nvere clean the barrel again until December. As long as the gun isn't abused you should have no problem.


This would be me as well



x4





x5


x6

x7. Always have. Just what i was taught.

x8 - Don't mess with what is working for you!

 

[eltorro]

I shoot the all-so-necessary fouling shots @ the range, then clean the powder.
recheck the POI , then clean again, removing the powder only.
The change in POI comes from copper built-up mainly, so that's all I have, as a dirty barrel atracts moisture.

 

[boonerbuck]

I foul my barrel after cleaning during hunting season. I also like to give it a quick cleaning often because I'm out constanly during the season. Lots of dust while on my quad, lots of rain, muck, shots at yotes, rolling down hills with the rifle on my shoulder, using it as a walking stick on really steep hills in the alpine and the occasional wipe out crossing creeks etc. :mrgreen:

 

[Brambles]

My ultra mag shoots well even being the first shot out of a clean barrel so I will usually just clean it and hunt with it.

All my other rifles need 1 fouling shot from a clean barrel.
I always clean my rifles before hunting season and fire one fouling shot.

Brambles

 

[Jay]

I sight in, clean the rifle and wipe out all the oil I can get out... If it rains, I clean again... The "shift" from a clean barrel to a fouled one is not significant at the ranges found in N.B....

Cheers
Jay

 

[Mystic Precision]

Fouled and taped.

I put some electrical tape over the muzzle just to keep dirt and moisture out. That way if the bore rusts out, I will not have to worry about it when a B&C buck jumps out. :wink:

If I do get caught in the rain, I will dry the bore, maybe clean and/or oil depending on how drenched everything got. I will then go and resight in/foul the bore, retape and go hunting again.

Jerry

 

[SuperCub]

After final sight in of my game loads, I nvere clean the barrel again until December. As long as the gun isn't abused you should have no problem.

X 9 :arrow:

SC.............

 

[dizzy dan 1]

X10 DAN>>>

 

[John Y Cannuck]

I test all of my guns to see if the first shot out of a clean barrel impacts at the same location as further shots out of a fouled barrel.In the case of my rifles,the point of impact is the same,so I don't worry about it.

X2

I don't worry about cleaning my rifle in hunt camp though, unless it's wet, or if I were using Black powder.

 

[Levi Garrett]

x12
Frank

All I can say is if you shoot aloth, clean aloth.
If you shoot deer from a clean bore, make sure the bullet lands where you want with a clean bore. Can be a bit off from a fouled barrel. And hard to keep a gun in this form during the season, reason , you shoot a coyote, you now have a fouled barrel, the next shot may be off a little or a bunch.

Here is what I do, shoot year round, aloth , bench to get sighted, and check accuracy, then its off hand , sitting , prone....

Come hunting season, I fine tune, ie get that bullet exactly where you want it with lightly fouled bore, now I mean , and in this case only, I will fire a few shots , clean with solvent and patch only, just to get the crud out, then a light coat of oil, very very light. That way the bore is protected from moisture and ready to go. It should shoot where you have tested and stay there for follow up shots. In the shoot a coyote and thats it, well clean with patch/solvent/oil at night, and your back in buisness.

So to sum up, hunt with a fouled bore, but keep it protected.
I find a gun in cold temps will sweat/cool sweat many times during the season.
If from a camp the gun stays at the same temp as outdoors as much as possable. Take it inside, it will sweat real bad, one good way to check for a leak in your scope
Frank

 

[BIGREDD]

I agree with hunting with a fouled barrel...
But I don't think anyone has mentioned hot versus cold barrel which can alter your shot dramatically.
Most guys when sighting in usually end up with a heated up barrel for their final shot... even a slight rise in temperature can alter the point of impact when you compare it to a cold barrel in November.
I always take my gun out on a cold morning after the initial sighting in process and fire a test round from a really cold barrel... :idea:
I also use Coated bullets which helps with both the fouled/non-fouled and Hot/Cold issues... I moly coat all my bullets and it lessens the inconsistency dramatically 8)

 

[the keepa]

No .
I keep electical tape over my muzzle(with spare tape wrapped around barrel below muzzle). If I fire a shot or two(improptu target practice, at game...whatever) I'll replace the tape but when I get home I will run a Gun Bore Cleaner through a few times then retape .
My gun is setup to shoot through a cold , clean barrel....well not too cold as I do most of my hunting from a heated wack shack :lol: . It is the first shot that counts....through a cold clean barrel , although I can see where if one knew where the first shot from a cold fouled barrel prints, he would have no problem .
I haven't changed the setting on my scope for a number of years(and I can shoot fairly small groups) so I'm assuming that my POI doesn't change much as the barrel heats up and fouls . Mind you, when I am shooting for a small group, I wait awhile between shots with the chamber empty and the bolt open .
Will have to experiment to see if the first shot out of a clean cold barrel noticeably prints further out from the rest of the shots....can't recall that being the case before...but hey any excuse to go shooting .

 

[The Cold Lake Kid]

I'm a fouled, cold barrel type myself. Only clean my rifles at the end of the season.
I hunt in all sorts of wet, snowwy, crappy weather and didn't like the "freckles" on the barrel. That's why I switched to SS for my rifles.

 

[John Spartan]

Nope, shoots pretty much the same whether clean or fouled.

 

[sPuTnik]

Nope, shoots pretty much the same whether clean or fouled.

x2

Doesn't make a hill of beans difference, unless you poured SAE30 down your barrel in an effort to protect it during storage. LOL. I believe it is a myth IMHO. I can grab my 30.06 out of the locker where it has been stored lightly oiled, and plug 6 shots in 1" circle @100 yards. Even if it shot a 4" circle (which it usually doesn't) da deer would be dead.... fouling or not. Usually guys with improperly cleaned guns have variance in accuracy due to excessive lead and copper fouling.

However, in hunt camp if I shot during the day I just wipe my gun down with a little bit of oil or spay silicon. I spray a shot of spray silicon (from crappy tire) down the barrel from the breech out the muzzle. This displaces any moisture and protects without gummy residues.... My friend who is a tool & die maker used to spray tools this way. Works for me. At the end of two weeks, my guns are thoroughly disassembled, cleaned and oiled lightly.

On another note.... My doe tag has arrived today via Canada Post. I am now offically a Doe Boy.... let the games begin.

 

[grouseman]

wow, you learn something new everyday!!!!!, nomore feeling guilty for not cleaning my gun........

 

[John Spartan]

Nope, shoots pretty much the same whether clean or fouled.

I'll qualify that by saying the groups are the same size, but only off by about 1-1.5 inches at 100 yards and since most of my hunting is at that distance, no big deal.

 

[roadwarrior]

It never crossed my mind, but It sounds good + I am lay-z too :lol:

 

[agilent_one]

Went and sighted in/fouled this past Tuesday. Won't get cleaned till season's over - or I'm tagged out.

 

[john-brennan]

barrel fouling

Most guns are more accurate when they have had a few (3-5) shots through them.