when is a barrel cold? newbie

[bigstickpilot]

If I am looking at long range cold barrel accuracy, how long do I wait between shots to assure a "cold" barrel? Has anyone out there actually put a thermocouple on their breech and measured this??

 

[sunray]

Depends on the cartridge and how heavy the barrel is, but cold to the touch will do.

 

[bigstickpilot]

sporter profile, .270Win

 

[the_big_mike]

cold to the touch with that kind of rifle.

 

[delta1]

I shoot long range 308 and found 2 minutes between rounds was to short for my rifle. I worked up to 3 minutes and the rifle holds it's accuracy from cold bore shot to the 12th round after that you notice a fall off in accuracy.

 

[Ruthless]

I shoot long range 308 and found 2 minutes between rounds was to short for my rifle. I worked up to 3 minutes and the rifle holds it's accuracy from cold bore shot to the 12th round after that you notice a fall off in accuracy.

that long?????

I usually try to pop 3-round groups in the same weather pattern, ie the wind died down so I squeeze them out in 15-30 seconds or so

 

[Keebler750]

Cold means ambient.

Also, remember a round 'cooking' in a hot chamber can sometimes affect things more than a hot barrel.

So, I shoot rapids, but I don't chamber until right before I fire, instead of letting it sit cooking while I fiddle around.

 

[bigstickpilot]

yes, I was assuming ambient temp, so I will start with the suggestion of 3 min between rounds and work from there. Thanks, guys.

 

[delta1]

It all depends on what you are trying to do on your time at the range.are you just wanting to send rounds down range to have fun remember faster is less barrel life.Are you trying for accuracy, working on trigger control, breathing, grip, cheek rest. You should be working on at least one of these everytime you are at the butt end of your rifle or pistol.
If you shoot three or five shot groups quickly, your barrel gets hotter after every round, heat usually means more flexability if this happens to your barrel it will be less accurate.
Try slowwwwing down while shooting let the barrel tell you what it wants. Once you see the difference you may even have other's ask how you do it. This will even transfer over to your hunting where you usually only get the chance at one good shot.

 

[Boomer]

If you shoot a fast 5 shot group, how far does the first shot strike out of the group? This is more likely a problem with a light barrelled hunting rifle with a pressure point in the barrel channel of the stock than it would be for a free floated heavy barrelled target/tactical rifle. If the barrel is light enough to heat up quickly, then it is light enough to cool off quickly, but as stated above, much depends on the case capacity of the cartridge you fire, not to mention the ambient temperature, sun or overcast conditions and wind conditions on the day of shooting.

You can bring down the barrel temperature quickly by pouring water down the barrel. The purists will scream, but it does no harm. When I conduct rapid fire drills with my .375 I limit myself to 5 rounds then dunk the rifle in a slew to cool, then run the drill again. Some of us are not adverse to shooting in the rain either.

 

[bigstickpilot]

I've shot in rain and snow, but I'll leave the slough to you submariners

 

[Mutt-roc]

if u like ur gun i wouldnt suggest dunking it in a slough. takeing any kinda meatal and heating it up and then rapidly cooling it might not damage it but u r changing the properties of the metal. try getting a small fan and running it on a car battery it will cool ur gun alot faster and wont damage it.

mutt

 

[lineofsight]

Not chambering too soon, good point, thanks.

Dunking the barrel, have heard of annealing brass but tempering the barrel... Would be interesting to see the temperature gradients moving through the barrel and into the receiver/action.

Small fan, that has potential - gas blow back system to drive fan for the semis or solar panel in stock for the bolts. Could also run a sleeve through the action, heats water, drives fan (yes work is a little boring right now).

Cheers.

 

[marlin60]

Cold means ambient.

Also, remember a round 'cooking' in a hot chamber can sometimes affect things more than a hot barrel.

So, I shoot rapids, but I don't chamber until right before I fire, instead of letting it sit cooking while I fiddle around.

I pull the bolt and extract, but leave it open then for a bit. Allows the wind/air to circulate from chamger to muzzle and cools it a little faster.

Don't chamber until I'm going to fire.

 

[guntech]

For a hunting rifle... a good starting point...

If the rifle has not been fired for 12 hours it is considered cold.

Fire 3 shots quickly (as you might do in a hunting situation) and it is warm.

Fire 3 more shots as quickly and it is hot... continuing to shoot at this point and it will be excessively hot.

Feel the differences on the inside of your wrist to remember them... feel it at the muzzle and down by the chamber...

 

[22lr]

First two shots could be accurate if fired in quick succession. From then on I usually leave bolt open and wait at least 2 minutes. Longer is better but way too boring. Sometimes I blow air through, I know it doesn't help but I do it anyway.

Thanks for tip about round warming up while chambered. Sounds obvious but it wasn't untill someone mentioned it. So, for semi-auto rifle that would mean loading one round into magazine?