Got a little lazy, don't make this mistake !

tjRoberts · Mar 29, 2009

Some of you , read my posts,
on my nice new .338 win mag model 77 hawkeye.
My 1st trip o the range was excellent. My second was a disappointment.
Well my third trip actually went pretty well,but I learned something.
Along with my .338 on that 3rd trip. I took along my excellent Kimber .308. This along with 3 loads that had been MOA give or take about a gnats keester since i 1st tried them.
Not this day !
I was getting about 3 inches.!!
Checked all my scres and so forth. and could,nt find a problem.
Well, I think I know what I did.
I took the rifle home and gave it a quick scrub. Loaded up 20 rounds in record time and went back to the range.
This time, it was lots better. A .75 inch group or 2, But then quickly back to 2 inches.
So, stopped and picked up a bunch of cleaning stuff and scrubed the hell out of that kimber. I was astonished at how many patches it took to get all the copper out !.
I had thought if I ran my bore snake through her a few times , at the range while it was hot and a good scrub every now and then all would be good.
Wrong oh !
I fired about 40.00 worth of reloads through her to reteach myself what i new long ago. Scrub that baby after each shoot.
my .338 was prety fowled too. So, by about tuesday or wednesday I will be shooting one or both of them again.
Don't get lazy. I should have known better , been doing this to long.
its better to keep them clean than it is to scub one for an hour or two cause you waited too long !
But I did learn a good trick ! A cleaning rod in the chuck of my cordless black & decker helps speed things up !
...tj3006

bobbyrum · Mar 30, 2009

Thats O.K. TJ, I think we all do it from time to time. When I do something like that at home, my wife calls it a "senior moment" or a "brain fart" :lol: :lol:

257 Ackley · Mar 31, 2009

Everyone I shoot with thinks I'm crazy taking all the cleaning supplies to the range with me when we shoot. The difference is noticeable after a few groups get shot. This is especially true on a new barrel that is being broken in. Until it has over 50 rounds through it, there is never more than three shots through the tube before it gets cleaned. It is usually "seasoned" enough at that point that not much copper fowling occurs. You can feel the barrel getting smoother with every shot as you are doing your own hand-lapping job while you scrub the barrel.

Bobbyrum -
Just trying to keep those "senior moments" to a minimum these days at this end! :lol:

baltz526 · Mar 31, 2009

i have guns that have never had a copper fouling cleaning, others that need cleaned every 20-30 rounds. smooth barrels seem to be very accurite and do not copper foul.

DrMike · Apr 1, 2009

I'm a firm believer in cleaning my rifles after an extended shoot. Moreover, in conducting load development experiments, I clean between groups. This allows at least the removal of one variable in assessing ballistics and/or grouping characteristics.

It is true that modern rifles and ammunition represent great designs that do not need the care and attention of firearms from years past, nevertheless, I seem to have better barrel life and less concern about erosion of the throat on rifles that have been shot extensively, because of attention to cleaning. It is true that some rifles need less attention than others, however, it is still not a bad thing to know your firearm and to keep it clean.

Antelope_Sniper · Apr 1, 2009

To extend on an earlier post, if a gun won't shoot, and it still won't shoot after I've tried BT's in it, time to make sure it's been de-coppered. I've saved more then one person from rebarreling a rilfe with my Outers copper remover....