How do you foul a barrel?

moroni · 08-05-2010, 08:36 AM

To foul a barrel do you have to actually shoot a bullet , or can you just put some powder in and shoot a primer?

Semisane · 08-05-2010, 09:09 AM

Hey there moroni. Welcome to the Black Powder forum.

I look at two situations - hunting & serious target shooting.

For hunting I don't foul the bore. I sight my gun for a cold clean barrel and that's how I hunt with it. Most of my guns will put a second shot within an inch or two of that sight in spot.

For serious target shooting I just take the first shot on a clean barrel, then swab the bore with one or both sides of an alcohol patch between all shots. That pretty much assures the bore is in the same condition for every shot.

Frank in the Laurels · 08-05-2010, 09:32 AM

I've found that a clean barrel will change my impact point...I've had as much a 3 inches of difference, not enough to miss the vital area but a substantial difference to me..I always shot one shot the day before the season, load it and it stays until it gets shot at something...

Gm54-120 · 08-05-2010, 09:45 AM

Shooting a fouling shot is probably the best but ive had good luck by shooting 2 primers and running a dry patch just once to even it out a little.

This is with BH209 and a light coating Montana Extreme bore conditioner. Using this method my first shot is almost always within 1.5" of the rest (with properly fitting sabots). The looser the sabot fit the larger the difference on a clean bore in my guns.

lemoyne · 08-05-2010, 11:42 AM

I experimented with a bunch of different procedures. What I ended up with for hunting is clean the barrel with alcohol fire 3 209 clean again fire 3 more 209 and it puts that first shot right in a minute of angle group. On the range I just shoot it t into the back stop twice.

moroni · 08-05-2010, 11:55 AM

I appreciate the advice. I have a new Apex and I will be using it for hunting so I want the first shot to be the best. When I shot it for the first time at 25 yds it was 1/2 inch group. At 100 yds it was not so good. Maybe 4 inches. I have since found out from reading on this site that there are a lot of variables to consider. I want to find the best load it will shoot and stick to that load and loading sequence.

Thanks again for the advice. I really like this site.

cayugad · 08-05-2010, 01:48 PM

If you really want to foul a barrel, dump 20 to 30 grains of the powder you intend to use. Then take a couple patches and push them down on top of the powder. Cap it, step outside and fire it off. Then I treat the rifle as if it has been fired on the range. For instance if I am shooting Pyrodex RS, I swab with an alcohol patch and then a couple dry ones and load. If I were using APP I would just load and not swab.

Gm54-120 · 08-05-2010, 05:32 PM

moroni

No matter what method ive tried....in the end all my best groups are after at least 3 shots and being patient after that. I use mostly BH209 so your results may differ but a little fouling has always seemed to help.

If you were shooting into a half inch at 25 but 4" at 100yards in the heat i wouldn't be terribly concerned. I havent tried anything past 65yards since temps have averaged 80F+ because i know they usually suck

peterson30 · 08-05-2010, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Semisane

Hey there moroni. Welcome to the Black Powder forum.

I look at two situations - hunting & serious target shooting.

For hunting I don't foul the bore. I sight my gun for a cold clean barrel and that's how I hunt with it. Most of my guns will put a second shot within an inch or two of that sight in spot.

For serious target shooting I just take the first shot on a clean barrel, then swab the bore with one or both sides of an alcohol patch between all shots. That pretty much assures the bore is in the same condition for every shot.

When you sight in for a cold clean barrel, how long do you have to wait before you take another shot at the target, and how much do you clean out the barrel?

Semisane · 08-05-2010, 10:16 PM

Well peterson, the final sight in is a little time consuming. But it doesn't take all that long because the gun is usually already sighted in for target shooting with its hunting load. The clean barrel Point Of Impact is going to be reasonably close to the fouled bore POI (at least it is with my guns).

I start off with a fully cleaned barrel that's been wiped with a very light oil patch followed by a dry patch, and take a very, very careful shot at 100 yards. That establishes the clean barrel POI. It's usually within an inch or three of the fouled bore POI. Then I fully clean the barrel again (including a light oil patch & dry patch), adjust the sight for that inch or two or three, and take another shot. That usually does it. But if it needs further adjustment I fully clean the barrel again, adjust the sight, and take another shot. Anyway, just to confirm I have the clean barrel shot going exactly where I want it, I ofter take a couple of more shots, fully cleaning the barrel between each one. The barrel is cold enough by the time it's fully cleaned so I'm not concerned with barrel heat affecting the outcome.

It's really not as bad as it sounds. A good bore cleaning doesn't take all that long if you're not pulling the nipple/breech plug as you would at the end of a shooting session.

So now I'm hunting with a fully clean bore that has been oil patched/dry patched. That load can stay in the bore for weeks or months without harm to the gun and with every expectation that it will go bang when it tell it to.