missed_another

how do most of you guys foul your barrel. i did notice that my beartooth does shoot better with a dirty barrel. the first shot seems to always be just a little low and to the right. from then on it shoots right on again. i always thought it was just me on the first shot because after that it lays them right in there. will the 209 primer alone be enough to foul it. i shot tonight for about two hours just tring differant loads with a clean and fouled barrel. but i forgot to try just a primer for fouling.

cayugad

an easy way is dump 30 grains down the barrel and then push a cleaning patch or two on top of that. Step outside and fire it off. You are now fowled.

Also some people pop three or four primers and consider themselves fowled...

patchholder

What excactly is the purpose of fouling your barrel is it because you don't want the first shot to be a flyer!

missed_another

i guess you'll call it a flyer. the first shot everytime i cleaned it shot out about inch and half and a bit low.

Pittsburghunter

I clean between shots at the range with most of my inlines so every shot is like a first shot. When m/l season starts this year I will have fired my rifle once cleaned with my usual range type cleaning and then go hunting. I want to make sure I have no oil in the bore.

Sidelocks I will just clean the oil out real good before loading for hunting. If I am up at camp I will load before I leave so moisture is not a problem.

patchholder

Ihave heard of people swabbing their barrels out between every shot but I havent done it I have also heard of people swabbing bore butter between shots but I don't do that either. When I go target practice I usually shoot 6-8 times and then I clean, my groups start to open up but they are still fairlytight from 150.

missed_another

i did notice the that the groups with a dirty barrel were much tigher groups than with a clean barrel. at 80 yards with the dirty barrel some holes were touching. never had any holes touch with a clean barrel. i was shooting goex clear shot off sand bags on my rear deck.

patchholder

With that goex clear shot how many shots could you take before you could tell that your groupsstarted to open up.

cayugad

Some rifles, not all rifles, shoot a tighter group when the barrel is fowled. Consider that when you shoot a barrel that is not fowled. Your first shot on a clean barrel reacts differently in the barrel to every shot after. No matter how well you swab the barrel, there will always be a little fowling left in the barrel. Not much sometimes depending on the powder you shoot, but always a little something. If not, cleaning these would be a snap.

Some rifles will shoot as much as six inches different. I have one rifle, the first shot is always 2" higher on a clean barrel then a fowled barrel. It does not seem so apparent on roundball shooting barrels then the modern inlines, although I do have a Hawkins that will shoot an inch to the right on a clean barrel.

Some people just sight there rifle in on a clean barrel and take for granted that they will hit and connect all they need with the first and only shot. They then practice and adjust for any following shots... The option is up to you. Since my rifles are not that much different, I shoot on a clean barrel, but am sighted in for a fowled barrel.

mauser06

this may sound dumb...but if you foul with even a small charge of powder it STILL GOES BANG!!!!! last year my gun shot better with the particular load i shot fouled......so id pour a small charge down and prime and fire it.....the first time i almost needed new pants....i wasnt expecting a bang......but i got a louddddddd on!....and once me and my buddy pulled in my other buddys driveway(farm country...noone around) we woke him up(its 11am lol) ...and me and the other buddy went outside to load our guns for the days hunt(we hunted right from his house...farm country...woods..noone around) we were opposite sides of the truck and my buddy really couldnt see me but knew i was loading my rifle...he was doing the same........well i poured a small charge down...primed it...BOOM.....my friend about died......he ran over there so quick witha OH $hit oh my look on his face....maaaan he about died...he thought somehow i shot myself.....or my gun went off accidently somehow........i explained to him why i did it....appologized for doing it without telling him...though i did it as a joke kinda....but needed to foul the bore either way....he was MAD......hated me that day......and we rode in silence after we got in the truck later that day......once in a while hed look at me and call me some choice words....he got over it....and was my best friend at the time and we were always together and best buds you know...so he got over it and told me do it again and scare him like that and he will shoot me himself! lol.........i felt bad that day....i didnt think id scare him THAT bad......but didnt really think id scare him in that way at all......figured hed hear a boom and jump......but i guess loading a gun....hearing a boom....he thought i died.....i felt bad and should have thought....i wasnt doing anything careless with a gun...dont even try it.......noone or nothing was around to be harmed...perfectly safe fouling shot.....just scared my unknowing friend....