First shot fouled barrel
 

I have seen several posts saying to hunt use a fouled barrel. My question is does that mean to run a spit patch and then a dry patch and leave it that way until the season ends?

RE: First shot fouled barrel
 

oldwun

Not for me... I beleive I do hunt with a fouled barrel - not a dirty barrel but a fouled barrel...

Just before hunting season I take the gun out and shoot it a target to check the POI is where I left it. Maybe 3-4 shots... After that I do not strip clean the gun, I do not remove the breech plug , do not even take the gun out of the stock. I do patch it with windex patches until they come out clean - then dry the barrel with clean white patches... the last step i do put a very thin coat of bore oil back in the barrel, nothing like I would normally put in - really thin - then I try to patch as much oil out with with clean patches as I can. I know you are suppose to shoot sabots with a non-lubricated barrel, but in the weather I hunt I feel I need some bore protection. This minimal amount of protection does not change POI - as long as the sabot can grab the lands and grooves and does not slide across them.

So, after all of that the bore is not "clean" clean like it would be when I would put it away for storage but not so dirty that fouling is apparent. I feel I can get away with this because I am shooting T7 and the humidity here is fairly stable.

Again this my way but it will not be everybodies way....

mike

RE: First shot fouled barrel
 

your gun will shoot more consistant groups after firing one time.ussually the 2-6 or7 shots will group the best for me. if i shoot mine perfectly clean it always shoots high and to right,after that it goes back to dead center. you must learn what your gun does. i site mine in ,then clean it completly. the day before hunting i shoot it once ,then reload and hunt.
i have a range off my back porch so this fairly easy for me.

if i hunt for a few days without firing it,i just pull the breech plug ,remove the pellets and add new ones and a new primer. just to make sure it hasn't drew moisture. i may run a brush down the barrel but i never scrub it during the season unless i shoot alot.

RE: First shot fouled barrel
 

I like to hunt on a fowled barrel, depending on the rifle I am using. I always make sure before season that I know where the rifle will hit on a clean and fowled barrel. I then fowl it the day of the hunt, and I used to clean it that night. After some of the corrosion tests I ran recently, I think swabbing the barrel out for my sabot shooters, or just leaving the fowled White alone for the next day, will not endanger the rifle for rusting. I am going to hence change some of my cleaning habits.

RE: First shot fouled barrel
 

I never do that. For me it affects accuracy and I killed my knuckles once on the front sight of my Knight. I clean between each shot, at range with cleaner, 2 patches down, dry then 1 patch of light bore butter. In field, 2 patches of bore butter, both saturated "pretty good", may 1/32" of the stuff on a patch, smeared into the patch very well. Work the crud ring. I turn patch over. So I have a "major particles removed" fouled barrel. POI with first shot of a clean gun is same as POI with this method for both my Knight Disc and my TC Omega.
Chap Gleason Va

RE: First shot fouled barrel
 

Chap

Wow! - I thought I might be a bitcontroversial - but this procedure would really draw a lot of comments from all of those that do not like BB or even a lubricated barrel.... All I gotta say if it works for you - keep it going....

RE: First shot fouled barrel
 

Depends on the rifle. My rem 700 shoots just fine with a clean bore and as suchI hunt with it that way. My knight is better fouled and hunt with it fouled. My Savage 10IIdoesn't matter so I start out clean and leave it until after season (shooting smokeless in the 10II). I keep notes how my guns shoot clean(if fouled is better) just in case i have to start out with it clean. In most cases 1-2 POI shift is all I have seen with a ML, IMO not a lot to worry about given the size of the vital target on deer.

FWIW sabotloader I do the same thing with all my rifles in regards to a thin layer of oil then dry patched to remove any excess before loading a MLor using a CF. Works for me as well and I believe some protection is required for our enviroment.

Forget the "they" is my advise, you must find out what your rifle prefers and go with that instead.

RE: First shot fouled barrel
 

See this, I am of that philosophy, but don't use this fellows methods:

http://www.eabco.com/Muzzleloader04.htm

If you field clean between shotswith 2 bore butter patches, reload, and then in the evening push the bullet out from themuzzle back to the breech, and thenyou look thru the barrel it will suprise you. It is "pretty clean" using just this simple field cleaning method. Look at your barrel field cleaned with 2 BB patchesand look at it "cleaned" and look at it shot once. You will see what I mean.
Chap

RE: First shot fouled barrel
 

IMO, I don't get the theory of a fouled barrell, because the bullet is hard to load. If the bullet is hard to load by hand, won't it be affected coming back out the barrel? Logic tells me so. I was not aware folks didn't like BB, not being a regular on the forum for a long time. Sorry if I offend anyone.Just being me, factually honest. That is all. If you have a better accuracy theory, please lets hear it. I am all ears.
Chap

RE: First shot fouled barrel
 

I wasn't taught any of those ways. I was taught when fowling barrels in BP to fowl w/ a primer ONLY. Then wipe w/ a wet patch then dry. Never leave any corrosive material. Primersare corrusive but not like BP. I have never tried fowling barrel tests. It usually takes 8-9 paches to clean when @ the range to get a clean barrel. When I hunt if I dotake a shot I do the very best I can that day to clean and usually have the tools except in rareoccations. At the range after the rifle is sighted inI will shoot several shots as back ups. Usually they all are good for a least the first three shots.
High powder rifles are different. I do as mentioned by others depending on the rifle.
Not the right way just the way I was taught....
SHills