my 7 mag shoots about 2" higher when clean and with a cold barrel. my first thought is to not clean it after my last range activity prior to my upcoming moose hunt. this is a single shot that does this and then it it right back to where i want it. are there many negatives to having an uncleaned barrel for say 30 days?

You might have some residual solvent or oil in your bore. I run a boresnake through my bore before shooting to get that residual out. It is usually close after that.

I use to leave my bore on my rifle fouled some during hunting season. I don't see a problem with it for the short term. I learned that little trick before a rifle qualification in IOBC when I was a young Infantry 2LT from our Platoon Trainer.

Many folks believe that a lightly fouled bore is the way to go. It won't hurt anything to do so.

I second leaving a slightly fouled bore for hunting.

I'll find my best load at the range. then I'll clean as usual. Then, I'll send a couple more shots downrange to confirm the POI, then leave the rifle with a 2 shot fouling in it for the field.

Most of my rifles shoot pretty close to the same with an ultra clean barrel or fouled, but my most consistent shots in a 5 shot string are usually shots 3-5.

And as GRIZZLYMAN said, make sure that clean barrel you're starting with is bone dry.

I've hunted for 60 years and always shoot a fouling shot or two with my rifles at the range before a hunting trip. Then the barrels aren't touched until I return from the trip. If I have to clean one due to moisture while out hunting they get another fouling shot or two before goign back out. That way I know every shot will be less than MOA just like on the bench.

I generally shoot a fouling group before a season. Just on the off chance that something shifted while cleaning, I want to check it out. So say I'm at the range, shooting groups and range-patterning my load (confirming my field card), I'll finish up, clean it at the bench, then shoot another group to confirm it's on track.

Personally, I'd be hard pressed to say that leaving a bore dirty for 30-60days will hurt it. I'm not sure my grandpa cleaned his rifle in 30-60 YEARS!!

I clean my guns after each season...Before each season I shoot them a few times to make sure they are still on...They are "dirty" for about 5-6 months...

thanks everyone. you pretty much confirmed what i was thinking and what i had read in the past. good hunting everyone

A moose is a big target. Will 2" high (at 100?) make much difference? I guess it could matter if you're shooting past 300. For everytihing between 50 and 300, I'd just hold dead center and shoot.

Cleaning is just like ammo. It varies by rifle. My .270 BAR likes to be somewhat dirty. I know people with the same rifle who say their rifles shoot better clean. But for my .270 The only cleaning it gets from summer practice through the end of deer season is a dry patch and a little lube on the bolt. My -06 on the other hand is more fussy. I don't scrub it down until after the season but after every target session it gets a couple of wet patches (Butch's Bore Shine) followed by dry patches until they come out clean.