Clean barrel / dirty barrel ?
 

I know copper fouling helps with keeping groups tight when it's not overly fouled with copper, but what about powder and carbon fouling ?
If I remove the powder and carbon because I need to oil my rifle when hunting in the rain, will this change poi ?

Thanks again for everyone that has been chiming in to my threads !

Should be fine. After EVERY hunt I run a Boresnake through whatever rifle I used that hunt. I bought a snake for every caliber in my 3 dozen+ arsenal (including shotguns as well). If the day included rain, fog, snow etc I'll put a few drops of CLP on the "knot" of the snake where the rope meets the mop. If the weather outside is below 40ish I'll let the rifle warm to room temp & then run a snake in it & wipe the outside off to prevent/remove condensation.

I've shot Barnes bullets for over 2 decades & I'm sure "technically" my rifles are "copper fouled" but they are hunting guns, not paper punchers but I've never "stripped or defouled" the bores. I just keep powder residue & moisture out of them before sticking them back in the safes.

I never hunt with a fresh cleaned, oiled barrel, it definitely changes the cold bore first shot, how much varies from rifle to rifle but its around 1 MOA minimum on average.
RR

10 - 4 thanks!!!!

Do you not worry about rust in wet weather or taking it in and out from warm to cold ?

Clean and oil after the hunt. Before the next hunt, run a couple patches through with alcohol and a couple dry patches.

Stripping a barrel is definitely overrated. A fouled barrel is a more accurate barrel. For long term storage, yes, clean and oil. A hard day in the field, wipe down. If a thorough cleaning is done, a fouling shot or two is definitely needed, or you will not be hitting what you are shooting at.

I go along with Ridge Runner I never run a oiled patch after I sight in my rifle and hunt with it. I don't shoot that many deer in a season to worry about build up. If you feel you need to run a patch thru your rifle then use a dry patch.

Thanks you guys for the info , very helpful.

Fouled barrel during hunting season if longer range shots are expected. Clean barrel the rest of the year.

For deer hunting at closer ranges it will not matter if the barrel is fouled or clean. In that situation I keep them clean.

Barrels that are not properly cleaned and oiled for storage often show the effects eventually with rust and pitting.

Let a vintage Beretta O/U shotgun get pitted once. Kicking myself ever since. Put it in a case to travel before cleaning and ended up forgetting until it was too late. Beautiful shotgun, beautiful engravings, hand-checkering, pitted bore.

On the bright side, I never intended to sell it anyway so I'm not losing any money. :)

Thanks guys, is 200 yards considered long range ?

I have no choice but to store my rifles in my soft cases, (children)
I make sure that the cases are not wet and not to open them in the house until a few hours for ambient temps, unless wet.
I have no gun cabinet .
I haven't seen any problems yet.

Most sight in with the ammo they are going to hunt with.

Clean the barrel, then shoot 3 to 5 "fouling rounds".

Ready for that hunt......................!

Sorry to hear about that !

200 yards is neither long nor short range. If I expected a 200 yard shot I would hunt with a fouled barrel, but if it was just a remote possibility and most expected shots were 100 yards or less I would probably keep it clean.

Powder residue can hold moisture if you are in a humid area. Keeping it cased when you bring it in the house from the cold should help with condensation. Storing it is a soft case is not the best, but not too bad if the rifle is prepared for storage. Get the copper and carbon out of it, oil the barrel, and wipe it down and you should be just fine.

Bore snake.

i clean my gun if it is dirty wet or if i am bored i dont see much difference i know alot of people that dont clean there rifles till after deer season and that works great to but that is just one mans opinion and imo yes 200 yards is a far shot but can be done and is all the time just know how your rifle shoots and you will be fine

I agree with Sheridan I sight my rifle in taking more then 1 shot. Not worrying about getting 3 shots in a quarter with stock ammo. If I am out all day in the rain I will run a dry patch thru it to be safe against it pitting. After the season is over is when I will use the oil and bore cleaner to store. I understand the safety of kids around the house but find a storage place where they can't get to it. soft case is a pitted gun waiting to happen. I started out with soft cases due to being cheaper and not much know how to hunting. all my guns go in a hard 1 or 2 gun case for over 40 yrs. now.

Well the guns....
 

seem to last twenty and thirty years with a clean barrel; the deer don't.
But some folks have different ways.

Ethical range is different for different folks. Some one that only shoots 25 shots a year, range is shorter than some one that shoots a thousand or more shots a year.
Also a clean or fowled bore can depend on the gun it's self. I know how each and every one of my rifles and shot gins react to a dirty or clean bore.
A 7mm08 I own is the only one that needs a dirty bore as the first shot from a clean bore is a flyer. all the others like a squeaky clean bore. So range time isn't just for punching holes in paper at known yardages. A note book with how a rifle or shot gun(slugs) reacts to different conditions is a good idea.

:D Al

This is what you're up against. "Flyer" is pretty generic, but it obviously isn't on target with the rest of the shots. "1MOA" is pretty specific. Either case is pretty consistent with my experience as well.

If you're thinking 200yrds, that's a potential miss of 2". If you're ok with that, then clean the barrel and plan for that. I'd never hunt with a rifle knowing that it could be 2" off because of something I could control/fix. Would you sight in your rifle and leave it 2" off of center target? No, you'd adjust the scope to center. So if your rifle shoots 1MOA off of fouled bore when it's clean, or if the "first shot is a flyer," why would you take that chance?

"Fouling shots" are a pretty standard practice. A dry patch to knock out moisture after a humidity/temperature change won't really hurt anything (not super tight fitting), but will knock out condensation.

This is probably the most important thing. Some rifles (or some shooters) don't change POI enough to matter in terms of delivering a clean kill to 200yrds. Many rifles, however, DO change significantly. It doesn't take much effort to 'study' your rifle to see how the POI drifts when cleaned. Sight in, clean, take a shot, clean, take a shot... You'll see if it groups differently or not. Granted, if a guy is a 2MOA shooter with a 1/2MOA rifle that opens up to 1.5MOA, you won't likely see much if any change, but the end result - the ability to know where that bullet is going to print - will still be the same.

If I ever have a reason to clean during season, I take fouling shots to ensure I'm back at square one.

Old milsurps are notorious for this. They often have some pitting and fouling can help. For that matter, you could clean till kingdom come and never get some of them scrubbed out anyway.

i used to clean my rifle like always then run a dry patch to get the excess oil out then take a shot that's what you need to know as far as point of impact. then if it rains use one of those barrel cot's over the muzzle and that will keep your barrel dry and your shot should be the same on the first shot as before.