Author: britrifles
Subject: dirty bore accuracy?
Posted: July 25 2023 at 10:27am
That depends on the condition of the bore. One that is pitted might do better once a bit of copper fills in the pits. A new barrel will shoot better if kept relatively clean, and will foul less. On my shooter LE's with good barrels, I never see accuracy improve with fouling; I never take "fouling shots". My first shot with a cold clean bore goes right into the same group as the rest of the shots.
Subject: dirty bore accuracy?
Posted: July 25 2023 at 10:27am
That depends on the condition of the bore. One that is pitted might do better once a bit of copper fills in the pits. A new barrel will shoot better if kept relatively clean, and will foul less. On my shooter LE's with good barrels, I never see accuracy improve with fouling; I never take "fouling shots". My first shot with a cold clean bore goes right into the same group as the rest of the shots.
I clean the bore with regular powder solvent (like Hoppes 9) after every time I shoot a rifle. About every few hundred rounds, I will remove the copper if it builds up excessively. In my AR service rifle, I use JB about every 200-300 rounds on the first 8 inches of the barrel (from the breech end) to remove carbon buildup (because bullets are seated fairly close to the lands on that rifle and pressures can rise with carbon buildup). I JB the .30 Cal bores about every 500 rounds.
I know benchrest shooters are much more fastidious about cleaning the bore than service rifle shooters are. And, I have no doubt that was learned over many years of highly competitive shooting for the utmost in accuracy. But, the LE will never be a benchrest rifle, no matter how much you clean it. I believe you can actually "over clean" a service rifle barrel and wear it out unless you have very good cleaning equipment that prevents the rod from touching the bore. Benchrest barrels don't typically last very long at peak accuracy, but we expect 8 to 10,000 rounds from a .30 cal service rifle barrel (5-6,000 from a .223 service rifle barrel).
My recommendation is to clean after every time you shoot the rifle. Clean from the breech end using a rod guide. Avoid excessive bronze brushing and avoid dragging a brush back into the bore from the muzzle end. I use a parker hale type jag, 3x3 inch patch cut in half, Hoppe's 9 with a bit of Kroil added in to it. Let the bore soak overnight, this will dissolve some of the copper. Wipe clean with dry patch and reapply the Hoppe's and store muzzle down. Wipe bore and chamber with dry patch before shooting. Been working well for me for many years.
