Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Question for the Experts: My 7x57 Only Shoots Well From a Dirty Barrel

My old .257 Roberts took about 9 rounds to shoot it's best. It's currently being rechambered to .25-06 so I guess it will still do it. This thread has just reminded me not to expect too much from the first groups.

It sounds as though your rifle's barrel has a "kink" in it that relaxes as it heats up. If you have access to a non-mannlicher style stock that fits your large ring Mauser 98 action, it would be interesting to see how it shoots hot/cold, clean/dirty, without the influence of the mannlicher stock and end cap on the barrel.

Mannlicher stocked rifles often benefit from having a neoprene "O"-ring installed between the barrel and the end cap. The neoprene is soft and cushions the contact between the barrel and the end of the stock and the steel end cap. I have seen barrels that would change POI as much as 6" when going from a cold to warm barrel.

Good luck!

Jeff

Do you mean the kind of O ring available at auto parts or plumbing stores?

My M70 .308 carbine prefers a dirty, fouled barrel. If I clean it, it takes a few rounds to settle back in.

Evan,

The problem is that you have a bad rifle.

There is no cure but because I'm a great guy,I'll take that nasty old gun off your hands.

It's the right thing to do.

Yes, I buy mine at Westlake True-Value hardware.

Remember that it needs to be soft neoprene, not hard rubber.

Jeff

I have a Remington Model 7 in 260. When I first bought it, it was shooting about 3" groups. I tried dozens of different loads and finally found that the 129gr. Hornady would really shoot. I thought I had a really finicky rifle until I tried some of the original loads and they shot almost as well. Come to find out I hadn't hit on the magic load, the barrel had just finally gotten fouled enough to shoot well. Needless to say I clean this rifle very sparingly.

Very common indeed, especially with a factory barrel..

I had a customer come in with a rifle that he complained was shooting poorly even though he 'kept it spotlessly clean'.. I told him to forget cleaning it and see what happens after it's had 30+ rounds down the bore.. A month or so later he came in with a smile on his face and said as soon as it got fouled up it began to shoot itty-bitty groups..

7x57 UPDATE:

After shooting this rifle without cleaning the bore the groups did tighten up a lot. The original problem persists though, and I see now that it puts a shot from a cold barrel about 2" higher than shots from a warm barrel. If I wait 15 minutes between shots, they all stay up there in a nice tight group. If I just keep shooting with a warm barrel I get nice tight groups a couple of inches lower.

Is there a cure for this? I know I can just sight in for a cold barrel, but it kind of defeats the purpose of having an accurate repeater, since my 2nd and 3rd shots will be off.

If it is only 2 inches higher I would not worry about it.Just take it into account before you shoot a cold barrel.With a cold barrel on a Deer size animal out to 200 yds., you are still right in the kill zone by holding dead center ,up & down!!!

Sporter weight rifles will frewquently do that, the barrels are fairly thin so they will heat up quickly and [bleep] within a few shots. This is not a target rifle, so just be aware of it and keep it in mind.

As for the cleaning, yes leave the bore anole unless you know water has been in there, but you should still wipe the exterior and keep the action clean.

As an example, when I shot my ARs, I will always clean and regrease the BCG, and scrub the chamber, but I leave the bore alone.

I would rather a rifle shoot only on a dirty barrel than only on a clean one. I leave my rifles barrels fouled and only clean them when accuracy goes away, every 40 rounds or so with factory barrels 70 more on custom tubes typically, you don't need to clean the barrel after each use

I'm going to try and find an O ring that I can fit at the end of the barrel, up against the end cap (of the mannlicher stock) as 260Remguy suggested. If I can get it between the end cap and the barrel I will, but I don't think there will be room. Maybe when the stock is off I can see if there is something obvious that might be having an effect on POI as the barrel warms up, like a splinter of wood or a high spot beneath the barrel somewhere. I guess it's not such a big deal to remind myself the the first shot or two will be a bit high. Thanks for all the great advice!

Not uncommon, just keep it fouled..I have a super accurate 30-06 that will spread its groups all over the target until I shoot about 50 or so rounds through it..then its a 1/2 to 1 inch gun..I never clean it unless it and on ocassions I drag bore snake through it. Like engwe, I foul all my rifles at the beginning of season by checking their zero and maybe working up some loads, then clean them after hunting season is over..

In your case it could be the inletting as full length stocks tend to move for a year or two, sometimes forever unfortunately, but that could be any stock wherein the wood was improperly cured.....

I would go through the inletting and put a little forend pressure on it, try it and if that didn't work. If not then I would free float it completely then check it and lastly I would glass bed it tight form one end to the other without using the screws and let the rifle take a set in the glass to anchors..The inletting has to be right before you do anything else. Once you get it shooting pretty good, say 2 inches consistently, then work on loads and bullets..With H414, I would just find a bullet it likes and see how that goes.

I think I will add my miracle cure to a persnicky rifle. take it to the next gun show and off it or you can rebarrel it...I like a rifle that shoots everything well and to the same POI or close from the start..A barrel will shoot or it won't is my opine..you can monkey with them, but you will never be completely satisfied with the trouble makers! IMO....:)

Yes, I have several of them...

[/quote]
I think I will add my miracle cure to a persnicky rifle. take it to the next gun show and off it or you can rebarrel it...I like a rifle that shoots everything well and to the same POI or close from the start..A barrel will shoot or it won't is my opine..you can monkey with them, but you will never be completely satisfied with the trouble makers! IMO....:) [/quote]

I know what you mean--there are guns that just shoot great no matter what you throw at them and then there are the ones that do not. I should just stick with the former, but somehow I get stuck on a rifle that just won't shoot right, but has the potential to be awesome--great caliber, lovely workmanship, perfect weight and balance, etc, etc. I guess that's why some guys marry models, and are miserable ever after...