Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles I was amazed

Talking with various hunters over the past several years I was amazed/supprised how many of them clean a barrel, run a few dry patchs through the barrel and take it deer hunting. <P>Once I have practiced shooting for the purpose of deer hunting I clean the bore, dry it, then go shoot 2 or 3 rounds a couple days before the season. I have never used a clean bore to go hunting (deer). <P>Just curious: Do you use a clean bore for the purpose of big game hunting or do you shoot a few rounds first then go hunting?<P>Don

Don - put me in the clean bore camp, not for any good reason except circumstance! I usually get the gun sited in, either shotgun or rifle depending on what state I am going to hunt, then clean it and have it ready to go the first morning. If I am travelling some distance or I have any question about the sight in being off, I will run a few shells thru the gun, then usually use a bore-snake to clean the barrel and be ready for the first day of hunting. I don't really know why I like to have the bore clean, a few rounds certainly won't make a difference. Good question though!<P>Doug

I work at my range each year for sight in days and I always recommend to the people I help to fire a round or two into the ground or a target after cleaning and before going out hunting. Some rifles will shoot to the same POI with a clean, oiled barrel, but I have found that more often than not the clean barrel won't shoot the same as a fouled bore- sometimes the difference is significant, as much as a 2 or 3 inches at 100 yards until it settles down. Of course, for the most part, we are preaching to the choir here but if some of you haven't tried this experiment with a few of your rifles, you might not know or believe the difference in POI.- Sheister

I have a varmit rifle and a slug gun that definitely benefit from shooting a couple fouling shots. In my experience rimfires are less temperamental in this department. Also, it is no big deal to run a few rounds through a .22.<BR> This can be a pain in the rear when I hunt several times per week in the winter and want to remove condensation from the bore when I bring the rifle into the house.

Don- I agree with you and Sheister. I will always shoot a cleaning shot when sighting my guns in. That frist shot will be several inches off. Good shooting. Bob

I always make sure that I have a bore that has had several rounds thru it before hunting.<P>Clean bores do not shoot in the same place as dirty ones.<BR>

It seems that accurate shooting enthusiasts feel cleaning the bore of your firearm is absolutely necessary prior to shooting it. They then fire their firearm 2 to 3 times before making any serious shots to see how accurate it appears. I check the bore prior to firing it. If its appears dirty, I clean it. If I store the firearm for any length of time I clean the firearm to prevent any rust.<BR>If I were serious about winning a shooting match I would follow the advice of the experts and clean the bore after every five rounds. It all depends on how accurate you want your firearm to be.

I have noticed that when I borescope my rifles at home prior to shooting at the range, my first shot is always slightly off. <P>After the first group of 3 shots, I'm able to sight in and shoot all day knowing that POI will be the same (assuming shooting the same type of ammo). <P>So, it makes sense to shoot a couple of rounds thru one's rifle BEFORE going after game.

know your gun and ammo, most of my guns are diffrent and react diffrently to diffrent ammo, I have a 270 win that need no fouling shots, and have a 7mm rem mag that would do better with a few, bottom line is take the gun out and shoot it and see what it will do, I do not own a gun that i can not clean today and run a dry patch down the barrel after i clean it and not hit with in a few inchs of the target, fouling shots have no purpose for me but then again i do not try to shoot pennys at 200 yards either.<P>i shoot my guns year round and when i decide on the gun i will use for a hunt I try to stick to one ammo and take all my guns out and they are always cleaned after i shoot them and dry patched after barrel is cleaned then i take a few drops of break free on a patch and run it threw the bore followed by a dry patch, none of my guns throw flyers 7" off of target.<P>simple thing to do is clean the gun take it out and shoot it and note what the first 3 shots will do, if you have to shoot more then 3 times then chances are the animal is long gone anyway, if you can group all 3 rounds in a 2" group it is good enough for hunting, if you cannot then you might be better off doing a few fouling shots and try it again and if you can group with in a 2" group now there is your answer use a few fouling shots.

I ALWAYS shoot a few foulers. But an Exception!!! My Rem700ML shoots best with clean barrel. I mean real clean, plus a slight wiping of Borepaste on a rag, followed with a slightly soaked alcohol rag. Its that touchey-honest. Guess thats best, else it'd rust pretty bad huh?

This is my final effort on this, but it seems that you do not have to "foul" the bore if you use colloidal graphite.<P>For the final time, I have absolutely no financial interest in this product, it just seems like an interesting idea worthy of further exploration. I will supply further information by email if anyone is interested.

I always hunt with a fouled bore. Some of my guns don't care much, but I don't like taking chances. I just run a dry patch through them after my last shooting session, and go to it. Never had one rust on me. E.

DonK, I'm not comfortable hunting without a fouled bore. My freshly-cleaned, oiled bore put my .270 Win 130 grainer a couple inches higher than it should have been at 100 yds. Maybe a fluke, but I'll continue to foul with a couple shots.<P><BR>Best of luck, Talus

Donny;<BR>I see your yet another who have left the "cackle hatch" over at shooters.<P>Anyways, as to your question, isn't the blaze orange lint, and the closet dust in the barrel enough dirt? Why take a couple of shots to make it dirtier?<BR>(nudge nudge - smile)<BR>As for hunting, where MOW, (minute of whitetail) is all that is required, I head to the woods with a fresh bore.<BR>Exception- The smoke pole, I always fire a few caps prior to loading for the woods. <P>------------------<BR>Lest not we forget, America is a Republic, NOT a democracy. Learn the difference, spread your knowledge, help end the lie. Fear a government that fears your guns.

Depends really.<BR>CCB(clean cold bore)POI shifts differently with different rifles.My .338GT for all intents and purposes has no shift so it dosn't matter.My M94 Swede however gets 3 rounds off of the back porch before I put it in the gunsafe after a cleaning!<BR>I suppose I am a sick lump cuz I keep CCB dope for all my rifles with externally adj. sight systems.<BR>My Bisley .44 however is a 1st camp hunter.<BR>Put a critter under the crosshair and CCB or DCB don't matter.I'm vibrating too much to worry about such nuances!!!!<BR>Good thread!<BR>E4E

I have a M1917 Enfield in a Bishop stock with and old Weaver 4X scope on it, which I bought about 35 years ago at a gunshow, sitting by the back door. When I see a deer in one of my fields, it goes in the freezer. In that 35 years, I may have re-set the scope a couple of times, maybe cleaned the bore a couple of times (still shiny) and have killed upwards of 50 deer with this rifle. Never missed a shot. So much for cleaning the bore.

Count me as a clean bore starter, but I KNOW where my first shot is going. Each time to the range the first shot is where I make notes on that particular rifle's impact IF it is different than the regular group. IF not clean bore it is, IF it is significantly different (more than 3 inches at 100 yds, as I don't shoot deer more than 100 yards away, I am good.) I shoot a fouler and leave at that.

I shoot with a CCB, but i know where my shots will go on my guns. I have taken the time to see where the gun shoots and i usually sight in for the first shot. On most of my guns it doesnt matter. It all hits close and within a reasonable range it wont matter on a deer. I do like to always know where my bullet is going though.

I'm with the sick lump. Know your rifle. My Sendero has no measurable POI change with a clean bore as opposed to a fouled bore. My Model 7, however, really needs a few fouling shots to be consistant. It will let a few fliers go for about 5 shots before it settles in. badger.<P>------------------<BR>Keep the traditions alive, take your child hunting.....