First Shot From Lightly Oiled Barrel

[Picher]

However it strikes me that the vibration amplitudes would be 360 degrees around the barrel rather than just vertical, so the the variation may be in any direction.

Yes, barrel vibrations occur in most directions, but, by far, the greatest vibration amplitude is vertical.

 

[Picher]

I live in the country & some shots are targets of opportunity. Is there a remedy (other than aiming lower) when you don't have time to swab the barrel?

A pressure pad in the forend can dampen barrel vibrations somewhat, putting the first shot closer to the rest, but that usually makes the POI affected more by various holds and rests...and wooden stocked rifles, to seasonal changes in humidity.

Stainless barrels are less subject to pitting when left unprotected; however, I still don't like my CF ones left dirty.

 

[Erno86]

If you plan to discharge your shotgun...make sure that you do not cover the muzzle with tape, balloons, condoms, etc --- cuz the barrel may burst.

 

[RC20]

Absent really wet weather, I've rarely cleaned a rifle during the two-month Texas deer hunting season. Never had any rust problems. Basically a dry bore after checking my sight-in ahead of the season.

Art, I had to laugh, Texas is hot and dry and you can get away with that!

None of the gun shops in South East Alaska (panhandle) sell anything other than stainless with synthetic stocks anymore). I lived there when I was a kid and we did fine but they were all short hunts.

On the other hand I never hunted with a clean gun, do the confirmation shots for correct POI and left them as were (I would have oiled the bore if I was going to hunt wet weather for any time but never had to do that

 

[reynolds357]

erno 86, Tape? maybe. A balloon or condom? It would have to be a very, very, very, sub standard shotgun.

 

[Jeff H]

The competition guys would never shoot out of a clean oiled barrel. Why would you do so for hunting?

 

[btmj]

The competition guys would never shoot out of a clean oiled barrel. Why would you do so for hunting?

It depends on where you hunt, and at what range. If you are hunting whitetails in heavy brush, in a steady 34 degree rain with fog and mist for several days... that oil film in the barrel will help prevent (but not stop) corrosion... and since it is heavy brush, with rain and fog, the longest shot you are likely to make is 80 yards... even a 2 MOA error is meaningless on deer at 80 yards. In Missouri woods, deer are taken at an average range of 50 yards. My cousin just took one at 15 yards a few weeks ago.

A 300 yard shot on pronghorn? well that is different.

 

[Old Grump]

I zero my hunting rifle with the first 3 shots from a cold clean barrel so what I shoot in the bush is already taken into account. Since my country is known for cold wet and sloppy I prefer a protected barrel.

 

[arizona98tj]

During my first precision rifle course (that is the politically correct name for it), we spent time documenting the following in our log books:

1. clean cold bore shots
2. fouled cold bore shots

If you have a good rifle, and your cleaning method is consistent, the above data points are repeatable. This means you can adjust for the shot and ensure a first round hit. The cold bore shot, whether clean or fouled, is the most important shot, IMO.

 

[Orion6]

My Savage 10 doesn't shoot lights out until I have a few fouling shots through it.

I fire 5 or so shots at the range and leave it fouled through deer season (unless it gets dunked or dirty of course).

Some rifles just shoot better with a fouled barrel. They're all unique.

 

[midlifecrisis]

I've heard stories of guys leaving the black plastic muzzle covers the army uses on when they fire their M-16's at the range. Nothing happens except they get chewed out by the Range Officer.

 

[solocam72]

After I clean my barrel thorough I dry it out and try to foul shoot it a couple times to prevent rust, I have NEVER trusted the oily patch thru the barrel, a good friend of mine that owns and operates Bench Mark Barrels told me one of the worst messes he ever tried to clean out of a barrel was one that had rem oil in it and they shot it with the oil in the barrel instead of drying it out with clean patches, he said it took for ever to get that barrel clean (down to metal) the rem oil in particular seemed to carmelize in the barrel after fired through it, there's a pic of him somewhere on the net trying to scrub that junk out! They build custom high end barrels and hold some records with there barrels, I took his advise to heart and have NEVER left oil in my barrel or shot with it in there! To each his own