stagpanther
New member
This is one that is in the "very controversial" column; shooters tend to ardently stick to one opinion or the other on this. Basically, it comes down to "should I clean the bore of all copper--or should I let it foul in so it 'hits the sweet spot.'"
A lot of barrels that "just don't shoot right anymore" in my community end up in my hands. These are often older guns--but sometimes brand new ones as well--that seem to randomly spray the shots even with ammo that formerly was a tack-driver.
A high percentage of the time the bores are simply so fouled that there is little chance of the bullet exiting the muzzle well balanced. There could be a myriad number of reasons why some bores accumulate copper and carbon faster than others, my observations have been that a barrel that must foul-in in order to shoot well is really just a compensation for a bore that is either not consistent in concentricity and well-finished-- or has been shot past its prime. Top-quality match grade barrels rarely foul as quickly or as badly as OEM rifles.
Hunters are the ones most prone to "leave it alone and let it foul in" and there's something to be said for that considering that over the course of the year many of them will probably only put a few bullets down the bore. Problem is, I've never met one that knows approximately how many shots from a clean bore it takes to achieve "sweet spot accuracy" nor at what point should they expect the shots to randomly disperse widely.
I'm of the camp of keep the bore immaculately clean after every shooting if the barrel is still in good shape. A truly excellent barrel I've found will often shoot perfectly off a clean cold bore but in general I'll take one or two foulers--mostly to burn off residual cleaner/lubricant that remains in the bore.
I've cleaned a lot of bores that had a year, sometimes years, of copper and carbon accumulation; in almost every case the process of pitting and erosion had started at the bore steel and copper interface. It often has the appearance of little holes with snaky trails between them--like ant trails you see when turning over a large rock in miniature.
A lot of barrels that "just don't shoot right anymore" in my community end up in my hands. These are often older guns--but sometimes brand new ones as well--that seem to randomly spray the shots even with ammo that formerly was a tack-driver.
A high percentage of the time the bores are simply so fouled that there is little chance of the bullet exiting the muzzle well balanced. There could be a myriad number of reasons why some bores accumulate copper and carbon faster than others, my observations have been that a barrel that must foul-in in order to shoot well is really just a compensation for a bore that is either not consistent in concentricity and well-finished-- or has been shot past its prime. Top-quality match grade barrels rarely foul as quickly or as badly as OEM rifles.
Hunters are the ones most prone to "leave it alone and let it foul in" and there's something to be said for that considering that over the course of the year many of them will probably only put a few bullets down the bore. Problem is, I've never met one that knows approximately how many shots from a clean bore it takes to achieve "sweet spot accuracy" nor at what point should they expect the shots to randomly disperse widely.
I'm of the camp of keep the bore immaculately clean after every shooting if the barrel is still in good shape. A truly excellent barrel I've found will often shoot perfectly off a clean cold bore but in general I'll take one or two foulers--mostly to burn off residual cleaner/lubricant that remains in the bore.
I've cleaned a lot of bores that had a year, sometimes years, of copper and carbon accumulation; in almost every case the process of pitting and erosion had started at the bore steel and copper interface. It often has the appearance of little holes with snaky trails between them--like ant trails you see when turning over a large rock in miniature.
