barrel cleaning effects shooting

[golliej]

I've heard that cleaning the barrel will throw off your shot, is that true? Also, how do you clean a barrel on a muzzleloader. I mean eventually it probably needs cleaned somehow because all of the burnt gunpowder would build up in the bottom of the barrel. The bottom of the barrel is blocked off so you can't run a cleaning rod all the way through it? So how do you get the junk out of the bottom of the barrell periodically?

 

[patch knife]

I've heard that cleaning the barrel will throw off your shot, is that true? Also, how do you clean a barrel on a muzzleloader. I mean eventually it probably needs cleaned somehow because all of the burnt gunpowder would build up in the bottom of the barrel. The bottom of the barrel is blocked off so you can't run a cleaning rod all the way through it? So how do you get the junk out of the bottom of the barrell periodically?

OMG ! Clean that rifle NOW ! :shocked2: Whoever told you cleaning your rifle will throw off your shot is FOS and anything else they told you is probably wrong too . Muzzleloaders need to be cleaned ASAP after you're finished shooting . Search the forum for cleaning meathods , there is plenty of info on the subject .

 

[roundball]

When getting started in muzzleloadoing, a lot of it is so different from previous forms of shooting that you may have done, you can cause problems for yourself and damage to your rifle if you're not aware of some things ahead of time.
I'd strongly suggest spending some time reading the reference articals at the top of the Forum in the member resources category...specifically articles about cleaning, loading, shooting, etc.
This URL takes you right to the list of links to these excellent articles.
[url] http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/MLF_Links.php[/url]

 

[bob308]

well you are right a lot and wrong a little. i also shoot an m1 in 308 in centerfire matches. and the biggest problem is the barrel is fouled from copper and powder. the only way to get them to shoot is to clean them. but no the c-f barrels will not rust like a muzzle loader. they both need cleaned after shooting.

one time i bought a 92win. in 32-20. it looked like it had no bore in it. then the guy said he had fired a box of factory lead bullets throught it. i got it cheap took it home and gave it a good cleaning the bore looked like it was cut yeasterday. doubbled the price of the rifle with about 1/2 hour of cleaning.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

The technique I use when plinking (I use fairly light charge of powder) is a dry patch after every shot. I always hunt with a fouled barrel which I dry patch before loading hunting charge so I figger that is as close as I can get to a hunting shot. Clean barrel ASAP after shooting session, if not possible use BP solvent or Go-Jo white hand cleaner to swab barrel clean until you can do thorough clean with hot water. Some fellas have said windsheild washer fluid works well, I'm gonna try it sometime afield.

 

[brain]

but no the c-f barrels will not rust like a muzzle loader. they both need cleaned after shooting.

.

shoot some corrisive ammo out of that m1, you'll change your story quick.
it creates almost the exact same problems as uncleaned BP guns.

 

[strask]

MUFAN,

I agree with a lot of what has been said. Clean right away. As Roundball has said there is a lot of info here on how. As far as cleaning goes I have one gun in particular that will shoot 2" higher and about 2" left when clean. I have another that it does not matter hardly at all.

With that said I foul all my barrels before I hunt. I patch out the barrell to get any left over bore butter out then I fire a couple of caps. I then take about 30-40 grains of powder and drop it down the barrel. I then roll up two or three patches into a ball and seat the ball of patches on the powder. make sure it is on the powder or it will act as an obsruction. I then keep the gun pointed slightly up and shoot it. This fouls it enough to make my gun shoot right on. You will have to experiment a little to see if it will work for you. I also like the fact that I know my barrel is completly dry.

Good luck and have fun!!

Digger

 

[bob308]

yes you are right i forgot all about that one. but then the clean up is the same as for b-p. i grew up with the old surplus ammo. learned all about cleaning up after shooting. but then it was only 2.50 a 100 rounds from sears.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

but no the c-f barrels will not rust like a muzzle loader. they both need cleaned after shooting.

.

shoot some corrisive ammo out of that m1, you'll change your story quick.
it creates almost the exact same problems as uncleaned BP guns.

Ditto on that, and there is plenty of the 7.62 Nato and other corrosive ammo out there.

 

You have gotten a lot of excellent advise here, the bottom line of which is to clean that rifle now and use the hot water and soap in a bucket method. The only rifle I do not clean is my .17 HMR that I use for woodchucks. It is the only rifle I have ever had that needs to have a fouled bore to shoot well. And, brother, it does shoot well.

 

[AZ-Robert]

I've heard that cleaning the barrel will throw off your shot, is that true?

Yep... if by that you mean that the first shot through a clean, cold barrel will likely be in a different spot than one from a fouled barrel, or a warm one.

A perfect example is my 20 ga smoothbore. The first shot from a clean cold barrel will take the center right out of the bull's eye. By the fifth shot, she is putting them a little high and to the right. Don't ask me why there, but she is consistent.

What do I do about it? I leave the sight just like it is. If I'm hunting with round ball, say, for deer, the shot that counts will be the first from a clean, cold barrel, so I want her sighted in for that POI. If I'm punching targets, I aim center hold for the first few shots, then hold a little low and to the left for all that follow.

To get your rifle sighted in for that "clean, cold" shot, you will have to swab between shots as well as give the barrel time to cool off.

I suppose a fellow that did only target shooting would sight her in for the POI that results from a fouled warm barrel, and just start the day with a few "fouling shots" to get her shooting so POA and POI were lined up. A fellow that had a rifle sighted in that way would probably start a day of hunting by firing off a few shots to get his barrel fouled, then move to his hunting area.

Firing off black powder leaves behind a salty, corrosive residue that will rust out your barrel if it is not cleaned out. I clean my MLs as soon as I finish for the day, and sometimes during a session if the fouling makes it hard to load. Flushing the barrel out with water (plugging the vent, filling the barrel with water, then pouring it back out) is the way you get to that area at the breech end of the barrel, followed by swabbing with a patch, etc. See the links Roundball recommended for more info.

 

[ronrryan]

Sometimes target shooters will shoot a "fouling shot" before shooting for score. But when hunting, it is usually good to know what will happen with the first shot from a cold, clean, freshly loaded barrel. It is hard to begin blackpowder shooting without an experienced shooter to give you advice, but you have found the right forum to get help. Most folks , as you have seen, would advise you to very thoroughly clean your gun after every shooting session, or risk serious degradation of the bore from corrosive residues. You will learn to love it! Good smoke, ron in FL

 

[bob308]

i think there may be some confusion. i was stating that both barrels need to be cleaned after shooting. alot of people think because it is smokless it will not cause the barrel to rust so it does not need to be cleaned. excluding corrosive primers they still need cleaned because of the copper left in the barrel.

back when i worked on guns the biggest thing i did was to clean them that fixed most of the problems.

 

[golliej]

How do you "foul" the barrel? is that the same thing as "dry patching" it?

 

[paulvallandigham]

The fouling occurs with the gun is fired, either with blank charges or with a projectile in front of the powder. When we talk about fouling the gun, people do it by either firing a black charge, or shooting a shot into the backstop at a range, in a safe, and often designated location for such shots.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Fouling is not the same as " dry patching". Dry patching is simply running a dry patch down the bore of the gun with your rod and jag. Its usually done after the fouling has been first removed with a slightly dampened patch, either with spit, or a cleaning fluid. The dry patch " Dries " the barrel of moisture from that first patch, so you don't foul the powder with moisture when you dump down the next load in the barrel. The damp patch helps to extinguish any burning embers from the last shot that may still be in the barrel, and serves that safety precaution as well as removing any dried or caked on fouling in the bore.