just how CLEAN do you get your rifle barrel?

[flipper35]

Is it a different copper alloy in the non-lead round or why do they foul more than a copper jacketed round?

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by vash

you guys that dont over clean..

you shooting copper rounds?

i'm going to the rifle range thurs. i hope my cleaning regiment puts be back into the ballpark. at this point 1" MOA would make me fist pump the sky in happiness.

Mine are jacketed rounds. BTW a good friend who is really into shooting suggests Butches Bore Shine. I asked what he used for copper fouling. He swears by the stuff.

[vash]

Originally Posted by flipper35

Is it a different copper alloy in the non-lead round or why do they foul more than a copper jacketed round?

i asked the same question!!

apparently a solid monolithic slug is more solid and has less give, so it deposits more crap. that was what i was told. the lead ammo gives more, and i way more forgiving of a dirty barrel. all this is multiplied with the hyper fast stuff. my gun apparently shoots 3500fps+. so i was told it was going to be a problem. i dont know. i am learning as i go.

i'm thinking of dumping the damn thing and just buying a bread-butter 270 winchester. i am not sure i could endure the eye rolling from the lovely lady i married and live with.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by vash

i asked the same question!!

apparently a solid monolithic slug is more solid and has less give, so it deposits more crap. that was what i was told. the lead ammo gives more, and i way more forgiving of a dirty barrel. all this is multiplied with the hyper fast stuff. my gun apparently shoots 3500fps+. so i was told it was going to be a problem. i dont know. i am learning as i go.

i'm thinking of dumping the damn thing and just buying a bread-butter 270 winchester. i am not sure i could endure the eye rolling from the lovely lady i married and live with.

Not a bad idea, Vash. The .257 Weatherby is a very specialized round. Once you start getting up into its velocity range, regardless of caliber, the difficulties can mount very quickly. Using one for run of the mill deer hunting is like driving a GT3 RS to the grocery store. You would be far, far better off with Paul's old .257 Roberts if you like the .25 bore.

Seems a lot of modern shooters get caught up in the velocity and group size vortex. Impressive numbers are fun to brag about at the range and among shooting buddies. Fact of the matter is, though, there is no practical difference in the field that the vast majority of hunters can utilize, myself included. Something like a .257 Roberts, .270, .30-'06, .308, .280 Remington, or any of those "standard" calibers of .25 to .30 caliber and in the 2600-2800 fps range are extremely effective in the field and much easier to live with.

If you plan of traveling out of state, the more common the better. I well remember one heart-stopping moment in Alaska when I got to my hotel room and found no ammo in my gun case where I had left it - I had forgotten that some airline twit had made me remove it and put it in my other bag. So, that got me to thinking... "what if...". I checked the only store in Kotzebue to see what ammo they had - .223, .30-30, .30-06, and .375 H&H, which is what I had along. I would have been sunk if I had some unusual caliber and really had forgotten my ammo. Something to think about.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

More rifle barrels are ruined by cleaning than by shooting. Most folks vastly over-clean their rifles.

This. Although I'm inclined to think it's more a function of improper cleaning, and not just the cleaning schedule/interval.
Specifically, I think a lot of folks are not mindful of a barrel's crown. I've seen barrels with less than 100 rounds fired through them where the crown was visibly ruined.

Side note: You will never see a "clean" rifle bore on the firing line at a competitive bench-rest/accuracy shooting event.

Originally Posted by vash

i'm going to the rifle range thurs. i hope my cleaning regiment puts be back into the ballpark. at this point 1" MOA would make me fist pump the sky in happiness.

Many different methods no doubt, but here is a quick and dirty regimen that works for setting up a hunting rifle:

1. Clean bore of any visible/excess fouling. I prefer to use VFG felt pellets (1 caliber step oversize) instead of traditional patches/jags. Not a fan of brushes, but when absolutely necessary (heavy/stubborn fouling), stick with a quality bronze brush. Just don't reverse it in the bore or pull it back through, dragging the crown (remove the brush from the rod after it exits the muzzle, each time).
If you don't have one already, get yourself a quality coated ball-bearing cleaning rod (Dewey, etc.), and use a bore guide if possible.

2. Select ammo, and stick to it...preferably hand-loads, or at least same batch/lot if using factory stuff.

3. Inspect/confirm no mechanical issues on rifle that would impact accuracy (action/trigger issues, loose scope rings/base/mount, solid/intact stock bedding, etc.).
Also, if you are using cheap glass (or mount) that doesn't hold zero, you will be chasing your tail forever.

4. At the range: Remove any excess oil in the bore and fire a few fouling rounds to get "roughly" sighted in and let barrel cool completely (20-30min, depending on ambient temp). Then fire 1 cold-bore shot. adjust scope to zero on that shot's POI. Allow barrel to cool again, and fire another cold-bore shot to confirm zero. Repeat the cold-bore shot process and adjust scope until you are satisfied with POA/POI (then zero turrets, or record values if not adjustable). When finished, Your rifle should be GTG for the season, with no cleaning needed. This can take a while at the range, so it's usually prudent to bring other toys along to play with in between barrel cool-downs.

As always, YMMV!

[targa911S]

Some of my rifles, my .17HMR for example, actually shoot better dirty. I run a patch with clensoil thru them, then one pass with a brush then a couple patches and a mop with oil. Done.

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by vash

i'm thinking of dumping the damn thing and just buying a bread-butter 270 winchester.

If you want to cause a spat, go to any hunting website, and post that you are thinking of hunting elk with a .270.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

If you want to cause a spat, go to any hunting website, and post that you are thinking of hunting elk with a .270.

My old .257 Roberts took an elk...let 'em scream.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

My old .257 Roberts took an elk...let 'em scream.

My oldest son, who hunted with me from 12 years old until college life got in the way, is now going elk hunting with his fiancé's family. He'll be using his M70 in 6.5 Swede. I would love to see the looks on their faces...

The venerable old Swede is pretty much the standard moose round in the Scandinavian countries. We load it with the 158 grain Lapua round nose with a pretty stiff charge of Reloder 22 for about 2,450 fps. Pretty unimpressive numbers on paper, but its performance in the field is pretty darned impressive. I've hunted with the old Swede in a number of different rifles, with the latest being a little Ruger #1 Light Sporter. It will be my deer rifle this year.

[flipper35]

.22lr has poached a lot of deer. It isn't what you shoot as much as how you shoot and where you shoot it.

[pwd72s]

Well, I will confess that later on I did move up to a "bigger club" for Elk hunting. Just a Ruger M-77 in 7mm Rem. Mag. Topped with a Leupold 3-9 with duplex hairs.

Still have my favored factory ammo for it. Norma 150 grain soft point semi pointed boattail.

[Jeff Higgins]

Yeah, if I'm hunting a modern firearms season in any kind of somewhat open country, I grab one of my trusty .375 H&H mags. The 300 grain Sierra boat tail really has some long range punch, and it shoots as flat as a .270 or '06. If I'm in the woods, I'll grab my 1895 Marlin in .45-70, stoked with my own 410 grain hard cast bullets.

The key is bullet selection, regardless of caliber, but even more so with the lighter calibers. The old 6.5 Swede has a standard twist of 1 in 7.5", so it is meant to shoot the really long 160 grain round nose bullets. It would be a mistake to drop to a 120 or 140 grain spitzer, as all of the modern 6.5's have done. Great for deer, but not so much on elk. The sectional density of that long 160 grain bullet is what makes the little 6.5 Swede so impressive.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Hoppes #9 ....

I remember starting a thread about this....but I digress....

I don't think I've ever said it out loud, but in my mind, for over four decades it's been

Hops #9

Then I recently discovered it's really two syllables....

Hoppys #9

I don't get out much

Anyone else?