Barrel Fouling

[rkittine]

I am about to show my ignorance. I am new to precision Long Range Shooting. I have been reading through some posts on Barrel Fouling, initially thinking that the subject would be how bad the accuracy got as the barrel got dirty, i.e. fouled. But, in reading through the posts, it at least sounds like you need to dirty it up in order to get it to shoot well on any given day.

I am used to shooting with a clean gun. Can someone explain the concept here or point me in the right direction as to where to read up on this?

Tony Boyer's book The Book of Rifle Accuracy seems to talk about shooting a clean barrel and then re-cleaning after no more than 20 rounds, which seems to me to mean that it shoots better clean.

Thanks , Bob

 

[Tim Singleton]

Most long range and short range shooter look at barrel cleaning differently.
TB shoots short range 100-200 yards. These matches allow enough time between relays to clean your rifle and to load ammunition for the next relay and make any load changes you feel the conditions warrant.
Most guys shoot one to two rounds through this clean barrel to Foul it after cleaning.
A spanking clean barrel will most times print in a slightly point than after its had a couple fouling rounds fired.
long range shooters don't tend to clean as often as short range. But I believe the one to two fouling shots after cleaning to settle things down are the same

 

[rkittine]

Thanks Tim ...... I have a lot to learn. Bob

 

[LHSmith]

In addition to what Tim said, the smaller bores 22 and 6mm tend to foul more than larger calibers. Case in point- in short range Score competition the 30 cal. rules and most will clean the rifle at the agg midpoint ~30 rounds....or not until the end of the day. I believe the fouler shot(s) not only condition the bore by laying down a layer of powder fouling which reduces friction, but also warms the barrel above ambient which helps benefit accuracy.