Cooking a round?

[Eric Leonard]

Frankie yesterday at Dry Branch we had a fun match instead of the UBR. We shot 200 yard UBR targets at 300 meters ,, we shot 5 bulls for score and a 5 shot group on bull #6.

On the last target I shot 23 rounds on the score part ,so my barrel was pretty warm when I started the group. The first 4 went pretty good and right as I was about to shoot the last shot the wind switched and I stopped and waited for it to come back. I’d guess it had been 2 minutes or maybe longer with the round in the chamber when I shot the last shot.
Live and learn I guess. lol

The two groups before that one when I got all 5 off without stopping


I wound up with a 25 shot Agg of .891 at 300 meters at Dry Branch.

 

[Schippergreg]

I often remove a round when I’m forced to hit the brakes. I run quite a bit of neck tension on my ppc’s and have never stuck a bullet. Depending on the barrel I’m typically.009-.012 into the lands from touch.

 

[jimmymac]

Frankie yesterday at Dry Branch we had a fun match instead of the UBR. We shot 200 yard UBR targets at 300 meters ,, we shot 5 bulls for score and a 5 shot group on bull #6.

On the last target I shot 23 rounds on the score part ,so my barrel was pretty warm when I started the group. The first 4 went pretty good and right as I was about to shoot the last shot the wind switched and I stopped and waited for it to come back. I’d guess it had been 2 minutes or maybe longer with the round in the chamber when I shot the last shot.
Live and learn I guess. lolView attachment 1595950

The two groups before that one when I got all 5 off without stopping
View attachment 1595953View attachment 1595954

I wound up with a 25 shot Agg of .891 at 300 meters at Dry Branch.

That is some good shooting. Do you think the cooked round made the difference or is it possible you missed something or a combination of the above? That last one more
than doubled the group size. That is still some good shooting.

 

[Eric Leonard]

That is some good shooting. Do you think the cooked round made the difference or is it possible you missed something or a combination of the above? That last one more
than doubled the group size. That is still some good shooting.

That range is hard to read but my flags were the same. It very well could have been something I didn’t see in the conditions but I’ll sure try and remember not to let a round sit in there like that again.

 

[jimmymac]

Thanks Eric. Good info.

 

[Ryan M.]

I never remove it. I am so far into the lands that removing it is a recipe for disaster.

So what do you do when the range officer calls a cease fire?

 

[TylerFromMS]

So what do you do when the range officer calls a cease fire?

Shoot anyway because I have music playing through my ear pro and don’t hear them.

 

[BoydAllen]

During your string of shooting and you have a wind change or something that causes you to stop shooting do leave that round in and fire it for a sighter or when the conditions come back just shoot? How long will you leave it in a hot chamber?

I always load so that if I need to pull a chambered round I know that the bullet will not stick. Back in the day, shooting 133 in a .262 neck 6ppc, with .003 neck tension, I found that as long as my round was loaded .003 or more shorter than jam, that I was not going to pull a bullet. This was with FB bullets and at least .130 of bullet in the neck. The best way to learn about cooking off is to experiment during practice, in good conditions. Some powders are more temperature sensitive than others. IMO if you resist doing easy tests, preferring to ask others when you could easily test for your self, you might want to reconsider that. All of the serious shooters that I have known have invariably done their own testing.

 

[WyleWD]

So what do you do when the range officer calls a cease fire?

Good question. This is a question that should be covered in the shooter's meeting before the match, if not, ask the RO what to do if you have a round in the chamber and the bolt down on it. I've seen shooters DQ'd on the spot for firing after immediately after ceace fire is called, and some will ask you to fire (or dump it in the sighter target). Never assume. JME. WD

 

[jimmymac]

So what do you do when the range officer calls a cease fire?

Cease fire almost never happens prior to the time limit. The time limit is also counted down so you know where you stand. If something comes up during the match, it could be an issue but a good match director can use his discretion and let the guys who have live ammo in the chamber fire their guns.

 

[AlNyhus]

So what do you do when the range officer calls a cease fire?

In registered NBRSA or IBS competition, if an emergency cease fire is called, competitors can clear their guns by firing if they choose to not eject it. -Al

 

[majohnson]

Temp sensitive powder would make a difference. The one thing to consider, if you pull a round you need to know that you won’t be dumping a bunch of powder in your trigger and action. I would say try not to chamber the round until the very last second. I noticed it in a friend I shot with using Rutumbo it would take him sometimes as much as 3 minutes plus to line up a shot.

 

[mauser284]

I have never cooked off a round in a bolt action rifle in my life.

I have not cooked off a round in a semi-auto although it can be done you normaly have to be doing something kind of stupid like a burn down type test's you see on Youtube with people trying to destroy cheap AR's!

Now once you get into a machine gun it is easy to do. A closed bolt gun normaly is more prone to it but it happens on open bolt guns as well. On a closed bolt gun remove magazine first and then clear the chamber. on an open bolt gun pull the bolt back and lock it to the rear then remove magazine or belt etc.....Dropping the mag on an open bolt gun with round in the chamber can cause it to fire even with out cook-off concerns!

A brass cartridge has almost no power when it cooks off outside of a chamber. While it scare the crap out of you? Yes! Will the bullet hit you it could but it will not have enough power to do more than bruise you.

Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction as well!

 

[Shooter13]

I have never cooked off a round in a bolt action rifle in my life.

I have not cooked off a round in a semi-auto although it can be done you normaly have to be doing something kind of stupid like a burn down type test's you see on Youtube with people trying to destroy cheap AR's!

Now once you get into a machine gun it is easy to do. A closed bolt gun normaly is more prone to it but it happens on open bolt guns as well. On a closed bolt gun remove magazine first and then clear the chamber. on an open bolt gun pull the bolt back and lock it to the rear then remove magazine or belt etc.....Dropping the mag on an open bolt gun with round in the chamber can cause it to fire even with out cook-off concerns!

A brass cartridge has almost no power when it cooks off outside of a chamber. While it scare the crap out of you? Yes! Will the bullet hit you it could but it will not have enough power to do more than bruise you.

Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction as well!

You have misread my post, I'm talking about when shooting in competition, say you've shot 4 shots and you need to shoot one more, you have loaded the round in the chamber that is hot from shooting foulers and the sighters and the target, you have to wait to shoot that last shot because conditions have changed. Do you let it set in the chamber for 30 seconds or until your condition comes back (that you shot the 4 in) or do you pull the round and shoot another one without letting it set in the chamber.

 

[Chilly807]

If a long wait time in a hot barrel changes your point of impact, then you need to remove the loaded round and either change it or let it cool off if that's an option. That's something you need to test yourself.

As to firing a round without express RO permission after he or she calls a cease fire .. that'll get you not only DQ'd but probably banned at any range I've ever shot at.