Quick barrel cooling...yes or no?

[BenPerfected]

Here is a rig I used to cool the barrel PD Hunting. Savage 22-250.View attachment 1111400

If anyone is interested in this rig, send me a PM as I am no longer a PD shooter.
Ben

 

[DaveTooley]

I've been using ice water since about 1980. Go to a NAPA auto parts store and get what is best described as the old red rubber bulb we used to put acid in car batteries. Spring for the good one not the cheap plastic Walmart kind. I finally had to replace my 39 year old one and I extended the snout with a piece of water line. draw water from your drink cooler, run it down the barrel. Push the water out with a patch, quick clean, dry chamber and I'm back shooting in less than 5 minutes. It's the only way to shoot a hunting rifle in the summer. And from a practical sense it does extend barrel life. There is no need to shoot the barrel when it's overly hot.
I've had steam coming out the muzzle on occasion and was never concerned. It would take a belt fed machine gun to get a barrel hot enough to do damage with water. Now nitrided AR barrels that are screaming hot might be different.

 

[rwj]

Does it look like this?View attachment 1111387
Looks like my lady drank all the beer agian!

That’s great news... means we ought to be seeing more stock pictures again!

 

[T-shooter]

I would never pour cold water into a hot barrel. The thermal shock can micro crack the surface of the metal. It's best to use air. A 12V pump and a battery pack will last you all day. 60 seconds of air is about the same as 5 minutes convection cooling (muzzle up and bolt open). A good judge of temperature is "can you hold the barrel without getting burnt?" That should be 90° to 110°. I use a high volume low pressure air pump and blow air from the bolt to the muzzle. A small 12v battery pack works well or if you are close to your vehicle, a power cord off the battery. Sometimes even more important, a "Shooter Cooler". A small fan that runs off the same power source and makes shooting more enjoyable in hot weather. I use a Coleman pump. They also offer one just like it with an internal rechargeable battery but I don't know how long it would last. Walmart has both for $17.99 ea. The rechargeable pump would be a lot less to carry around if that's important.

 

[284winner]

I've used cool packs. The kind the Dr gives you to ice an injury. They almost freeze but are very flexible. Can form them to barrel length wise and only takes two to cool down a barrel rapidly. I have 12 packs but only have needed 6 at any one shooting session. Can use two about 3 different times to cool a barrel.

 

[hogpatrol]

At the range, It takes some time but I remove the bolt and stand the rifle in the rack or use this setup. It's an air mattress pump, tygon tubing and a self made receiver adapter.
A cleaning rod guide will also work.

 

[AckleymanII]

I would never pour cold water into a hot barrel. The thermal shock can micro crack the surface of the metal. It's best to use air. A 12V pump and a battery pack will last you all day. 60 seconds of air is about the same as 5 minutes convection cooling (muzzle up and bolt open). A good judge of temperature is "can you hold the barrel without getting burnt?" That should be 90° to 110°. I use a high volume low pressure air pump and blow air from the bolt to the muzzle. A small 12v battery pack works well or if you are close to your vehicle, a power cord off the battery. Sometimes even more important, a "Shooter Cooler". A small fan that runs off the same power source and makes shooting more enjoyable in hot weather. I use a Coleman pump. They also offer one just like it with an internal rechargeable battery but I don't know how long it would last. Walmart has both for $17.99 ea. The rechargeable pump would be a lot less to carry around if that's important.
View attachment 1111423

standard room temp water works just fine! Room temp down the barrel will cool the barrel in 8 oz of water. I have Hart barrels on their third set back, still shooting in the 2's, and hawkeye bore scope does not lie about the surface condition at 25X.

Cooling with water is NOT a mess, quick, and easy with longer shooting strings.

I need to make a You tube video. I would be shocked if the entire process takes 3 minutes.

 

[T-shooter]

standard room temp water works just fine! Room temp down the barrel will cool the barrel in 8 oz of water. I have Hart barrels on their third set back, still shooting in the 2's, and hawkeye bore scope does not lie about the surface condition at 25X.

Cooling with water is NOT a mess, quick, and easy with longer shooting strings.

I need to make a You tube video. I would be shocked if the entire process takes 3 minutes.

I never tried water so I have no personal experience with it. I have used air for several years with good results. I will try to do a timed temperature test with and without air in hot weather as soon as the mud dries up at my range.

 

[Ned Ludd]

At the range, It takes some time but I remove the bolt and stand the rifle in the rack or use this setup. It's an air mattress pump, tygon tubing and a self made receiver adapter.
A cleaning rod guide will also work.

This is exactly what I use. It's not as fast as water might be, but there's nothing to clean up or that requires patches to get out. The air mattress blower will cut the normal 15 to 20 minute cool down time to about 5 minutes or so.

Although I have no doubt it works, I can think of a few reasons beyond the requirement for running patches why water inside the barrel might not be my first choice. First, water will remove carbon/fouling fairly effectively, especially from a hot barrel. That means every time you cool the barrel, you're also starting over again with a relatively clean bore. It wouldn't touch any copper fouling, but bore would no longer be fouled the same way. Second, the use of cold water would be analogous to actually chilling ammo below ambient temperature in a cooler. If you live in an area that's hot and humid, as I do, a cool or even cold barrel will condense moisture out of the air very rapidly on a hot, humid day. Whether it's moisture in the bore or on the outside of chilled ammo, this is potentially no different from exposing your ammo to rain during a match - something I'd rather not do.

He hasn't chimed in here as yet, but I have seen Erik Cortina describe his method for cooling down a hot barrel elsewhere. It involves the use of soaking wet towels, but on the outside of the barrel.

 

[rogina]

I've used rubbing alcohol on a small hand towel. Apply to the outside of the barrel via the towel; the quick evaporation of the alcohol draws heat out of the barrel pretty quickly.

I'm sure it's nothing like pouring water down the tube though.

Why does most everyone pour the water down the bore? I just pour the cold water on the outside. I have been doing it for over 40 years to stainless barrels and it does not hurt them a bit.

 

[284winner]

This is exactly what I use. It's not as fast as water might be, but there's nothing to clean up or that requires patches to get out. The air mattress blower will cut the normal 15 to 20 minute cool down time to about 5 minutes or so.

Although I have no doubt it works, I can think of a few reasons beyond the requirement for running patches why water might not be my first choice. First, water will remove carbon/fouling fairly effectively, especially from a hot barrel. That means every time you cool the barrel, you're also starting over again with a relatively clean bore. It wouldn't touch any copper fouling, but bore would no longer be fouled the same way. Second, the use of cold water would be analogous to actually chilling ammo below ambient temperature in a cooler. If you live in an area that's hot and humid, as I do, a cool or even cold barrel will condense moisture out of the air very rapidly on a hot, humid day. Whether it's moisture in the bore or on the outside of chilled ammo, this is potentially no different from exposing your ammo to rain during a match - something I'd rather not do.

He hasn't chimed in here as yet, but I have seen Erik Cortina describe his method for cooling down a hot barrel elsewhere. It involves the use of soaking wet towels, but on the outside of the barrel.

His method works great. Ice water down the towels and put them in a cooler. Put the used towels in the cooler when done. They re-chill and work again and again. That idea helped me decide on the cooler packs. Never knew who came up with the towel idea but it works.

 

[Flyshooter]

Unless your shooting a 50 BAR in full auto mode it's not possible or nearly impossible to get a bolt action rifle hot enough to damage the barrel inside or out by appling water to it.

Worked in drill manufacturing plant for 19 years, heat treated many types of tool steel I know a thing or two about whats hot and what's harding or tempering hot.

Unless your dressed in Mylar your not going to be happy being around a barrel size piece of steel hot enough to be shock quenched by adding water.

What works the best when shooting praire dogs is a windshield reservoir, get one from a salvage yard. Couple of feet of wire, two gator clips and a simple switch. Attach wire to clips, break one side with a switch, clamp clips to the truck battery.

Place a few feet of hose on the output spout, hold rifle muzzle down over reservoir opening place rubber hose in chamber. Flip the switch.....cool barrel in about 60 seconds. Few dry patches down bore, dry the chamber, commence shooting......repeat as necessary.

 

[AckleymanII]

This issue is like trying to convince the people in the 1300's that the world is not FLAT!

 

[people]

I use a funnel with a small chunk of plastic tubing and then just poor water down the barrel. I just let it flow to the ground. Then just wipe it out with a patch or two.

You can use the rags that are wet and that drape them over the barrel but that does not work with an AR-15 or an eliso tube gun.

 

[TAJ45]

This issue is like trying to convince the people in the 1300's that the world is not FLAT!

Well, OK but only if you say so. I still think Nessie and Big Foot are an "item".
Nay sayers are going to, well, say "Nay".

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

I use two different methods for cooling barrels. First one I used was a Caldwell fan made to insert into the magazine well. I attach a hose to it and insert in into the breech. The newest method I am using is a Ryobi 18 volt fan. this sucker really blows a lot of air and cools the barrel in any weather.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HMJSJK4/?tag=accuratescom-20

 

[Rustystud]

I recomend getting a cylinder of nitrogen gas at your welding supply. A quick shot of nitrogen gas will both cool your barrel and dry your barrel. have a hose and valve on the bench. you don't even have to get up off your butt and the rifle stays in your rest.

 

[Straightshooter1]

Here's the cooling fan (plus battery pack) I use here in AZ, and it does a decent job. Though, it's definitely not as quick at cooling as running a cool liquid through the barrel.

 

[ronsatspokane]

For those familiar with the technique of shrinking metal to pop dents in automobiles, a can of your standard compressed air like that used to blow out keyboards works quite well. Hold the can upside down, stick the long straw that comes with it down the the barrel, push the button. Like icing the interior of the barrel. Saw a guy doing this in F Class. As soon as his barrel would heat up and drift, he'd shoot it with compressed air. Brought it back into the x ring. Tried it with another guys rifle in a match and it worked for him as well. I don't do it because I don't usually have a can with me. There is also some discussion as to whether that kind of super cooling will impact the atomic structure of the metal. As others have said though, the temp extremes are not really that great. It's not like you're heating it to red hot then dipping in in liquid nitrogen.

 

[Straightshooter1]

For those familiar with the technique of shrinking metal to pop dents in automobiles, a can of your standard compressed air like that used to blow out keyboards works quite well. Hold the can upside down, stick the long straw that comes with it down the the barrel, push the button. Like icing the interior of the barrel. Saw a guy doing this in F Class. As soon as his barrel would heat up and drift, he'd shoot it with compressed air. Brought it back into the x ring. Tried it with another guys rifle in a match and it worked for him as well. I don't do it because I don't usually have a can with me. There is also some discussion as to whether that kind of super cooling will impact the atomic structure of the metal. As others have said though, the temp extremes are not really that great. It's not like you're heating it to red hot then dipping in in liquid nitrogen.

Doing this kind of thing makes we wonder about its effect regarding microcracking of the lands due to rapid contraction of the metal. Though it's not likely to do any major damage to the barrel, it seems like it might speed up the wear and tear of the lands . . .???