Switching powders- clean or not

[madmixerman]

Going to test some Varget and VV150 loads in the same session. Do you guys clean the barrel when switching between when testing different powders?

 

[Clancy]

Absolutely, though I’ve noticed N135 and N140 play well together.

But, yes, absolutely clean between powders, especially if one of them is varget or a ball powder.

 

[TTE]

Yes. How much cleaning is up to you.

For me .... it's a few wet patches, some brushing, wet patches then dry.

It depends on how much you have shot.

 

[GetReal]

I always foul the barrel with the powder I'll be load testing .

I have no empirical data to prove or even evidence that's a good idea. Its just sorta a gut feeling.

In accuracy shooting, variables are bad. Lot #'s for bullets / powder / primers, , temp changes, humidity changes, elevation changes, etc. Any change or difference at the bench introduces doubt as to what caused the differences at distance.

 

[F Class John]

100% in my experience. You'll never know how a new powder shoots and fouls unless you clean out the old one first. As others said, how much is up to you but I have seen a difference when testing.

 

[madmixerman]

Thanks guys. I will clean before switching.

 

[Dimner]

Going to test some Varget and VV150 loads in the same session. Do you guys clean the barrel when switching between when testing different powders?

I dont compete or have competition rigs, so keep that in mind. For me, it depends on how many rounds I have down the tube.

Starting with a clean barrel for the day, If I have less than 30 rounds down the tube when I switch to loads with a different powder, All I do is use 1 fouler and then 1 or 2 sighters before I move to the new powder. With my style of bench shooting and load development. I have never seen accuracy fall off due to number of rounds shot in a session. However, I'm never shooting more than 60 rounds in a session. For my purposes, 5/8 to 1/2 moa is all I look for. So I do not think cleaning before a new powder really matters.

If I had a benchrest or f-class comp rig, I would clean during load development under the same requirements that I would use in a competition. And I would clean before testing new powders.