The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Load testing

603Country · February 18, 2012, 10:07 AM

It depends a lot on the rifle as to when a dirty bore will cause accuracy problems. Some can shoot all day, but some dirty up real fast. I wouldn't shoot 36 rounds in any of my rifles before cleaning the bore - if I was testing load accuracy. My usual approach, starting with a clean bore, is to shoot 1 or 2 fouling shots and then two groups of 5 rounds. Allowing some time for the barrel to cool during the shooting. Then I clean the bore and then shoot the fouling shots again. That way I can be reasonably sure that the loads are being tested under the same conditions, and accuracy is mostly load related and not overly impacted by a dirty bore.

February 18, 2012, 10:07 AM	#5
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 3,998	It depends a lot on the rifle as to when a dirty bore will cause accuracy problems. Some can shoot all day, but some dirty up real fast. I wouldn't shoot 36 rounds in any of my rifles before cleaning the bore - if I was testing load accuracy. My usual approach, starting with a clean bore, is to shoot 1 or 2 fouling shots and then two groups of 5 rounds. Allowing some time for the barrel to cool during the shooting. Then I clean the bore and then shoot the fouling shots again. That way I can be reasonably sure that the loads are being tested under the same conditions, and accuracy is mostly load related and not overly impacted by a dirty bore.