Like Watching Grass Grow. How to cool a barrel?

[drgoose]

Today I went to the range and had worked up to loads for my Savage 111. Each one had 8 powder weights and 3 bullets for each. I also took another rifle to shoot while waiting for the barrel on the savage to cool but it is still a painfully slow process. Now I know that "good things come to those who wait" but I am trying to find a way to cool the barrel faster than just letting it rest at room temperature with the action open. Patients is not one of my virtues I guess.

I have a couple of ideas and please tell me if they are idiotic or dangerous.

The first and easiest one would be to apply a cold damp cloth to the barrel (i.e. soaked in ice cold water) and then dry the outside of the barrel with a dry cloth.

Another would be to circulate air throug the barrel (hand pump used to inflate ballons attached to a hose that would go into the barrel through the chamber.

Circulate cold air through the barrel using the same concept as above but connect the hose to an insulated box with dry ice and then a second hose from the box into the barrel.

Circulate cold air on the outside of the barrel using the above contraption but connected to some sort of "shroud" around the barrel.

Am I nuts or just too impatient?

[jman841]

You can use a dust off air can, they get cold air flowing really quick. But maybe instead of loading 8 different loadings with 3 rounds each, load 2 or 3 loadings with around 10 rounds, then the next time try different loadings. that way you can see more than a single 3 shot group to determine a charge and you will be able to see the different effects on the rounds as the barrel heats up.

I have a rem 700 26" heavy barrel and it likes to be warm. Fires much better warm than cold.

[drgoose]

I was trying to use the "Optimal Charge Weight" method that has been posted around here before. I read it as well as the "Optimal Barrel Time" paper and they kind of made sense to me so I went that route.

[dawico]

I have never been a fan of the cool barrel testing method. I just shoot mine. If it is hot, so be it. I don't over heat it or anything, but if I ever NEED it, I am surely not going to wait for it to cool between shots. I also don't feel that a hot barrel will shoot much different than a cool one. I do blow through the barrel after each shot to push the smoke out of it though. Find a load that it likes warm, and shoot it with a cool barrel to see if it shoots any differently, then you will know.

[Jim243]

Am I nuts or just too impatient?

Yes.
Jim

[dawico]

Also, I think that trying to speed cool the barrel, whether from the outside or inside, would probably cause more inconsistencies than anything. It would have to cool very evenly to not cause any warpage.

[Sevens]

I think its pointless to try and cool the barrel that much unless you are seeking first shot/one shot accuracy, like for hunting. And though I'm no hunter, it seems to me that most hunters don't require that kind of extreme accuracy.

If your purpose is to punch the tightest groups on paper possible, then get used to shooting your loads with a warm rifle.

[kraigwy]

I've peed on a M-60 barrel a time or two, it works.

[Bruno2]

As far as the wet cloth on the barrel goes. My friend used to work at a drivetrain shop . They would straighten bent driveshafts by heating them up and applying a wet rag to them.

Shooting a bolt gun until the barrel gets hot beyond the touch will induce throat erosion and pitting much quicker.

These are a few of the reasons why I dont buy used bolt guns.

[bigautomatic]

I have a 111 in 30-06, and that sucker does heat up pretty quick. The best option is to simply free up some time. Do the chores the night before range day instead of the day of, get to the range earlier,etc. Working up the best possible load is nearly impossible to do in one range session if you are in a big hurry. Also, I just read a very interesting article about a type of barrel sleeve called "Straightjacket" in one of the many gun rags that I subscribe to. Not cheap, but sounds very promising.

kraig- I peed on a HiPoint once, but it didn't seem to help the darn thing at all. 'Course, the barrel wasn't hot either, so who knows.

[Win_94]

When I Audette Ladder Tested my 30-30, I'll run an oily patch down the barrel, then take a dry patch down it. I'll also keep my breach open when not firing.
That will keep it at a relatively constant temperature.

My bolt rifle it is free floated; whereas, regulating the temperature isn't necessary.

Side note: Using the Audette Ladder Test, I usually find a load within 10 shots.

[Zak Smith]

I'm not afraid of getting my barrel hot, and I like to pull the trigger. But when shooting suppressed in the summer the barrel gets extremely hot. If I need to test out a bunch of load groups to get accuracy and velocity data, I hate waiting, so from time to time I use the evaporating-water cooling method.

[drgoose]

That means pouring water over the barrel?

[Zak Smith]

I used a moist paper towel.

[sc928porsche]

Take more firearms with you when you go to enjoy yourself while you are waiting for the barrel to cool.

[ZeSpectre]

a battery powered fan that points into the open chamber (and blows air down the barrel) will cool a rifle barrel down a lot faster than you might think.

[TXGunNut]

Load development in ambient temps of 95-105 degrees is a very slow laborious process for me. I usually manage 8-12 rounds/hour. If the barrel is too hot to keep my hand on it I get up and walk away. I'll visit with the RO, help other shooters with sight-in or equipment issues, or just look at the toys and talk with their owners.

[F. Guffey]

I take rifles that heat up in a hurry and are slow to cool, the heat on this rifle has little effect on accuracy, to allow for cooling I take 9 other rifles.

F. GUffey

[sserdlihc]

I have read alot of good ideas on here so far. I remember reading in Shooting Times back in the mid 90s', a shooting editor was doing a range report on the 7mm STW. To cool the barrel he used circulated water thru it using a water bottle, tubing and a bucket. I am sure that he ran a patch down the the barrel to remove any excess water.

Myself, I am not that impatient. I will take a couple of my handguns to shoot in between barrel cool down.

[Locoweed]

The old buffalo hunters used to urinate down their barrels... it cooled them off and softened the black powder fouling. I would be careful about slopping a wet rag onto a hot barrel as it may warp it. Just pace yourself and have several other guns to shoot while the others cool off. If it's so hot you can't touch it then it's way too hot and you need to take a real long break.

[Jim243]

For the casual shooter waiting 2 or three min between shots is no big deal. Why you want your barrel to cool down that much I do not understand. If you are doing this for hunting for 1st shot accuracy than just learn to wait, if you are doing it for compitition that you must use a warm/hot barrel and just learn to take fouling shots before shooting for score.

If it really bothers you about hot barrels than get the barrel cryo treated and be done with it. About $50.00.

http://www.nitrofreeze.com/guns.html

By the way a M-60 is a machine gun and I doubt that Drgoose is going to put 300 rounds down the barrel in one min with his 111.

Just remember to disinfect your barrel after you pee on it, we don't want to spread any deseases.

Jim

[Blue Grass]

When I get done shooting a string of 5-6 shots, I leave the bolt open and lean the rifle against the bench. As the warm air in the rifle rises, it pulls in cool air at the breach. I have no scientific evidence that this works but it seems intuitive. I always take a .22 rifle to shoot while I let the barrel cool.

[jmorris]

We have poured water over the barrels of our machineguns to keep them cool enough to shoot same goes for their suppressors. For my paper punchers I just open the bolt and set it aside to cool while I grab another one and continue shooting.