first shot from a clean barrel

[Narly]

I see a lot of posts on the internet on how hunters alway fire a "fouling" shot before hunting season to ensure their gun is "ready" and subsequent shots will be on target. Then they leave the gun fouled till after hunting season. I guess the thought is the first bullet out of a clean barrel will not group well with subsequent shots.
I am all for going to the range before a hunting trip and checking the sighting of my hunting rifle at the beginning of the season, but I never was happy with leaving a dirty gun sitting all season.
I found that running a dry patch through the bore several times before shooting, still gave me good groups with the first shot on.
Not sure if this "fouled bore" is unique from rifle to rifle, or if other hunters expect tighter groups than me, but I haven't had a problem with this.
I just shoot from a clean, dry bore for my first and subsequent shots. my "acceptable" groups are all at or under 2 inches for 5 shot groups. Most are at the 1 & 1/2 mark. This means I am ready to head out for a hunt when the oppertunity presents itself.
Works for me.

[catnthehat]

what most shooters mean by not cleaning is removing all the powder and copper fouling then running with a squeaky clean bore, they normally run a group then leave it like that for the season, running a dry patch through if the gun gets into the rain.
I tend to run a very lightly coated patch with oil, then a dry patch after I zero my guns.

I have found no appreciable difference in the groups shooting three position this way and the bore stays rust free.
Cat

[260 Rem]

When preparing to hunt, I shoot a clean, cold shot at a target ... put it away and do the same on for five consecutive days. That gives me some confidence where the cold, clean will go, and I keep my rifle cleaned. To simulate hunting temps, I leave the rifle and ammo in my trunk, parked outside the night before I shoot the cold, clean target (I hunt in November).

[silver]

I agree with the OP and the other two posts. A fouling shot is necessary if your first shot from a freshly cleaned barrel is different from the next four. The powders and primers used these days are not going to hurt your barrel if you leave it a few days uncleaned. Taking a shot each day, when it won't disturb game, gives you confidence you are still on target.

[elkhunter11]

The only way to know if the first shot from a clean barrel shoots to the same point of impact as with a fouled barrel, is to test your rifle, with your load. The majority of my rifles shoot the first shot out of a clean barrel so close to the shots fired afterward, that if you looked at several groups that I fired in a session, you wouldn't be able to tell which group I shot, beginning with a clean barrel. As such, I often go hunting, with a freshly cleaned barrel.

[bulletman]

I always fire one or two after cleaning before the hunt. No clean barrel goes hunting from this house.

[Mateo]

Experiment with it. Like Cat says, a little bit of gun oil and then a dry patch is a good way to simulate a 'fouled bore'. If you YouTube Gunwerks rifle cleaning tips they explain this. But all rifles are a little bit different. My .270 R700 likes a fouled bore while the .308 R700 doesn't care much either way. Most deer are shot under 150 yards and at that distance it's not usually a big deal. Heck, last year I don't think any of my deer were over 100 yards!

[twofifty]

The advice to experiment is a good one.

My most accurate CF rifle prefers a well fouled bore. Once accuracy drops off
(groups showing the odd flyer and then gradually opening up to double the size is the tip off for this gun) the barrel needs a really good de-coppering but I don't take it to bare metal. It then takes maybe 10 to 15 rounds to settle back down (there must be a lot of tool marks in this barrel). I generally keep it dirty till the season ends.

My best 22LR goes forever without cleaning. When the miss rate increases, it's time for a cleaning. The chamber needs more frequent cleaning due to lube buildup.

My deer rifle is still new so I haven't noticed what it likes and dislikes. It's not a tight shooter anyhow, so I don't worry about it.

[260 Rem]

Your rifle will tell you if it likes a fouling shot. I sometimes shoot a fouling shot before starting a group, but my purpose is to add a little heat to the barrel.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by Narly

I see a lot of posts on the internet on how hunters alway fire a "fouling" shot before hunting season to ensure their gun is "ready" and subsequent shots will be on target. Then they leave the gun fouled till after hunting season. I guess the thought is the first bullet out of a clean barrel will not group well with subsequent shots.
I am all for going to the range before a hunting trip and checking the sighting of my hunting rifle at the beginning of the season, but I never was happy with leaving a dirty gun sitting all season.
I found that running a dry patch through the bore several times before shooting, still gave me good groups with the first shot on.
Not sure if this "fouled bore" is unique from rifle to rifle, or if other hunters expect tighter groups than me, but I haven't had a problem with this.
I just shoot from a clean, dry bore for my first and subsequent shots. my "acceptable" groups are all at or under 2 inches for 5 shot groups. Most are at the 1 & 1/2 mark. This means I am ready to head out for a hunt when the oppertunity presents itself.
Works for me.

After you clean your barrel try putting "Lockeze" in it as the rust preventer during hunting season. Many people have tested this and find it causes the first shot from a clean cold bore to end up very close to the rest of the group. If you have a gun that shoots the first cold bore shot quite a ways off, this is worth a try. It works about 80% of the time.

[bdub]

I have one rifle that shoots all over the place until 2-3 shots are through it after cleaning. Then it settles right down and shoots great. I have a couple others that it doesn't seem to matter much. The only way to know is to try out your particular rifle and see what it does.

[Leeper]

A barrel which won't put it's first shot to the expected point of impact is a barrel I won't own for long. Leeper

[Narly]

Originally Posted by Leeper

A barrel which won't put it's first shot to the expected point of impact is a barrel I won't own for long. Leeper

That is exactly the rule for any gun that get to stay in my gun safe. The other is: if it can't group under 2 inches (5 shots) for the bullet weight I expect to use for that gun, out it goes

[silver]

I have had a rifle that would put its first shot out of the group, and with a change in cleaning procedures the same rifle would put them all together.

Only you can decide what will work for your rifle. What is the worst that could happen, you get to do more shooting to figure out what your rifle will do.