Dirty gun?
Printed From: Enfield-Rifles.com
Category: Enfields
Forum Name: Hunting with the .303 British cartridge.
Forum Description: Share your hunting stories with the rest of us.
URL: http://www.enfield-rifles.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9034
Printed Date: March 26 2026 at 8:19pm
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Topic: Dirty gun?
Posted By: Honkytonk
Subject: Dirty gun?
Date Posted: June 18 2018 at 8:25am
| At the risk of sounding insane, has anybody ever experienced an improvement of accuracy once the bore gets dirty? I don't mean after a couple of warm up shots, I'm talking 10-12 rounds later! It could have just been me, but I felt pretty comfortable over the rifle all morning. Thanks! |
Replies:
Posted By: Canuck
Date Posted: June 18 2018 at 9:41am
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Is there excessive wear in the bore? ------------- Castles made of sand slip into the sea.....eventually |
Posted By: Honkytonk
Date Posted: June 18 2018 at 10:11am
| By the naked eye it looked ok, maybe some slight frosting. Without slugging it, I now suspect exactly what you said. I picked it up cheap so not a great loss. I had put an Addley Precision mount on it and a walnut cheek piece. (It's a No4 Mk1 Sporter.) I can use the mount on my No5. I would also use the butt stock/long bolt with cheek piece on the No5 for hunting season. |
Posted By: Zed
Date Posted: June 18 2018 at 10:51am
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That's certainly the the case when shooting the .22 rifles; but I've not noticed that with the .303's ------------- It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice! |
Posted By: A square 10
Date Posted: June 20 2018 at 7:06pm
| thats not uncommon - after you clean you need to shoot some rounds to get it to where the sweet spot is , |
Posted By: Goosic
Date Posted: June 20 2018 at 7:32pm
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The sniping systems my squad used were always cleaned but always fouled as far as the barrels we're concerned. To get our required MOA shots we kept the barrels slightly copper fouled and doped the scopes accordingly. |
Posted By: englishman_ca
Date Posted: June 21 2018 at 6:15am
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Yes, weird aint it? POI does seem to change on a squeaky clean barrel as it gets dirty. Hunting season. Non corrosive ammo. I sight the rifle in with whatever number of rounds needed (usually about five or six) on a cold barrel (POI changes again as the barrel warms up) and then I don't clean the bore again until the shooting in the field is done (the exception being wet weather, then it gets one pass of an oiled patch after the hunt followed by a dry one the next morning before heading out again).  ------------- . . Look to your front, mark your target when it comes! |
Posted By: hoadie
Date Posted: June 21 2018 at 12:39pm
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Simon; You still want these old rounds? (Brass/Black powder?) ------------- Loose wimmen tightened here |
Posted By: englishman_ca
Date Posted: June 21 2018 at 12:50pm
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you betcha. PM sent ------------- . . Look to your front, mark your target when it comes! |
Posted By: EnfieldHunter
Date Posted: May 20 2019 at 6:30pm
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Have not cleaned my barrel in 10 or so years. Yes I always run an oil patch when it rains Just no benefit. I clean the outside and action every use All my handloads are non corrosive Oil patch yes. Scrubbing ....nah. Why bother? So I can copper foul it next year?
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Posted By: britrifles
Date Posted: May 21 2019 at 12:55am
In a brand new barrel, yes, I’ve seen accuracy gradually improve over time. My LB No. 4 had a brand new barrel when I got it and used Hoppes 9 to clean it, after every time I shot the rifle. Accuracy gradually improved until about 1000 -1500 rounds fired, then started getting worse. I cleaned out the copper with Sweets 7.62 and accuracy was restored. If you only shoot 100 rounds per year, it will take a long time to badly foul the barrel with copper. Of course, this depends on how smooth the lands of the barrel were to begin with.
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Honkytonk wrote: