when is a rifle most accurate ?

[joepistol]

was considering this the other day, shooting a few rifles @ the range..sighting in a scope.
I always thought that a very clean bore would provide the best accuracy.
.but I have noticed recently, that as I put rds down range, my accuracy gets better.
Always believed this was a result of Me : my eyes, hands, trigger finger, etc. getting warmed up, settled in..(whatever you want to call it )
Then I started wondering if it may be a result of the bore getting coated with powder residue, copper, lead, whatever coats a barrel after it's fired a few rounds.
I've never claimed to be an expert shot, or all that knowledgeable re: all things firearm related, but I have a fair amount of experience & I do read a lot..
Just wondered about how accuracy is affected by barrel "fouling".. for lack of my knowing a better term.

Anyone know something factual about how a just cleaned barrel compares, accuracy -wise, to a fire-prepped barrel ?

[Draken]

a slightly fouled barrel is always more accurate then a clean barrel.

If a clean bore was better you would see people scrubbing their barrels between stages at PRS matches, and that's not something I have ever seen. I know some guys that won't clean their barrel until they start seeing their groups opening up.

[Sargeyork]

Yes I believe this is true I always check my sight in before I go hunting with a clean gun or even if the gun might have been bumped or banged significantly by fining 2 to 5 rounds.

[JDG]

After a good cleaning(copper solvent) it always took a few fouling rounds to start grouping again. This was with a match grade barrel, that I would clean after 200 rounds.

[Einthewoods]

a slightly fouled barrel is always more accurate then a clean barrel.

If a clean bore was better you would see people scrubbing their barrels between stages at PRS matches, and that's not something I have ever seen. I know some guys that won't clean their barrel until they start seeing their groups opening up.

I'm not doubting you for a minute, but I wonder why that is? A little fouling helps the bullet catch the rifling better?

[Ol` Joe]

A fouler seems to help put the next round in the same group as rest in some barrels. The only way to know for sure your barrel likes to be clean or dirty is to try both and see the result.
There will be a point where accuracy starts going down hill and a cleaning is needed to bring back its accuracy. How often again you will have to experiment to see.

[SIX29]

After sighting a rifle, I never clean it until I am done hunting, for the year.

I always heavily ouil the bore , for storage. Before going to the range, I will use foaming bore cleaner, to remove ALL the oil from lans and grooves.

[Quads]

I like my barrels like I like my women. Clean on the outside, and a little dirty inside.
I've always subscribed to the idea that a barrel likes to be slightly to modestly dirty to perform well. Much like a suppressor.
I rarely count my first / fouler shot as part of the group. Always treated it as a fouler. It was part of the shooting routine I was taught in F Class. Hunting, etc.
For as long as I've been around, that's been the traditional or collective school of thought.

I've also heard, read and been in circles where the discussion was essentially that there was no such thing as a cold shot or a clean bore shot, but was in fact a cold shooter.
A barrel with a very slight skim of oil from the last cleaning has no effect on the first shot. I have a harder time subscribing to the latter based on my own personal experience.
I'm sure someone out in youtube land with a rail gun has tested one method or another.

Edit: Someone in youtube land... sans rail gun....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHbiw9v_h8U

[Draken]

I'm not doubting you for a minute, but I wonder why that is? A little fouling helps the bullet catch the rifling better?

Have heard from shooters much better than myself that it makes the bore more consistent, which in turn makes the rifling that is imparted on the bullet more consistent, which makes flight path more consistent.

Consistency makes key holes.

[JDG]

I like my barrels like I like my women. Clean on the outside, and a little dirty inside.

Were talking their "minds" right? lol!!