Clean/Dirty Barrel question

[TWyatt]

A comment in my last thread about accuracy got me curious. It seems like the norm that the first shot out of a clean barrel never hits exactly with the rest. I know it certainly doesn't in both of my CVA's. This is my first year using BH, so I'm curious if I were to fire a shot or two before loading up to hunt, how long is it ok to leave the barrel dirtly like that? I've been meticulous about cleaning them after each range session, but it irks the crap out of me that the first shot never hits with the rest. I'm sure I could fire a shot or two the day before, or the morning before I hunt, but if I don't take a shot, how long is it okay to leave a barrel dirty with blackhorn?

 

[rangerod]

Do you have a nitrided barrel?

 

[TWyatt]

No, just the regular stainless

 

[sdporter]

BH209 is supposed to be non-corrosive, you're fine for days or more. You're not gonna hurt your rifle. Firing a cap or two out of it to foul the barrel will help, but it won't be the same as a full on load fired out of it. Your group was good enough, I wouldn't worry about it. My first shot impacts are way farther out than yours is. Even at 200 yard, you're only 2" out of the main group. Stilll a dead deer.

 

[TWyatt]

So I have a place to shoot down the street from where I hunt, if I fired a shot there and then loaded up for a hunt, it's ok to leave like that for days without hurting anything? I'd think that would prevent any stray first shots if it's ok to do. The group you saw in my other post was the closest my first shot has ever been to the rest, typically mine are high and right by a few inches. If I can prevent that by shooting a full load first, I'll just do that. If I go a few days with no shot, I'll clean it, fire it again, and reload and repeat. I'm not a big fan of the typical first shot out of a clean barrel. It may not matter out to 100, but I'm hunting a lot of fields and can certainly get farther shots.

 

[MrTom]

No, just the regular stainless

My Accura and Optima pistol are stainless and if fired during the season go un-cleaned until the end of the season. nine days. BH209 and zero rust issues, ever.

 

[sdporter]

What Tom says

 

[Squeeze]

 

[Squeeze]

Works for me on a hunting load

 

[TWyatt]

What is that for?

 

[Charlie-NY]

I know guys who have left BH209 fouling in their SS rifle barrels from season to season without any ill effect that we could see.

 

[dwm]

I zero with and hunt with a clean barrel,i shoot 777 so I always swab clean between shots.it always works for me. My muzzleloader season is long here in New Jersey,im not leaving a gun dirty for that long if I don’t get a shot till the last week

 

[deerlessbob]

I shoot the BH209 and never clean during our two week season.

 

[TWyatt]

So it seems that the BH is fine to leave - which just leaves me wondering - is it worth it to fire a live round before season, then load up for hunting. That would get the first-shot flyer out of the way I assume? Our season is only 2 weeks, so it wouldn't stay any longer than 14 days. Or am I just overthinking it and am fine loading up and hunting with a clean barrel. I'm just not a fan of that first, clean barrel flyer and trying to figure out how to get that one out of the way. My groups are fantastic after that first shot at the range, but that first one is never great like the rest.

 

[MrTom]

The night before season opener I have been known to put a 5 grain charge in the barrel and tamped some paper towel down on top of it, then primed and gone out in the back yard and shot it in the air to foul the barrel. I live in town but noise like this is common in my yard since I have a self-appointed crow dispersment program that calls for using large bottle rockets. I now pop off three primers not to do basically the same thing. The primers are fine for fouling barrels.

The only time I have found remotely any rust related to BH209 use in any of my 209 guns was in a blued Kodiak that was shot the opening day in rain, reloaded and went the entire nine day season without cleaning. Even then the surface flush of rust was right on the outside of the muzzle, not in the barrel. The gun was not fired again and the load was pushed out at season's end. I've never, ever seen any sort of corrosion or rust on my stainless guns at season's end even though they'd been shot and went thru all kinds of weather.

 

[ronlaughlin]

Record me as one who left Blackhorn fouling during hunting, and ended up with a rust pitted barrel

 

[brownisdown]

Would firing off a couple of primers before going hunting foul the barrel as well?At age 70 that is all I have done for years to foul my barrels.

 

[MrTom]

Would firing off a couple of primers before going hunting foul the barrel as well?At age 70 that is all I have done for years to foul my barrels.

That all that needs be done.

 

[GM54-120]

Pop 2-3 primers and run a dry patch one time....Go hunt.

 

[dwm]

Record me as one who left Blackhorn fouling during hunting, and ended up with a rust pitted barrel

That sucks, did the gun still shoot okay