How is your cold bore shot different?

teddy12b · #1 01-12-2009, 08:50 AM

I'm new to long range shooting and I still have a lot to learn. I'm trying to find the difference between my first cold bore shot and then the rest of the rounds fired.

How did you test/measure your cold bore shot, and what's the difference between it and regular shots in your rifle?

I tried to find my cold bore shot last weekend with a target at 200 yards. I was hoping that it would be more obvious at 200 yards than it would be at 100 yards.

Boss Hoss · #2 01-12-2009, 10:27 AM

For hunting purposes even at long ranges my "cold bore shot" is no different from my subsequent ones. My rifles are all built using Krieger tubes for the most part. For Factory barrels used by the larger manufactures this is a problem and one reason I personally have gotten away from them.

teddy12b · #3 01-12-2009, 11:08 AM

That's interesting. I thought that even with a Custom barrel there was still a difference between a cold bore and a follow up shot.

J E Custom · #4 01-12-2009, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teddy12b

That's interesting. I thought that even with a Custom barrel there was still a difference between a cold bore and a follow up shot.

Normaly it's not the temperature of the barrel it's the oil left in the barrel
that changes the Point of impact from the first shot to the next.

A cold bore shot ( The first fired ) can be from a clean and oil'ed barrel , A fowled barrel
that has been dry patched , or a barrel that has been shot many times with out cleaning.

A clean oiley barrel normaly shoots a diffrent velocity than a fouled one , thus changing
the POI from the second and third shots if they are nessary.

I always clean and shoot one fouling and then sight in with the next 3 shots on my hunting
rifles. Then I clean and fire one fouling shot ,dry patch to remove the powder fouling (No oil)
and I'm ready to go hunting knowing that the first 2 or 3 shots will be on target.

With the stainless barrels you can hunt the hole season with out cleaning just dry patch
between shots.

Some rifles do ok with out doing anything but most will change POI after cleaning for the first
shot.

Even if it is different from the first shot clean to the second as long as you are zeroed how ever you want to prepair your rifle for the first shot ( The one that counts )Is the most important.

I hope this helped
J E CUSTOM

Derek M. · #5 01-12-2009, 01:10 PM

I have been told my entire time of owning a firearm to NEVER shoot a bullet down an oiled barrel due to bulging risks and pressure changes, especially oil in the chamber.

Every barrel maker I've talked with, including most of the recognized big names, all stated to me to always shoot a dry bore, never an oiled one.

As to cold bore shots compared to subsequent shots, generally speaking, the cold shot usually hits higher.

Michael Eichele · #6 01-12-2009, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derek M.

I have been told my entire time of owning a firearm to NEVER shoot a bullet down an oiled barrel due to bulging risks and pressure changes, especially oil in the chamber.

Every barrel maker I've talked with, including most of the recognized big names, all stated to me to always shoot a dry bore, never an oiled one.

As to cold bore shots compared to subsequent shots, generally speaking, the cold shot usually hits higher.

Foul shots and cold bore shots are 2 different animals. Yes a foul shot WILL be different from the rest of the shots and is of little concern since we never clean a rifle and shoot one shot and repeat. No we clean, foul and enjoy the rest of the time we dont need to be cleaning.

As for a cold bore shot. This is a shot from a cold bore even if it is fouled. Some will produce more and some less. Some barrels just wont yield to it much and others will. You can minimize it by shooting short heavy barrels in medium calibers but it still depends on an idavidual barrel. You can see it in a factory tube, you can see it in a custom tube. In my experiance good custom barrels are typically better than factory but I have also seen some factory barrels with minimal effects. A 24" 308 win barrel of a heavy contour will typically have much less cold bore whip than a 28" sporter weight barrel chambered in 30-378. The colder it gets the more the effects.

If you want to test your own, you will need to leave your rifle outside or in your vehicle for a couple of hours and let it get really cold. Then go to the range and fire a 3 shot group. If your first shot is out of the group, this is the effects of the cold bore shot. If it isnt, it either isnt cold enough to affect your barrel or your barrel shows minimal signs of the affects or both.

Also, there is no way to know if they will be higher. I have had predictable rifles and rifles that could put the CBS anywhere, some even off the paper at 200M in moderate temps. I dont own that stick anymore.