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<blockquote data-quote="Kevin Thomas" data-source="post: 293171" data-attributes="member: 15748"><p>So what's wrong with asking for advice? From your description of the problem, I can think of a couple things that could be an issue here. AJ's spot-on about the stress issue, but it doesn't necessarily mean that there's only a problem if the barrel warps enough to be making contact with the stock. That, I'd call a <u>huge</u> problem. Your barrel can have stresses within it that simply show themselves once the temps start gettin up there a bit. The barrel is moving as it "un-stresses" itself, causing a shift in the POI downrange. Once you let it cool, and the barrel re-establishes it's normal state, it comes back into zero. repeat the process, and it'll move again. Light barrels are somewhat more subject to this than heavier barrels, but none are immune to this sort of behavior. </p><p> </p><p>The heat itself can also be an issue, entirely aside from the stress question of the barrel itself. Even a very good quality, stress-free (as possible) barrel will show accuracy degradation when it gets hot. Near and dear to my heart, as I spent the earlier part of the week watching some initial firings in a new test range. The rifles were all top quality, fired from a RTB machine rest, using excellent quality factory Match (sniper) ammo, and being shot in an indoor 300 meter tunnel. In otherwords, no real outside influences to muddy up the works. We were monitoring temps with an IR thermometer, both at the muzzle and over the chamber areas throughout the test. Without fail, the larger groups showed themselves once the muzzle became too hot to comfortably grasp for a few seconds (around 135-140 degrees). The groups were still passing spec, but there was a definate, and repeatable correlation between larger groups and a hotter barrel. These were dedicated heavy barreled sniper rifles. A lighter sporter would most likely show this sort of tendency a bit faster, and possibly in a more pronounced fashion.</p><p> </p><p>As AJ had suggested, make sure the gun is sound; no bedding issues, proper floating of the barrel, etc.. Beyond that, I'd suggest that you just take a bit more time on the range, and don't rush a warm barrel. If in doubt, go talk to another shooter for a few, and let it cool down a bit more. Avoid long strings of fire for a hunting rifle, since you'll never need them anyway (not always the case for competitive shooter; we're usually stuck with 20+ shot strings, like it or not). Remeber, especially for a hunting rifle, the first shot from a cold bore is probably the only one that'll matter. The only other (possible) solution here would be a new barrel, which would be a waste since it sounds like this one is shooting well when it's not hot. Strictly a last resort there, and I wouldn't rush into it lightly.</p><p> </p><p>Hope this helps, or at least gives you a few things to consider,</p><p> </p><p>Kevin Thomas</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kevin Thomas, post: 293171, member: 15748"] So what's wrong with asking for advice? From your description of the problem, I can think of a couple things that could be an issue here. AJ's spot-on about the stress issue, but it doesn't necessarily mean that there's only a problem if the barrel warps enough to be making contact with the stock. That, I'd call a [U]huge[/U] problem. Your barrel can have stresses within it that simply show themselves once the temps start gettin up there a bit. The barrel is moving as it "un-stresses" itself, causing a shift in the POI downrange. Once you let it cool, and the barrel re-establishes it's normal state, it comes back into zero. repeat the process, and it'll move again. Light barrels are somewhat more subject to this than heavier barrels, but none are immune to this sort of behavior. The heat itself can also be an issue, entirely aside from the stress question of the barrel itself. Even a very good quality, stress-free (as possible) barrel will show accuracy degradation when it gets hot. Near and dear to my heart, as I spent the earlier part of the week watching some initial firings in a new test range. The rifles were all top quality, fired from a RTB machine rest, using excellent quality factory Match (sniper) ammo, and being shot in an indoor 300 meter tunnel. In otherwords, no real outside influences to muddy up the works. We were monitoring temps with an IR thermometer, both at the muzzle and over the chamber areas throughout the test. Without fail, the larger groups showed themselves once the muzzle became too hot to comfortably grasp for a few seconds (around 135-140 degrees). The groups were still passing spec, but there was a definate, and repeatable correlation between larger groups and a hotter barrel. These were dedicated heavy barreled sniper rifles. A lighter sporter would most likely show this sort of tendency a bit faster, and possibly in a more pronounced fashion. As AJ had suggested, make sure the gun is sound; no bedding issues, proper floating of the barrel, etc.. Beyond that, I'd suggest that you just take a bit more time on the range, and don't rush a warm barrel. If in doubt, go talk to another shooter for a few, and let it cool down a bit more. Avoid long strings of fire for a hunting rifle, since you'll never need them anyway (not always the case for competitive shooter; we're usually stuck with 20+ shot strings, like it or not). Remeber, especially for a hunting rifle, the first shot from a cold bore is probably the only one that'll matter. The only other (possible) solution here would be a new barrel, which would be a waste since it sounds like this one is shooting well when it's not hot. Strictly a last resort there, and I wouldn't rush into it lightly. Hope this helps, or at least gives you a few things to consider, Kevin Thomas [/QUOTE]
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