cold bore is killing me

renegadelzard

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2010
Messages
85
Hey all..im pulling my whiskers out here...here is the set-up

30-06 browning a-bolt, stainless factory barrel, walnut stock...havent cleaned the rifle in a while, perhaps 40 rounds through it since last cleaning...i went out today, and the first shot was around 4.5 inches high at 100 yards...i have it sighted in at 2.5 inches high at 100 yards...after the first shot, the rest settled down to where it was zeroed at...now, i know this isnt a precision rig, and 1 moa out of this gun is about as good as i can get, even with handloads..but this 2 inches high thing is killing me...anybody have any clues why and what i can do about it?...could it be moisture in the barrel slicking things up making that first shot faster?
 
Hey all..im pulling my whiskers out here...here is the set-up

30-06 browning a-bolt, stainless factory barrel, walnut stock...havent cleaned the rifle in a while, perhaps 40 rounds through it since last cleaning...i went out today, and the first shot was around 4.5 inches high at 100 yards...i have it sighted in at 2.5 inches high at 100 yards...after the first shot, the rest settled down to where it was zeroed at...now, i know this isnt a precision rig, and 1 moa out of this gun is about as good as i can get, even with handloads..but this 2 inches high thing is killing me...anybody have any clues why and what i can do about it?...could it be moisture in the barrel slicking things up making that first shot faster?

I zero my rifle for the first shot thats how you have to do it. You can not take a few shots at the animal so you can warm up your barrel.
 
Agreed. The cold bore shot is the important one, but that is, in a small part, why so many of us here have invested so much time, money, blood, sweat, etc., into our rifles. We seak out any way to improve them. I would say that most end up with a synth. stock, floated barrel, bedded action, and trigger work.

Wood stocks with an unfloated barrel can be very finnicky with temperature and humidity changes, even with barrel temp. changes.
 
I agree about a lot of wood stocks being more touchy, most wood stocked rifles I have had that were not properly bedded would do this. I think Browning rifles are supposed to be free floating barrels but I would look carefully around your barrel to check for obvious contact between the stock and barrel.
 
Have you put your rifle in a lead sled or other shooting aid for a cold bore shot. Most of the time, the reason the first shot seems to seperate it's self from your POI is human error. No matter how many times you've fired that rifle the first shot of the day will be met with a tence anticipation more than likely causing an unnoticed flinch or extra pressure from your firing hand. Try dryfiring 5 or 10 times before you put your 1st round down range next trip, it might help settle things down.
 
Have you put your rifle in a lead sled or other shooting aid for a cold bore shot. Most of the time, the reason the first shot seems to seperate it's self from your POI is human error. No matter how many times you've fired that rifle the first shot of the day will be met with a tence anticipation more than likely causing an unnoticed flinch or extra pressure from your firing hand. Try dryfiring 5 or 10 times before you put your 1st round down range next trip, it might help settle things down.

+1 a lot of the time it is cold shooter not cold gun.
Try taking another gun to the range and shooting before you set up with the 06. Shooting a 22 off the bat is great practice.
 
im pretty sure is not me..that has to be the most common response right?..lol...the barrel is free floated, but i would imagine it needs a bed job...in all seriousness though, this isnt my first rodeo, ive been shooting for 20+ years now, and the 06 isnt exactly a light wieght, but the recoil is still far from unpleasant...here in kentucky, the longest shot i have ever had was 325 yards, so i know 2 inches isnt exactly crucial in this particular application, but the whole "good enough for hunting" mentality rubs my butt with a corncob...the thing that really got me wondering was tat usually code bore shots tend to be low, with subsequent shots stringing upward as the barrel heats...that struck me as odd...once the first shot is out, it groups reasonably well, but that first one is always high...should i run a dry patch through it before the first shot...would that change anything?
 
If you wait 5 min after the first shot, does the poi stay high? In other words does it stay the same during a shooting session if you do not let it warm up? If it stays the same, sight in to it. If not then I would say it is not the rifle.

Steve
 
If you wait 5 min after the first shot, does the poi stay high? In other words does it stay the same during a shooting session if you do not let it warm up? If it stays the same, sight in to it. If not then I would say it is not the rifle.

Steve

Well said Steve.

First rodeo or 500th a bag grip is a bad grip and your going to go down in the mud
 
I would at least try the advice that myself and Willys46 have shared with you. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Good luck, Scout1
 
I would at least try the advice that myself and Willys46 have shared with you. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Good luck, Scout1

Dont get me wrong guys, im not one of those guys who thinks he knows it all and can't learn anything..im open to all kinds of suggestions and higly value forums like this as a place conducive to the sharing and passing of knowledge. I was shooting from a rest and had fired about 60 rounds of 223 before shooting the 06...these are some of the things i consider before zeroing a new load, making sure i try to remove as much shooter error as possible from the equation..i never noticed it before mainly due to the habit i picked up of zeroing at 25 then confirming at 100 all during the same session...somebody here suggested that wasnt exactly an accurate method, so i sighted in at 25 to get it close, then waited a few weeks to zero it at 100...when i was doing it at 25, i never noticed that cold bore shot going high...by the time i got out to 100, they were all grouping tight...lesson learned...so now im thinking doing a bedding job on it...unfortunately, there is a lack of smith's around here to do it, so its on me to get it done...having never done it before, im pretty leary about doing it right...if you guys knew me you would laugh..ill gut a 1911 in a heartbeat, not much i cant do to one, i can build ar's with my head up my butt and still turn out a decent shooter...but messing with my rifles gives me the heebee geebeezs...
 
you mentioned that the barrell hadnt been cleaned. maybe try removeing the powder fouling and giving it another go.
i'm not familar with your local climate but maybe if your cartages use a dirty powder and add to that it soaking up moisture while being stored may increase camber pressure for the first shot?
 
If you wait 5 min after the first shot, does the poi stay high? In other words does it stay the same during a shooting session if you do not let it warm up? If it stays the same, sight in to it. If not then I would say it is not the rifle.

Steve


Exactly Steve. If the rifle is consitant with it's cold bore shot, just remember what that is & adjust to it. If more shots are taken, they would be at your sight-in position. Right?
 
cold bore shot is high cause its faster, any rifle that I have chrony'd the cold bore shot is faster.
so I sight in for a cold bore shot, if I need a second shot I dial in an additional 3/4 moa.
RR
 
Warning! This thread is more than 14 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.
Top