.308- Less cleaning, More accurate?

[jrobb45 0]

I bought a 16" .308 about a month or so ago and, as usual, I clean it after every time I shoot. Nothing aggressive, just Hoppes, patches and Rem oil. What I've noticed is that the next time I shoot it, after cleaning, the groups open up until I've put about 30 rds. thru it, then they noticeably tighten up. I've been shooting Aussie surplus. Match ammo tends to shoot tight groups even thru a freshly cleaned barrel. Anyone else seen this?

 

jrobb

[RooK 0]

Have you tried shooting it without cleaning? I'm betting it just likes to shoot hot, although 'clean' barrels do sometimes exhibit odd accuracy variances from those that are fouled.

[Doerdie 0]

Hmmm, never thought of that...I am going to test that theory with my 7.62.

[jrobb45 0]

I think you're right about the warm, dirty barrel. I left the rifle dirty after I shot it earlier this week and took it out and shot it this morning. The first two 5 shot groups were about an inch low and 2 inches left and about 2 1/4' in diameter. The third and fourth groups were about 3/4" in diameter(50 yards). The barrel got hot and the groups opened up after that. So, I think the barrel needs to be fouled and warm, not hot, for it to shoot the best. Nice shooting conditions; 21 degrees. Thanks for the advice.

 

jrobb

 

That should be 2 1/4", not 2 1/4'.

[smithy5160 0]

i shot when it was 6 degrees F, i couldnt feel my fingers but it shot accurate as hell from first to last round, i think i went through 45 or more