To clean or not to clean????

So I went out and shot my deer rifles over the weekend (and from the sounds of all the shooting in the surrounding area, everyone and their brother was doing the same thing )…. I shot my .243, 7mm RM, and 30-06. All are spot on at 200 yards, and a few 400 yard test shots with the .243 and 7mm confirmed lethality at that distance as well (although I’m not confident enough to shoot that far nor would I shoot a deer at that distance with a .243, but it was fun…) Love the B&C reticle!! And the new 7mm Encore barrel (along with the .243) is shooting close to 1/2 MOA… Also a lighter gun with a noticably lower felt recoil than my old ’06… Love it!!!!

… So… I had the gun barrels relatively clean before I shot. I shot roughly a half box of shells through each gun.

Question… Do I bother cleaning the gun (barrels) before I hunt next weekend? I guess my thinking is that if they are dead nuts “on” they way they are (“dirty”), why not just leave them that way for the next week?

Will cleaning the barrels affect my zero marks at all??

Thanks!

Mike

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So I went out and shot my deer rifles over the weekend (and from the sounds of all the shooting in the surrounding area, everyone and their brother was doing the same thing )…. I shot my .243, 7mm RM, and 30-06. All are spot on at 200 yards, and a few 400 yard test shots with the .243 and 7mm confirmed lethality at that distance as well (although I’m not confident enough to shoot that far nor would I shoot a deer at that distance with a .243, but it was fun…) Love the B&C reticle!! And the new 7mm Encore barrel (along with the .243) is shooting close to 1/2 MOA… Also a lighter gun with a noticably lower felt recoil than my old ’06… Love it!!!!

… So… I had the gun barrels relatively clean before I shot. I shot roughly a half box of shells through each gun.

Question… Do I bother cleaning the gun (barrels) before I hunt next weekend? I guess my thinking is that if they are dead nuts “on” they way they are (“dirty”), why not just leave them that way for the next week?

Will cleaning the barrels affect my zero marks at all??

Thanks!

Mike

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Me personally. I wouldn’t touch them. If they are spot on, you don’t want to change that. After season is over, I tear all my rifles and shotguns down and give them a hard core cleaning.

I would clean them. They were spot on from the beginning and I would assume you had a clean barrel when you started. I say take care of them and keep’em clean.

Do NOT clean the bore. Your zero can indeed be affected by lubricant in the barrel. You have them ready to go. They are primed to hit exactly where they were hitting on the target. Clean after your done deer hunting.
Of course if you get them wet then you have to clean them. Just dry patch very well if you cannot shoot before hunting.

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Do NOT clean the bore. Your zero can indeed be affected by lubricant in the barrel. You have them ready to go. They are primed to hit exactly where they were hitting on the target. Clean after your done deer hunting.
Of course if you get them wet then you have to clean them. Just dry patch very well if you cannot shoot before hunting.

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Don’t fix whats not broken!!

Jami

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I would clean them. They were spot on from the beginning and I would assume you had a clean barrel when you started. I say take care of them and keep’em clean.

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Yes, I had a clean barrel to begin with… But the scope was off at the beginning of the sight in… I had swapped scopes earlier in the year and hadn’t shot them until now… So it took a few shots to get them to where they were. (They were pretty far off at the beginning). So they were spot on at the END of the shooting… Spot on with a “dirty” barrel… I’m thinking just leave em and go kill some deer.

Thanks,

Mike

Leave em!

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Leave em!

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X2

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So I went out and shot my deer rifles over the weekend (and from the sounds of all the shooting in the surrounding area, everyone and their brother was doing the same thing )…. I shot my .243, 7mm RM, and 30-06. All are spot on at 200 yards, and a few 400 yard test shots with the .243 and 7mm confirmed lethality at that distance as well (although I’m not confident enough to shoot that far nor would I shoot a deer at that distance with a .243, but it was fun…) Love the B&C reticle!! And the new 7mm Encore barrel (along with the .243) is shooting close to 1/2 MOA… Also a lighter gun with a noticably lower felt recoil than my old ’06… Love it!!!!

… So… I had the gun barrels relatively clean before I shot. I shot roughly a half box of shells through each gun.

Question… Do I bother cleaning the gun (barrels) before I hunt next weekend? I guess my thinking is that if they are dead nuts “on” they way they are (“dirty”), why not just leave them that way for the next week?

Will cleaning the barrels affect my zero marks at all??

Thanks!

Mike

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Me personally. I wouldn’t touch them. If they are spot on, you don’t want to change that. After season is over, I tear all my rifles and shotguns down and give them a hard core cleaning.

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X2

Do you guys really have a problem with your guns being out of wack from season to season ??

My 30-06 rem mod 6 pump has never moved since I have had it,(20yrs) I clean it every year (wipe down/lube everything and run a wipe through the barrel) even after the trip north for Caribou, pulled it out of the case, one shot in the 3″ black dot @ 100 yds, good to go

Just to add I don’t go through a lot of ammo for example I bought a box before the Caribou hunt shot it once for sight in and 3 shells for 2 Caribou’s (first one only at 15 yds second one @ about 250 yds)

That box I figure should last a few yrs. The longest shot on my deer stand is about 70 yds. plus I do not shoot at running deer unless it is very close (within 40yds) or wounded.

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Do you guys really have a problem with your guns being out of wack from season to season ??

That box I figure should last a few yrs. The longest shot on my deer stand is about 70 yds. plus I do not shoot at running deer unless it is very close (within 40yds) or wounded.

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I think you have eluded to how we’ll answer.

A box of shells lasts me about an hour. I shoot 1000s of rounds a year and that kind of shooting (testing bullets and loads) copper fouls barrels, wears out barrels, leaves residue in barrels, etc. I clean my barrels (deep cleaning) about every shooting session (if I’m changing loads). I also do it at the end of the season, as I usually tend to get dirt, sand, snow, etc. in or on my rifles. I tend to do a lot of belly crawling.

Also I enjoy taking long shots (400+ yards). That kind of distance requires unquestioned accuracy and trust in your rifle.

That first bou is awesome. Great tops.

Nice bou Garvi!!

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Nice bou Garvi!!

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X2 great animals I need to do that yet Who’s with me ?????

A bou with my bow is on my must do before I die list. I don’t care if I shoot a monster, just want to hit the major migration to see lots of animals. Not asking for much…..

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X2 great animals I need to do that yet Who’s with me ?????

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When are we going. I’ve been saving that trip as I’ve been told by my dad it’s an old man’s trip. You really don’t need to be in shape to chase a Bou. Of course I can go more than once (dad has).

Garvi – nice animals!!

In an answer to how many times we shoot, I’m sure everyone is different… I don’t shoot nearly as much (target) as Ruger does, but still the vast majority of my shots will come at the range simply because I enjoy it. I’m sure I fire at least a handful of BOXES of shells through each rifle per each ROUND shot at live game… It is certainly fun and I definately enjoy seeing a well-shot group. I also love crunching ballistics numbers and thinking about long range shooting, even though I’ll probably never shoot at much past 300…

Hey – GMAN – When are we going???

I’d love to do that hunt in a few years. That or elk. I’m headed on a bear hunt to Newfoundland next June – Supposedly the have a big population of woodland caribou (I think its the only huntable woodland herd, but I could be wrong), and a huge population of moose. I can give you guys a report next year when I get back from that trip. They do combo moose/caribou/bear hunts – might be fun!

Mike

I would love to do Woodland Caribou in B.C. I’d also love to Labrador Caribou in Quebec. That’s where dad went. Beautiful country.

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Nice bou Garvi!!

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X2 great animals I need to do that yet Who’s with me ?????

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count me in bou with my bow

You boys need to go on that archery Caribou hunt. It really is a hunt of a lifetime. Everytime I see a pic of a Caribou, brings back memories.

Oh ya, great bou Garvi.

And I would leave the barrel be for now and clean when the season is over.

Thanks guys,
TRIP OF A LIFETIME

Plus it was the last trip with my Sister and Brother inlaw, they died in a plane crash last January near Menomonee. (first picture along with my Father and I)

Anyway the place we went to was Nueltin Lake near the north Manitoba border. This place is a real class act great hunting,fishing,food,lodging and people. Steve Pennaz (north american fishing) and The BEAUTIFUL Melissa Backman (north american hunting) were on the same trip. Nice friendly people and that Melissa what a heart throb. (second picture)

Nueltin Lake

We didn’t quite hit the migration right but the trip was fantastic. My father,Sister and brother inlaw also went the year before this trip and they filled up in 2 days (they hit the migration perfect) and once you fill your tags (2) you get to fish Lake trout and Northern pike.

Unbeliveable is all I can say.

Sorry to hear that about your family Garvi!! So glad you got in a trip like this.

Melissa was a Cableas a few weeks back. I kept walking by with my little girls. Unfortunately the wife too. She is cute!!

Thanks for sharing info on this trip. I gotta start saving for this one. Probably gonna be more than my elk hunt out west.

I say clean the barrels, the smallest piece of fouling in your rifling will cause bullets to fly inaccurately. I wouldn’t use solvent. can’t remember the name, but i use these long rods thht have cotton all over it. run that down a few times, just dry, never know might make the difference between harvest and not.