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First shot fouler?

2K views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  justinp61 
#1 ·
I have many 22LR rifles and pistols. Only one has this issue, and it is the first shot from a cold barrel does not shoot into the group.

It is only the first shot, and shoots about 1 1/4" low and about 1/2" right, fairly consistently. All consecutive shots impact into the group at the proper impact.

As I only have one rifle that does this I was curious as to the cause. I have shot the same ammo from other rifles and they don't exhibit this condition.

I was told it was due to "cold" lubricant, however the other rifles not having the same issue with the same ammo kind of rules that theory out.

As I shoot this rifle in competition, I currently make sure that I fire a few shots before the event begins in order to foul/warm up the bore as well as confirm conditions.

Any other ideas as to why this rifle requires a fouling/warm up shot before it impacts as desired?
 
#3 ·
Smarter folks than me can say why. I just know you're lucky if only one has this happening. My 2 RFBR rifles always require several fouling shots before they settle down. Sometimes it is only 2 and sometimes it can take about 8. You just live with it. I know of no way to avoid it. And if you're shooting a match you want those fouling shots, and sighters following them, to simply settle the rifle down and you too. Don't sweat it.
 
#5 ·
Did the chamber clean thing, still shot 1 1/4" low and 1/2" right.

Just gonna go with John45's rec and shoot warmup shots before match as I have been doing. It's only the first shot of the day so not a big deal.

PBikerr,

I did read all 24 pages of that thread. Interesting.
 
#8 ·
Check for a carbon / lead ring just ahead of the chamber. It can cause flyers and affect overall accuracy. A bore scope is the best way to tell. They can be a bugger to get out. I use a tight bronze brush, a patch and JB bore cleaner. Short stroke the chamber area. I also finish with a coating collodial graphite by patch ( AKA lock-eze). It might be psychological, but to me it seems to reduce the clean, cold bore flyer.
 
#10 ·
Wow! This is a can of worms. Every .22 I have is cleaned on a regular basis. Some require 10 to 15 shots to season the bore, and others take nearly 2 boxes. It depends on your rifle, and how "deep" you clean. Cleaning your .22 weapons is not an option you can take or leave. At least keep the carbon ring from building up, and avoid pitting and lead problems. I like my .22s to be as accurate as possible, perhaps it's the crowd I hang with. At the range we either shoot for small groups or have a USBR shoot off on a regular basis. Nasty bores just don't do very well. There is a difference between "seasoned" and "nasty". The calipers (group size) or the scores will let you know if your weapon is up to the task at hand. However, for hunting season, the cleaning procedure is different, to help insure first shot results. For example, I had a used 54MS when scoped, it looked good. After a deep clean the leade area was badly pitted. Yep, there are those who just don't know any better. They walk among us. :grrr:

http://www.ssvtexel.nl/index.cfm?act=files.download&ui=C5C9D865-2200-0A21-B5F5CF897974784F
 
#11 ·
I had a 541THB that would throw away the first 2 or 3 shots to the left, wait 10 minutes it would do it again. I found that Wolf Standard(the old Wolf) would shoot true. The Wolf has oily slick lube on it. I didn't try any of the other ammo that has the slicker lube, prolly would work tho. Might work in your gun, The old Wolf was SK ammo.
 
#12 ·
Had a friend call just this last week with a similar problem, 1st 2 shots low from his hunting/varmint 22. This worked for him.
Try 'lip balm':
Cold barrel, uncleaned, just put a light smear from your thumb and forefinger on the bullet, load and shoot for poi.
If good try the next one un-balmed for poi.
If not where you want it on the next cold bore trial do the first two shots balmed and try the third un-balmed.
At some point you it will become clear this helps, or not, and at what point you can just shoot from the box.
Lip balm is typically largely bee's wax and a fine bullet lube for .22s, Udder Balm has become my fav now for cast bullets in muzzleloaders and black powder cartridge guns as well as 22s but most everyone has some lip balm around.
 
#14 ·
I have a repop 52 made by Miroku that I shoot in local sporter benchrest fun matches. The rifle will throw the first cold bore shot about 1/2" high and 1 1/2" to the right every time, even with the little cool down time between targets. Normally I'll fire 3-5 shots at the sighter bull and I can watch the shots walk to the bulls eye.

This rifle has a piece of inner tube at the tip of the fore end to apply a little pressure on the barrel, this helped tighten the groups up but I need to try a thinner (bicycle inner tube) piece of rubber and see if it helps with the cold shot flyers. I may end up bedding the action and a couple inches of the barrel too.
 
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