SmallCaliberCentral

Today at the range I started to notice that the dirtier the barrel got on my CZ 527 Varmint the better it shot. I spent about 3 hours firing about 60 handloads. The best two groups of the day were the last two. I always clean the bore until the patches start coming out completely white, maybe I am cleaning it too much? I am tempted not to clean it at all and see what happens on the next trip out.

What do you guys think? Do your .204's shoot better when they are clean or a little dirty?

Every rifle barrel is a bit different, What may work in one rifle may not be the best for an other. I have clean barrel and dirty barrel shooters. It is also the reason for reloading, my pet load for my 204 Ruger my not be the best for you rifle. The only way to know what you rifle will do is shoot it.

Tuck2 is right on the money. Just depends on your rifle and what it likes. Also, what type shooting are you doing, pd, range, etc. My .204 will usually go 30-40 rounds before I run a bore snake thru it (in pd fields). I know, the bore snake ain't the greatest, but it keeps you going. My 22-250 will often shoot around 40 rounds before it fouls out. My buddys .223 will run about 25-30 rounds before it fouls. While pd shooting, I tend to shoot hard and fast, and it's very hard to pace yourself. When I miss shots at pd's that I know I should make, is a hint that I need to clean and swap guns.

I have been working up loads for a CZ 527 Varmint Kevlar and noticed the same thing. The American i have shoots great groups after a clean so i was getting a little depressed when the Varmint wasn't turning quite as good of groups as the American. I remembered one of my .223's liked being dirty so i just let this one dirty up and i can keep the load under a 1/2" now. I was cleaning a ridiculous amount during break in so maybe that was part of it also.