Cleaning bore and loads

[sharptailhunter]

I wasn't sure where to post this question, so I chose to post it here because it has to do with reloads. I'm shooting a Savage FV12 with a factory barrel. I've just started to work up some different loads. I have cleaned the bore after each trip to the range. The most consecutive shots I've fired before cleaning was 30 (6 five-shot groups). So, I'm wondering if I'm firing too many shots between cleaning? Or, how many shots can one take with the .204 before it would be dirty enough to start affecting my accuracy and thus cause me to maybe falsely reject a load? I ask because cleaning this small bore is kind of a pain. I'm using some foaming bore cleaner that does a good job, but removing that from the bore with a tiny cleaning rod and a small cotton patch is a pain in the butt. Is there a better way of cleaning that I should be aware of?

By the way, I do allow plenty of time between 5 shot groups for the barrel to cool. In fact, I haven't let it get above warm to the touch. And, I'm not saying that my loads are all over the place, I just wonder if I'm making it harder on myself than is necessary?

Thanks for any help/advice. I love this forum!

[Rick in Oregon]

sharp: You're probably doing alright the way you are doing it now. 30 shots is about what I take in the rat patch with my 204's prior to cleaning too, but remember every rifle barrel is a rule unto itself; one factory barrel may "need" cleaning so as not to lose accuracy after ten rounds....some may go as far as 50, especially in a custom, hand-lapped barrel. I've seen articles by 'writers' that have shot 204's all day at prairie dogs without cleaning, but it's not usually their rifle they're abusing by doing so.

Sounds like you're doing it right to me, but if you really want to know how many rounds you can shoot prior to accuracy suffering, you can always test it for yourself, but it'll be much harder to clean all the way to bare metal at that point.

[DoubleUp]

An interesting article on the straight-jacket placed on factory rifles which is a type of heat-sink not only makes factory barrels shoot like benchrest rigs, but almost totally eliminates metal fouling in the barrel. According to them, most metal fouling is a result on heat buildup in the barrel. The straight-jacket supposedly keeps the barrel so cool that it has little metal fouling and shoots sub-moa even after literally hundreds of rds fired without cleaning. It is an intriguing read and may change lots of views on accuracy.

http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/extreme ... ghtjacket/