Just was wondering how most of you shoot and then let the barrel cool off. I see some people shoot 20 rounds and others 5 rounds. I used to shot several rounds with my bull barrels but this 260 SS gets hot fast. I usually shoot three shots and check the group out, write down in my log book and then load up three more. Is the any certian temp you need the barrel to cool down to when testing loads in anything bigger than a .22-I guess.

Accuracy is the result of consistency. If you really wanted to get consistent temperatures (and know you were getting them), you'd have to procure one of those handheld infrared pyrometers. I don't think they are too expensive; my friend who runs an automechanics shop has one for testing exhaust and A/C temps. They are quick and accurate to 1 degree.

Anyone out there done any cool verses hot barrel accuracry?

There was an interesting article the VHA magazine about this last month.

I can't remember the specifics, but they suggested to stop when the barrel was to hot to hold, and wait till it cooled down.

If i can hold the barrel in my hand it is cool enough to shoot for accuracy.With the pencil barrels and the summer heat it doesn't take but a few shots to really heat up the barrel.
This is what I do in the hot summer months if I am in a hurry for the barrel to cool.I take a couple soft drink bottles and freeze them,drop then in a small ice chest,wet a small towel and drop it in.Then after the barrel gets to hot to hold I take out the towel and cool the barrel down with it and throw it back in the ice chest,as the bottles thaw the moister on them keeps the towel wet enough.
This works really well shooting muzzleloaders in the heat of summer since heat is their biggest culpert if shooting sabots.

I shoot a skinny barrel 7mmRM. With good handloads, it groups less than an inch. If I fire three rounds off quickly (in the summer)the last shoot is usually 1-1/4 inch away from the first two shots. It will always put the first two rounds close, but not three, in rapid fire.

Jim

Well it might just be that I am shooting to fast for testing groups, at least between three shots. I shoot three and then sometimes don't wait long enough between. Will take the old Ice chest and towel this week as the SS barrel gets hot fast. I have about 60 rounds to test so might make a long day of it just to get good test. I have been checking some with my hand but think I am shooting to fast.

I don't need to do this cause my Oehler 43PBL has an acoustic target that shows all shots on my laptop, but for consistancy I make the 200 yard round trip to and from the target for every shot. The barrel is cooled by then and the exercise can't hurt.

The icy towel would work, too.

If the barrel is too hot to hold on to it is too hot to shoot again.

Ditto what the other guys said. I usually take 2 rifles to the range when I go, it's a long way & I don't go as often as I like. I shoot my groups, 3 or 5, allowing 1 min. between shots. Then I switch rifles & go again. On really hot days, over 85deg, I'll take 3 rifles & do this.

I'm fortunate to have a cheap old van which is dedicated COMPLETELY to shooting and handloading, with a benchrest at the back plus a handloading bench and another one for cleaning and gunsmithing.

For barrel cooling here in the hot Nevada summer, I take along a 2-gallon jug of ice and water rigged for gravity feed through a plastic tube. Ten seconds of ice water flowing down the barrel gives me a cool barrel, and then it's blown dry with fifteen seconds of compressed air from a storage tank under the benchrest.

The vast majority of my rifle shooting uses cast bullets, and the "bore conditioning" is not apparently disturbed by this procedure. Jacketed loads are even less affected.

To see this shooting van at an early stage of development, (without the cleaning/gunsmithing bench which replaced the second seat) go to

http://www.castpics.net

and then to "Special Projects" for a peek. It's the very finest shooting toy I've owned in fifty years!!!!

Hey Bruce I sure like your set up.

THAT WAS THE MOST ABSOLUTELY COOOOOLEST VAN I'VE EVERY SEEN. You are very lucky to have a range where you can back-up that great SchuzenVagon.........have a great time.

Tazfla:

We here in Nevada have it really good when it comes to shooting. The state is almost 110,000 square miles of mostly nothing. There are very few fences and fewer "No Trespassing" and/or "No Hunting" signs. Where I live, in Fernley, it is not too far in any direction to where you can whip out your M-60, M-16 or your 10/22 and blast away totally unfettered. There is a 100-plus acre dry lake just 4.5 miles from my home that is a 1000-yarder's dream come true. A friend and I went down to Austin a few weeks ago and shot dozens of rabbits on an alfalfa farm at ranges from just a few dozen yards to several hundred. The managing hand came around and helped us after dark (we spotlighted them then) and obliged us to shoot as many as we could and asked us to come back as often as we liked.

I used to live in the northern part of Virginia, near Winchester. The heat and insufferable humidity drove me away; the near-complete lack of places to shoot was a large factor in my reasons to move here. I love it here. The state is on a tear for growth, there are more jobs laying around than gooseshit on a golf course and life is good so far from the crowded madness of the east coast. Y'oughta check this place out.