'Afternoon gentlemen,

I have a small issue with my Tikka.

It groups like a dream, feeds well and does everything that I want it to in all ways except for one. When I clean it, no matter how well I degrease the bore, the first shot goes a couple of inches awry.

This is the same as most people's experiences however and the usual suggestion is to shoot from a fouled barrel. The problem I have with this is that my groundfloor London flat is not the most modern of buildings and that a gun so left for any period of time in the cabinet will soon acquire a frosting of rust in the bore.

The next step was therefore to put an oily patch down the bore and hose it out with de-greaser before shooting. Unfortunately this had exactly the same effect as a thorough cleaning in terms of of point of impact for that first shot.

A boresnake after each shot was tried but whilst this didn't affect the POI, it did little to fight the rusting issue.

Any ideas chaps?

move to Yuma, Arizona. Problem solved.

Amir,

What are you using as a degreaser?

quote:

Originally posted by DJM:
Amir,

What are you using as a degreaser?

A mix of iso-propyl alcohol and acetone Dave.

I've also tried meths, clutch cleaner and MEK.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc:
move to Yuma, Arizona. Problem solved.

Oh very droll...

Given the choice Doc I'd rather move to Tanzania for the same effect!

Get a dehumidifer. Silica gel or electric.

It would be a loosing battle Nordic, the cabinet is not hermetically sealed and even if it were the desiccant would do nasty things to my wooden stocks.

I tried the napier VP90 stuff as well by the way, great for the outside but didn't help the bore.

Ghubert

May I suggest a large plastic bag to fit over your rifle with plenty of hygroscopic gel closed with parcel tape.

That's how I store nice shotguns.

Seems to do the trick.

For engraved actions I spray it with Ballistol then wrap it with cling film !

Where is Yuma ?
Is it west of Tanzania ?
I think Tom Mix hunt Buffalos there ....

quote:

Move to Yuma, Arizona. Problem solved.

The concept as a whole is correct - 6% humidity.

quote:

I'd rather move to Tanzania for the same effect!

Not the same; too much humidity .....

Set aside 50,- pounds (Sterling). Next time I come visit you (end November) I'll bring you the magic trick - for a .30/06 Sprg.



A good rifle puts it's first shot out of a cold barrel in the same spot - EVERY time.

quote:

Originally posted by Gerry:



A good rifle puts it's first shot out of a cold barrel in the same spot - EVERY time.

Depends if it is pointing at a fox or not and if that fox happens to be in the same field as 1200 pheasants.....

TWICE!!!!

FB

quote:

Originally posted by Fallow Buck:

Depends if it is pointing at a fox or not and if that fox happens to be in the same field as 1200 pheasants.....

TWICE!!!!

FB

The shame of it......

It's about time (for your hearings sake) you cut it to 21" and put an ASE Utra on it. Clean however you want (don't store it with moderator) then just fire a shot into a bank as a fouler before setting off.

Seeing as you were looking to download to save carcasses the MV lost from the missing 3" won't be missed. It might even get rid of the issue straight off.

quote:

Originally posted by Fallow Buck:

quote:

Originally posted by Gerry:



A good rifle puts it's first shot out of a cold barrel in the same spot - EVERY time.

Depends if it is pointing at a fox or not and if that fox happens to be in the same field as 1200 pheasants.....

TWICE!!!!

FB

Foxes can be very photogenic you know...

quote:

I tried the napier VP90 stuff as well by the way, great for the outside but didn't help the bore.

I think Napier do a VP90 "insert" for the barrel; might be worth a try...

Ghubert,

I too care about the first shot zero. I don't clean any of my rifle barrels unless something goes wrong.

I store them in a safe and have a 15W light bulb burning in there. There is never any rust inside or outside on the guns.

Try the light bulb idea as you must store it in some kind of lockup?

Also you might put tape over the end of the barrel and close the bolt. Shoot it with the tape on.

I'm going to send you something to try...

quote:

Originally posted by Claret_Dabbler:

quote:

Originally posted by Fallow Buck:

Depends if it is pointing at a fox or not and if that fox happens to be in the same field as 1200 pheasants.....

TWICE!!!!

FB

The shame of it......

And the moral of the story is, If you want a man to shoot your phesant-nicking foxes for you, for the love of god give him a zeroed rifle.......

Thank gentlemen, note how this does not include several disreputable characters above, for the help.

Kent, YHPM.

Regards,

Amir

If the first shot is a consistent distance off from your zero then make a note of it and adjust accordingly. If it's not then I think someone mentioned a moderator and a fouling shot earlier in the thread. I tend to do that and it has served me well.

G

Ghubert, are you using fresh Isopropyl?, as it is hygroscopic itself, just a thought , Steve.

As far as degreasers go...I have been using common carburetor cleaner in aerosol form for more than a decade to clean guns of all manner, including double rifles. It will ferret out powder residue and oily gunk (technical term) from the smallest nook and cranny. I learned this trick from an old gunsmith. We pay about $3 a can over here. I have a gun dealer friend here that I turned on to this trick, he now buys carburetor cleaner by the case...

Can you not try a low watt bulb (20 watts) fitted
on a timer to keep the cabinet dry? and free from rust

1894mk2, Which bank? if we fire a fouling shot into a Bank they call out the S.W.A.T. Team.

quote:

Originally posted by Ghubert:
When I clean it, no matter how well I degrease the bore, the first shot goes a couple of inches awry.

This is the same as most people's experiences however and the usual suggestion is to shoot from a fouled barrel.

The other option is to set the zero on the first shot from the cold, clean barrel

quote:

Any ideas chaps?

Either as Jabali Hunter says or as my brother used to do when he was in the police.

Zero the rifle using a clean barrel and a fouled barrel and set the zero between the two and then remember to compensate.

It may be a pan in the bottom to set the initial zero but it makes remembering the hold-off allowance a lot easier as once you've fired that first shot you only have one allowance to recall.

However your problem may not be that. It may be that as soon as it is warm the barrel then "walks" the group.

To test this pour boiling water down the clean barrel, ensure it and the chamber are absolutely dry, then fire a round to see it it has the same point of impact as from a COLD clean barrel.

I have not left oil in the bores of my barrels for several years now. The last step of my cleaning process is to apply Prolix which does not cause the first shot to go wild at east in the multiple barrels I've tried it in.

I did have a barrel some time ago from which the first 2 or 3 shots would go wild from a cold clean barrel. It ended up being a problem with the crown and was solved by recrowning and fire lapping the barrel.

ghubert,
I would like to understand a pair of points:
For sure the problem comes when you have to hunt in your country, isn't it? Because in any country there is the possibility to shoot some round to check the zero before the start of the hunt.

Is it a problem to go to the range some/few days before the hunt? you have to shoot some cartridge to clean the barrel from the oil and fouling it. A week in the cabinet should not create problems to a modern gun even if you live very close to the sea.

A Remington I had did the same thing. The problem was solved by firing a case with primer only, no powder or bullet. There was enough power in the primer to blow out the oil and leave a deposit of gunk in the barrel. The report was about the level of a .22lr.
If no shot was fired whilst stalking a quick oiling left the barrel in a condition for storing in the gun cabinet and the process repeated on the next outing.
This proved to be a simple and effective solution to an annoying charateristic of an oterwise accurate rifle. Perhaps it will work for others too.

This has been a very useful post for a newbie like me and also nice to see other people from london into shooting (rifles) and hunting.

I do hope to meet up with you guys someday.