Pre Fouling

[Trey Arentz]

Looking for any ideas on the best way to foul up a barrel before hunting. My guns accuracy goes way up with even just one shot down the barrel. (BH209) I have tried snapping a couple primers off first and the POI was still different. I do fully clean my barrel after each range session to prevent rust build up. I would hate to just shoot off a round of loose powder especially at the price if BH209. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ElDiablito]

If 209s are not fouling the bore sufficiently then a full or partial load of powder is your other option. That’s what I do.

$2.50 in Bh209 (full load) ins’t gonna break the bank to foul your bore.

Most of us do not clean after shooting BH209. No need. I foul my rifles and leave them loaded all season (and sometimes until the following season).

 

[Trey Arentz]

If 209s are not fouling the bore sufficiently then a full or partial load of powder is your other option. That’s what I do.

$2.50 in Bh209 (full load) ins’t gonna break the bank to foul your bore.

Most of us do not clean after shooting BH209. No need. I foul my rifles and leave them loaded all season (and sometimes until the following season).

Do you run the charge without the bullet?

 

[ElDiablito]

Do you run the charge without the bullet?

No I leave it fouled after shooting at the range. You may or may not be able to get BH209 to go off without a bullet. It generally needs back pressure.

 

[Westhunt]

Fouling is super important, I sight mine in with a fouled barrel. It's worth it to just shoot one off to get a properly fouled barrel. If you're concerned about wasting a round, then just use it as an opportunity to practice. See if you can hit a rock while shooting free hand.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[MuleyFever]

I have noticed my first shot on a clean barrel is right there with my 2nd so I stopped fouling the barrel if its clean when I start the hunt. Often times though, I hit the range right before season and then just leave it dirty for the hunt.

 

[Wrench]

You might try an over powder wad. I use a felt wad soaked with lanolin. My rig will print really close to perfect fouled or not.

 

[rharbaugh]

Most of us do not clean after shooting BH209. No need. I foul my rifles and leave them loaded all season (and sometimes until the following season).

@ElDiablito Can you please provide some more context here, specifically on what you considered fouled vs cleaned? I'll try to find some of your older posts if you already covered this.

What I'm interested in is do you shoot your muzzy and then do nothing with the barrel? Or are you shooting and then only running a bore brush or dry patch down the barrel, and still considering this fouled? Also, what are you doing with your breech plug and flash hole?

 

[ElDiablito]

@ElDiablito Can you please provide some more context here, specifically on what you considered fouled vs cleaned? I'll try to find some of your older posts if you already covered this.

What I'm interested in is do you shoot your muzzy and then do nothing with the barrel? Or are you shooting and then only running a bore brush or dry patch down the barrel, and still considering this fouled? Also, what are you doing with your breech plug and flash hole?

BH209 leaves very little fouling in the bore - just a light slick soot. I don’t brush or patch. I shoot it and leave it fouled for the season. I’ll fully clean it after the February AZ javelina muzzy hunt, generally, before sticking a rifle back in the safe until summer. The other sub powders leave exponentially more corrosive fouling and must be swabbed/patched/brushed/cleaned. Toby Bridges published a test years ago where he shot 50 loads of Bh209 without doing anything to the bore and experienced no loading or dispersion issues.

Fifty Shots Through The Same 1.6-Inch Hole At 100 Yards!

By Toby Bridges It takes more than a great rifle, with a precision barrel, to knock out a 50-shot hundred yard group such as that shown ...

bh209hunter.blogspot.com

As for the breech plug. With Bh209, you will get very stubborn carbon deposits in the flash channel which must be removed with a properly sized drill bit. I ream mine out every 10-20 shots and will usually remove the plug and clean it thoroughly before loading for a hunt (just for a little peace of mind). I always check the flash hole by looking for light combing through it before loading so I know it’s clear. My flash holes rarely get much fouling but I do keep a set of torch tip cleaners on the bench to gently clear them if needed when doing a full clean on the plug. I’m using adjustable headspace 209 plugs with tungsten carbide bushings in most of the rifles I shoot Bh209 in these days. With those I just gently ream the carbon out with a drill bit every 10-20 shots and keep shooting. Hope this helps.

 

[rharbaugh]

Thanks @ElDiablito, learned something new today. This explains the big velocity difference and point of impact difference between my first "clean bore" shot vs 2nd and 3rd "fouled bore" shots.

 

[ElDiablito]

This explains the big velocity difference and point of impact difference between my first "clean bore" shot vs 2nd and 3rd "fouled bore" shots.

Which rifle and load?

 

[rharbaugh]

Which rifle and load?

cva accura 80gr weight bh209 250gr powerbelt aerolite

 

[mlevimadden]

I typically run 2 dry patches down my bore between shots at the range and after my last range shot before a hunt. It's enough to get out big chunks but still leave some fouling in the rifle for more consistent velocity and impacts.

Like @ElDiablito, I also clean out my flash channel before a hunt and after every 10-20 range shots to prevent any hangfires. Nothing worse than the sound of just a primer going off on day 4 of a backcountry elk hunt when you finally get a shot opportunity. Ask me how I know..