My interests have always been in wringing the best accuracy out of a rifle with the least amount of work. In trying to obtain pure accuracy, you only need to follow the benchrest shooters methodology. But, since I'm too lazy to do all of the case preparation required, or to spend huge sums of money on a shooting rig, I shoot stock varmint and hunting rifles. Currently, the focus of my attention was a Remington Model 700 BDL Varmint in .223 Rem caliber with a wood stock that I had free floated the barrel on, and a Savage Model 112 .243 with a sporter weight barrel in a composite stock that allows the barrel to free float. I use the Savage to shoot NRA Sporter Rifle matches.

    Here is how my "problem" started. I was taking the summer to work up loads for both rifles and noticed that I was shooting awesome groups one day and rotten groups the next with the exact same ammo all loaded at the same sitting. For example, the .223 would shoot ¼ inch groups one day and the next day open up to ¾ of an inch, all at 100 yards. This caused me to examine my shooting records in detail, and I found I was consistently shooting my best groups toward the end of my day. A typical range session was 40 to 50 rounds. I thought it might be my lack of case preparation and/or the gun being overly sensitive to weather, heat, and humidity variations. For case preparation I only make sure they are the same brand and the same length. I don't even weigh every charge as my Lee powder measure throws such accurate charges that I don't feel it's necessary. Since I have had such good luck with my loading practices in the past, I figured out that it probably wasn't my loading technique. I then decided to try to think of reasons why this gun shot so erratically.

    I came up with some common sense ideas such as:
1. Something was wrong with my scope.
2. The changing temperature and humidity of the different range days was affecting my groups.
3. The barrel might be copper fouled.
4. Something was wrong with the action or barrel that would need a gunsmith to repair.

    First I checked the scope at the range. I moved the point of impact all over the target and reset it to the original zero and it was always right on. I assumed that it was most likely OK. I then carefully kept track of the weather each range day and on seemingly identical days the gun would shoot some lousy groups and finish up with a few respectable groups, yet there was still not consistency. This made me think that it probably wasn't the weather. Now I was hoping the barrel was partially copper fouled, as the last option was to send it off to the gunsmith for expensive work. As usual, I figured I would go for broke in case the barrel was bad and had to be replaced. I bought some ammonia-based copper remover and stainless steel bore brushes. I scrubbed and patched the barrel until it was complete clean and the patches didn't turn any shade of green. This took approximately 300 passes with the stainless steel brush and 40 cloth patches. I also let the barrel soak for hours with the ammonia solvent on it, which is much longer than the 15 minutes or so that the manufacturer recommends. This was the most energetic cleaning I had ever done on a rifle. Now, back to the range and some test firing. I was quickly disappointed right off the bat. I was getting decent four-shot groups but I always had one flyer that ruined it by opening the group to ½ to ¾ of an inch. Now I was really frustrated. I looked at my shooting logs some more and noticed that after approximately 18 to 24 rounds the rifle started shooting much better.

    My conclusion was that it must be barrel heat. The barrel obviously had to get warmed up to its optimum shooting temperature and that was what was causing all my problems. After all, artillery and tank barrels are sensitive to temperature, so my gun was just acting like its big relatives. Seemed like common sense to me and I was getting desperate!

    But then I thought, I wonder if it could be oil in the barrel that was creating my problems. I didn't see how since everyone knows that with the pressure of 55,000 psi and the tremendous forces pushing the bullet through the barrel, any oil would be wiped out after two or three shots. No oil could last for 18 to 20 shots. It would be impossible! My cleaning regimen was to clean the gun normally, and then hose it off completely including the bore with Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber. The Gun Scrubber cleans the metal so thoroughly that there is no cleaning solvent left on the gun at all. I then would take a patch and put a couple of drops of oil on it and wipe the gun down and push it through the bore. I knew that some oil was in the bore but it couldn't be much, but I had to check to satisfy my curiosity as I had run out of ideas and the next stop was the gunsmith.

    Now at the range I took the rifle out, removed the bolt, and sprayed Gun Scrubber in the bore for approximately 4 seconds at full power. I then let the bore dry for only a couple of minutes as Gun Scrubber dries very quickly. I then fired off my first group. It was dead center and under ½ inch, without the usual flyer. Gee, I thought, I might be on to something here, and I continued shooting. Needless to say, the gun shot perfect from first shot to last and was shooting wonderful groups ranging from ¼ to ½ inch consistently. The flyers were gone along with all of the ¾ to 1 inch groups! I then tested this procedure to include all types of weather from raining to blistering hot and dry. Over the next few months I shot approximately 150 groups, all with excellent accuracy. The gun was a real "keeper" and shot great! What a difference! I had proven myself wrong about my "conventional wisdom" that the oil would shoot out after a couple of fouling shots.

    I now proceeded to test my new find on other sporting type rifles of all makes and types. Spending a lot of time at the range allowed me to test my results on everything from my .223 and .243 to others' Browning Boss guns in .30-06, .308, and .300 Winchester Magnum. It worked every time. I ended up being able to help numerous people at the range in getting their guns to shoot tighter groups.

    I expect any hunting type of rifle to consistently shoot three-shot groups to 1½ inches at 100 yards with a 3-9x power scope on it, and any varmint rifle to shoot five-shot groups to ½ inch at the same distance with proper loads. I noticed that most people were shooting one or two boxes of different ammo in their hunting rifle to sight it in. This is an excellent practice as it allows you to find out which load that particular rifle will shoot the best. Remember, all rifles have their favorite load and it most likely will not be what your buddy is shooting in his gun. I've rarely seen two rifles have the same best loads. But, even doing this, most shooters were accepting much less accuracy from their rifle than should be expected. I believe oil left in the bore was ruining their groups, no matter what the load. By the time they have shot the first box, they have heated the barrel up to scorching, and are so frustrated they can't shoot a good group even though the gun is capable.

    My assistance on the range consists of a quick partial cleaning of the bore by swabbing it about six times with bore cleaner, then hosing it down with Gun Scrubber or a similar product. After the barrel cools, I then sit and shoot a group for them. I have not been disappointed yet. The groups tighten up noticeably. I also instruct them on barrel heat and its negative impact on grouping. Usually the shooter is very happy and now satisfied with his hunting or varmint rifle. I also have an interest in first-shot accuracy from a cold barrel and found through testing that this same procedure allows for consistent first-shot accuracy.