# clean vs fouled



## campfire (Sep 9, 2007)

Now remember that I have allready appologized for asking a bunch of elametary questions but I am still trying to convert my smokless experience to my new hobby of ML. I have habitually sighted in my 30-06 prioir to hunting season with a fouled barrel and have purposefully kept it fouled through the big game hunts before a good cleaning before storage at season's end. But my research suggests that black powder/substitutes are much more corrosive than smokless power. Thompson Center recommends that I keep my new Omega clean and seasoned. They even recommend cleaning the barrel between every shot. Now if I follow the recommendations of my gun manufacturer I will most likely shoot my first, most important and probably only shot at game through a clean barrel. So I reason that it makes more sense to sight my gun in with a clean barrel rather than a fouled barrel meaning cleaning between every shot at the range even if I choose to use bowerbelts that claim that this is not necessary. So what is wrong with my reasoning and am I worring needlesly? Does it even make that much difference on accuracy, at black powder velocities, whether a barrel is fouled or clean?


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## Bears Butt (Sep 12, 2007)

I always have a clean rifle before that first and most important shot at big game. My follow up load is usually a patched round ball and I make it a habit to load that up quickly after shooting my deer. If I need to use that round ball shot, it is usually at close range and to put the animal down for good. If I don't need to use it, I will shoot it and put the gun away after cleaning it in anticiapation for next season or rendezvous.

Practice involves a lot of cleaning between shots using conical bullets. If I'm just shooting patched roundball, say at rendezvous, I will shoot for two or three days without cleaning the rifle. I've even been accused of not cleaning it for a year. My bad!

One of my buddies from Soda Springs bought himself a 58 cal. back in 1960, has never cleaned it and he still wins shooting contests regularly by shooting 32 cal. ball through it.


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