The 'Flyer' effect from 1st bullet when zeroing

Hi lads is there any way to over come the 'flyer effect' from the first bullit down a cold barrel?
sometimes this could mean the first bullet hitting 2-3" at 2 o'clock off centre
while the next 2 bullets have a a half inch grouping nearer ctr!
any advice appreciated.
sean
 
Clean rifle, zero with chosen ammo - so long as its not too many rounds and leave it alone. Don't clean it until its actually required, usually around 30 - 40 rounds.
 
Before I use my rifle and a clean I parch out with meths then patch out till dry. Ive never had a "flyer" after cleaning, just when I wobble.... Some rifles however will always need a fouling shot.

Nutty
 
My barrels are always dirty anyways and it's the cold shot that counts ain't it ?
.25 06 has it nailed I would think .
norma
 
The worrying thing is that's also your first shot when stalking...

Is it cold barrel or cold, clean barrel? if the latter, then as above leave dirty and then rezero and see if that makes a difference. If the former, then you could be in trouble as 2-3" at 100yds (I'm assuming 100yds) is a chunk more at say 200, and that's the difference between a clean kill and a number of sleepless nights

Hope it works out quickly for you

ATB
iain
 
Cheers lads to all advice so far.
cleaning cud be the issue but the question is how often should one clean a barrel?
i have a sako finnbear 270 and stalk atleast once a week but only might have fired 20-25 rounds since last oct!
 
I clean my 22-250 after every outing whether 1 round fired or thirty and always if it was damp.
Puts the first shot into the same place as subsequent ones.
I always patch out dry after a final brush out with a pleasant solvent (I use Ed's Red but Hoppes #9 same procedure) and leave it.
People say always shoot a round first but I'm confident of the rig and know first round is in the group.

I'd clean the barrel and patch out dry: then pop a target off a bench or bag and see what happens...

Spot the cold shot: 100 yards off bipod from a sheep "poo" covered hillock.
Matchking53grain.webp
It's not the flyer....
 
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You should clean the rifle every time to avoid any rusty spots. A light wipe over and a dry patch through it.

I would keep shooting the rifle until the accuracy drops off. be it a couple of boxes or a batch of bullets
 
Hi lads is there any way to over come the 'flyer effect' from the first bullit down a cold barrel?
sometimes this could mean the first bullet hitting 2-3" at 2 o'clock off centre
while the next 2 bullets have a a half inch grouping nearer ctr!
any advice appreciated.
sean
Sean.
​In my opinion, the consistency between the first cold bore shot and the follow up shot is a crude measure of the quality of your kit. I fired the 260 Rem that Russell Gall put together for me one day. I had a clean barrel and fired two shots, the second shot just opened up the hole the first shot made very slightly. I've never achieved that kind of result with a factory rifle. I expect my rifles to put shots 1,2 and 3 within half an inch of the intended point of impact at 100yds and whenever possible, I will be looking to take more than one shot.
Regards JCS
 
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The 'Flyer' effect from 1st bullet when zeroing

Hi lads is there any way to over come the 'flyer effect' from the first bullit down a cold barrel?
sometimes this could mean the first bullet hitting 2-3" at 2 o'clock off centre
while the next 2 bullets have a a half inch grouping nearer ctr!
any advice appreciated.
sean​

If I had a rifle performing like that I would be getting rid of it.
 
+1 on this = when i clean my rifle I patch out with meths then patch out till dry. Ive never had a "flyer" after cleaning
and as for cleaning ,each barrel will be diferent ,some will need to be kept very clean ,others need to be kept slightly dirty
depends on your school of thought ,keep it spotles, only clean when grouping opens up, ??
ime doing an experiment at the mo on my 22/250 barrel i havent cleaned it for copper since i did a load development [80 shots ago ] i have cleaned 4 times for carbon tho and my grouping has tightened up a bit [pick is of a 3 shot group at 100yds]100_1390.webp
 
well done lads.
some excellent thoughts and advice on the topic.
will put some of these into practice over the weekend and let u know how i got on.
cheers
 
Interesting reading. Does anyone not bother to clean their CF's? I don't clean the rimfires but try and clean the bigger rifles every 40 shots. Does it actually damage the rifle to leave it 'dirty'?


i tend to fire a shot and take a good couple of minutes before firing the second. Doesn't completely cool the barrel down but at least it doesn't hear up excessively.
 
Interesting reading. Does anyone not bother to clean their CF's? I don't clean the rimfires but try and clean the bigger rifles every 40 shots. Does it actually damage the rifle to leave it 'dirty'?


i tend to fire a shot and take a good couple of minutes before firing the second. Doesn't completely cool the barrel down but at least it doesn't hear up excessively.

As others have said on this thread, although we seem to be in a minority, but I clean after every stalk where a shot has been fired or after a zeroing session. Before I go out stalking I run a patch with a little bit of meths on it to clean out any oil etc and let it dry and my POI has never shifted. IMO 'dirt' in the barrel is not what is changing poi, it is getting rid of any oil or cleaning residue, which is exactly what meths does.

If I cleaned every 40 shots I would not be cleaning from August till the following August, a fallow season. I once took this advice with a near new CZ, and in an old house that was not particularly damp, but obviously a little, lines appeared in the barrel within 6 weeks, that on closer inspection was surface pitting. It was very hard to stay on top of this and the rifle needed oiling almost daily just to control its spread and it did spread an eventually I sold the rifle to someone who planned to re-barrel it, I just did not trust it as the rust was immense.

Carbon attracts water. If you leave your rifle barrel dirty, your rifles barrel will attract water out the air and water on a metal surface will cause rust. I have learnt the hard way and I would not wish it on anyone, that horrible feeling when you look down your barrel to see something other than a lovely clean rifling! Maybe I was unlucky but since my new regime of shoot and clean then swab out with meths I feel happy my poi is not moving and that my barres will not rust.
 
As others have said on this thread, although we seem to be in a minority, but I clean after every stalk where a shot has been fired or after a zeroing session. Before I go out stalking I run a patch with a little bit of meths on it to clean out any oil etc and let it dry and my POI has never shifted. IMO 'dirt' in the barrel is not what is changing poi, it is getting rid of any oil or cleaning residue, which is exactly what meths does.If I cleaned every 40 shots I would not be cleaning from August till the following August, a fallow season. I once took this advice with a near new CZ, and in an old house that was not particularly damp, but obviously a little, lines appeared in the barrel within 6 weeks, that on closer inspection was surface pitting. It was very hard to stay on top of this and the rifle needed oiling almost daily just to control its spread and it did spread an eventually I sold the rifle to someone who planned to re-barrel it, I just did not trust it as the rust was immense.Carbon attracts water. If you leave your rifle barrel dirty, your rifles barrel will attract water out the air and water on a metal surface will cause rust. I have learnt the hard way and I would not wish it on anyone, that horrible feeling when you look down your barrel to see something other than a lovely clean rifling! Maybe I was unlucky but since my new regime of shoot and clean then swab out with meths I feel happy my poi is not moving and that my barres will not rust.
Good advice. I was shocked when Callum Ferguson showed me barrel damage at kelso from rifles which werent looked after. His advice was look after the barrel, it doesnt take long but it could save us a fortune.Nutty
 
Clean rifle, zero with chosen ammo - so long as its not too many rounds and leave it alone. Don't clean it until its actually required, usually around 30 - 40 rounds.
+1 , also when zeroing take 3 shots adjust the scope if needed then let the barrel cool right down before taking your next 3. As said its that 1st shot that counts.
 
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