To clean or not to clean barrel when testing new bullets

[Freediver111]

I’m in the camp of not cleaning my barrels very often. I really only clean them if group sizes open up. One of my my main target rifles easily goes over 500 rounds before I clean it, and even then I go pretty mild on the cleaning regimen.

That being said, I’ve been working on a .338 win mag Tikka hunting rifle and testing several bullets to find some good ones. I struggled with 230 ELD X with no luck. Tried some Hammer Hunter 210’s and found an excellent load, but those bullets are pretty pricey, so I decided to try some other bullets to hopefully find a good round that doesn’t hurt the wallet every time I pull the trigger.

I think I found a good load with Nosler 225 AB, but also picked up some 225 E Tips. These are solids, and the reported BC is a bit higher than the other bullets mentioned.

So essentially, my question is do you clean the barrel before testing each new bullet, or just keep on trucking with a fouled barrel and not worry about a dirty barrel with various types of bullets assuming accuracy of new bullets won’t be affected by a dirty barrel from different bullet makes?

 

[Jordanwickham]

I’m in the camp of not cleaning my barrels very often. I really only clean them if group sizes open up. One of my my main target rifles easily goes over 500 rounds before I clean it, and even then I go pretty mild on the cleaning regimen.

That being said, I’ve been working on a .338 win mag Tikka hunting rifle and testing several bullets to find some good ones. I struggled with 230 ELD X with no luck. Tried some Hammer Hunter 210’s and found an excellent load, but those bullets are pretty pricey, so I decided to try some other bullets to hopefully find a good round that doesn’t hurt the wallet every time I pull the trigger.

I think I found a good load with Nosler 225 AB, but also picked up some 225 E Tips. These are solids, and the reported BC is a bit higher than the other bullets mentioned.

So essentially, my question is do you clean the barrel before testing each new bullet, or just keep on trucking with a fouled barrel and not worry about a dirty barrel with various types of bullets assuming accuracy of new bullets won’t be affected by a dirty barrel from different bullet makes?

I would clean the barrel if for nothing else to have a baseline of the bullets accuracy. Atleast then you would know when it goes to shit.

 

[K31Scout]

I'm in your camp and wait for groups to tell me when to clean. I would not clean the copper out between bullet types. Maybe a quick powder solvent and boresnake then shoot a couple foulers.

 

[Shoots 700's]

I would clean the carbon out of it and foul a couple rounds and then shoot as normal.

 

[Ryridesmotox]

I usually clean every 500, which coincides with any switches with bullets. But when I switch brand of bullets, I will take it back down to bare steel.

 

[Steel head]

I never bothered to clean before testing other bullets.

 

[TheBoctor]

I try and keep a consistent amount of fouling when testing loads. Otherwise the first few shots are kind of throw-aways as far as data goes.

 

[Dthomas3523]

If you clean regularly, guess what.......your groups never open up.

 

[Milo 2.5]

I'm in your camp and wait for groups to tell me when to clean. I would not clean the copper out between bullet types. Maybe a quick powder solvent and boresnake then shoot a couple foulers.

My opinion would be to strip the barrel and let the next bullet have a fresh start. Let the new bullet lay copper down in it's own pattern.

 

[Freediver111]

Well, I decided to make a compromise. I did clean it really well after around 100 rounds, and it has roughly 200 rounds down it now. I went ahead and ran a jag with some Boretech Eliminator through it last night and then some dry patches. Didn’t go crazy and scrub the copper out. We’ll see how she goes. I loaded some extra rounds in order to run a few foulers through it before testing.

 

[ZY100]

A lot depends on how many rounds your barrel takes to settle in after cleaning. I have some that take 3-4. But I have one that seems to take about a dozen...then its a hammer.

If you are only shooting a small number if each bullet—me personally—I would not clean between. If you are shooting a larger number, then plan on shooting/burning a few groups until you see it settle down before you start recording data.

In my early days of reloading, I wasted a lot of time and ammo before I realized a bare/clean bore shot differently.

 

[Brux]

If you clean regularly, guess what.......your groups never open up.

Exactly what he said.