Fact or Fiction, or... You Make the Call

[TX_RGR]

I was hoping you guys could clear a couple of things up for me.

The first is an article I read by, let's call him a gun expert, who mentioned storing a rifle overnight, before a trip to the range--muzzle down. What is this about? If there is some benefit, can it be had over such a short period of time?

The second is something I have read more than once. It involves shooting a flier with an autoloading rifle before sighting in, to get the "hand-loaded" round out of the equation. Again, what is this about?

Your input as always is much appreciated.

 

[HS]

Muzzle down ?

The guys a whack ! = Huh?

Oil from the breech might trickle down the barrel - KABOOM ! :barf:

My target pistol, S&W 2206 definately (seemed) to be more
accurate the dirtier it got so I NEVER went to a Comp with it
all clean n' shiny....

 

[TX_RGR]

Ya know, I was thinking along those same lines. Not kaboom, but more like, "I spend hours cleaning this thing, why do I want all of that CLP running into my nice clean barrel?" I thought, "I must be missing something."

 

[Russ5924]

I have one Ruger Model 77 you may as well shoot that first round at anything it seems to want to go where it wants.After that the rifle is very accurate,is only that first shot of the day??????????

 

[HS]

Gawd, trying to remember 6/7 year old posts is fun, but now thinking about this we covered the first shot (goes wherever) topic years ago...

Lands/gooves getting a coating lead/copper and "tuning" the barrel as well as "harmonic" vibation "settling" the barrel/reciever in the stock VS's just plain ol' nerves on the 1st shot of the day !,,,LOL

 

[Dfariswheel]

There is a phenomenon called "First round flier" that shows up in some semi-auto pistols, and possibly rifles.

The first round, which is chambered by hand tends to shoot to a slightly different place than the rounds chambered by the actions operation.

This tends to show up on some brands more, but is not something every gun is prone to.

I suppose it's possible there might be a discernible difference in a Match-grade semi-auto rifle, but very few shooters would to this, since in most matches you simply aren't allowed to fire more than the number of rounds called for.

In other words, you aren't allowed to chamber a round, fire it off, then wait for the starting whistle to shoot the actual match.

Many shooter DO however fire "fouling shots" before a match starts.

Many rifles, especially .22LR target rifles will put the first round out of a clean barrel to a different zero, so it's common practice to fire fouling shots, both to foul the barrel, and to check your sights for zero.

There are some shooters who if unable to fire a fouling shot, will run a bronze bore brush down the bore to deposit a layer of copper, in the belief that this will produce the same effect as a fouling shot.

 

[cracked butt]

who mentioned storing a rifle overnight, before a trip to the range--muzzle down. What is this about? If there is some benefit, can it be had over such a short period of time?

Not sure what he was trying to explain here, but here are my thoughts.

After you clean a rifle its best to store it muzzle down so the residual oil and cleaning solvents don't seep into the stock causing it to soften, weaken or swell. Storing rifles muzzle down is for the most part impractical because it seems that every gun rack or safe ever made stores the rifles muzzle up.

What I do, though not practical for everyone, is to hang the my rifles from the ceiling from bicycle hooks after cleaning. The rifle is cradled by a hook at the wrist and on the barrel with the action facing down. My line of thinking is that after I cleaned and oiled a rifle, any excess liquid should run down into the action within a week, where I wipe it dry then put it into the safe. I'm more than likely being overcautious, but I have some rifles with some very fine lumber on them that I don't want damaged.

 

[Eghad]

The only thing I have done is carry em muzzle down when aboard an aircraft..so if you have a discharge it goes out the floor.

 

[MeekAndMild]

I think the muzzle down storage advice may date from the old days before gun safes when people would stand them up in a corner for a year gathering dust. When hunting season started they would wipe them clean then stand them upside down so the dust from the dirt roads wouldn't settle in the barrel during hunting season.

 

[blackmind]

Ya know, I was thinking along those same lines. Not kaboom, but more like, "I spend hours cleaning this thing, why do I want all of that CLP running into my nice clean barrel?" I thought, "I must be missing something."

Do you folks really leave such an excess of CLP in your actions that you have legitimate cause to worry that there'd be runoff down the bore if you left the gun muzzle-down??

I always thought that "thin film of oil" meant "thin film of oil."
Not "copious puddle."


-blackmind

 

[Quantrill]

I STORE my rifles in a gun safe, Barrel down. I find that even in the safe dust somehow filters in. I base this on the scopes without covers accumulating dust. The first shot fired from a cleaned gun is known as "The Fouling Shot", also the name of the Cast Bullet Ass'n. monthly magazine. It is an old and honored tradition by some folks, especially cast bullet shooters. I would not dispute it. Quantrill

 

[MEDDAC19]

Barrel down, stems from the thought that any excess oils may migrate down into the action, thus over the years build up and create crud (gun rag term), since most shooters don't break down their trigger groups, bolts, and actions when cleaning their rifles.

Fouling shot already covered.

 

[IZinterrogator]

I've heard of storing it upside down, with the stock on top and horizontal, to avoid the "crud" issue. I can see how adding muzzle down would be beneficial, though. Might keep dust out of the barrel.

 

[powerstrk]

Correctly cleaned firearms should not leak lubricants down a barrel. The rule of thumb for lubricant usage is to use the minumum amount to get the job done. I have stored firearms muzzle up for years and have never had an issue with this problem. Most people think more is better. WRONG, less is better.

As a Maint. Super for the last 30 years in Amusement parks, I have seen my share of lubrication failures due to excess or not enough lubricants. To many times it is due to over lubrication, which attract dirt, foreign material, and excess heat into the area that is to be protected. Buy a quality lubricant and you should have no issues. I have bought hundreds of thousands of dollars of lubricants and have alway stressed with my people to use the minumum and clean thoroughly after you are done. You save money and equipment. Proven fact.

I went through a few CCW classes and the instructor asked to see everyone's firearm, Most were dripping with oil, holsters were soaked, sorry messes. I felt good when he passed mine around and said this is the right way to do it. Just my 2 cents worth.