Cooloing barrel between groups-How cool is cool

[mofugly13]

When working up loads, it is essential that you let the barrel cool down between groups. How much must it cool down? For consistency's sake, it seems that you should let it cool to ambient temperature between every string. But that could mean a lot of time waiting between strings. Typically, between 5 shot strings, I'll walk the 100 yards to the target and back, or shoot another gun for a while. But sometimes I am at the range for a couple hours just trying to get 50 rounds down range, and even then, the barrel is not cooled to ambient between strings. I'll ususally go ahead and shoot again when the barrel has cooled to 'slightly warm'. What are your thoughts on the matter.

FWIW, I don't shoot precision rifles, I shoot sporter contour hunting rifles.

[Vu 308]

Slightly warm is fine.

[duckman1]

Unless you are seeing the groups starting to open up shooting it warm should be fine.

[Exodus343]

1-2 minutes per shot is what I've been doing, gives me time to let the barrel cool while I'm going over my body alignment, npoa, breathing, loading, etc
Then again that's precision shooting on prone with bipod. YMMV

[MongooseV8]

Many shooters will shoot hot to record groups.

In a match you dont always have time to let it cool down. And that squirrel sprinting across the field wont wait for my barrel to cool either. I usually shoot them til they are too hot to touch then I switch rifles.

[jtake]

It also depends on the nature of your barrel. Pencil thin barrels will begin to exhibit accuracy deterioration sooner than bull barrels. A big beefy bull barrel will allow longer shot strings before showing accuracy deterioration signs than pencil barrels.

So hunters who might only shoot 2 consecutive shots use thinner, lighter barrels to manage weight, while bench shooters shooting longer strings use heavier match barrels as weight is not a limiting factor.

[E92335i]

Yup slightly warm is fine. I tend to shoot 3 shot or 5 shot groups then take a rest for like 5 minutes.

[HK Dave]

Wow... i guess it's bad when I shoot 100 rounds in under 5 minutes... I figured the smoke coming off my barrel was normal. :P

[LynnJr]

Once your barrel reaches 140 degrees your accuracy suffers.You can buy a thermal pad that sticks on the barrel that tells you what temperature your barrel is at.
I have cooled my barrels with ice cubes,rags soaked in ice water and CO2 run through the bore.
The real serious Varmint Hunters sleeve there barrel then pump alcohol through the sleeve with a pump powered by a solar cell.
Here is a link showing some water cooled varmint rifles.You can see the hoses and regulators used to keep them cool.

http://www.rugerhunting.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7624&view=next

[toby]

Lots of cold water if needed. I have never been in that situation though.

[sjb269]

I use a cool damp towel myself. Generally, if I can't reach up and hold my barrel for a few seconds…it's hotter than I like. I have cooked it pretty good before, but I try to keep that to a minimum.

[gunboat]

douglas - from cle ulum
of course you would not worry about an overheated barrel,
yours are naturally water cooled

[ar15barrels]

How will shooting a hot rifle hurt it / your groups?

It's very common for skinny factory barrels to bend with heat as they are not straight from the factory.
The more the barrel heats up, the more it bends.
This shows up on target as a wandering point of impact.
In a rifle with this condition, the zero is dependent on the temperature of the barrel.

[Rodell]

When doing load development for a hunting rifle I wait two minutes between shots to keep an even temperature. On my varmint rifles I don't have to wait quite so long.

If your barrel is smoking hot you are probably doing a number on the throat.

[russ69]

Too hot to touch is too hot.