TargetTalk

On my wife's Anschutz 1913, the first sighter shot is wide left and then the second shot is where it should be. The first shot can be as wide as the 5 ring and the second can be in the X ring. I was trying to find reasons why this might happen - fouling, cold barrel, etc. It seems to do a little better after being cleaned. Any other thoughts?

My rifle is also a 1913 and it used to do that 4-5 years ago. Now it is much better and the difference might be one ring either left or right. Would shooting 5000-10,000 rounds through a barrel make it settle in? Are there certain brands that do this more than others?

I have not noticed this in high power rifles, although it is difficult to tell since you have only 2 sighters shots and you are moving your sights after the first shot. Except in LEG matches where there are no sighter shots.

I don't think I have had a rf that didn't do this. It's just normal. There is no way to duplicate the bore condition of the first shot that the remaining shots experience. Each shot leaves a lot of residue in the bore.


I only compete in rf br and I wouldn't think about firing record shots until I have shot at least 6 to 10 'foulers ' / sighters / bbl warm up shots.

A first shot flier occurs with some rifles.

Sometimes it's related to cleaning, and occurs after the barrel has been cleaned, especially a thorough clean. The idea is that the first round is travelling through a completely clean and dry bore, so speed, acceleration, and alighnment are not the same as with subsequent shots. The reverse could be true, with the first shot blasting out some of the previous session's debris.

Sometimes it happens whether the barrel is clean or dirty, and bedding is often said to be the cause. If the inlet in the stock isn't perfect the action could be slightly loose, or under stress, so the recoil of the first shot may move the action slightly. Once moved it usually stays put during firing, but will shift back afterwards. Epoxy bedding should cure this.

Vic Auer, in an article in the American Rilfeman, also stated that stress in the barrel-action joint could cause a first shot flier.

All my .22's do this. I have a 1913 BR, a 40X and an H&R M-12 and they all throw the first shot on a cold barrel out of the POA. Shooting a few sighters to warm and foul the barrel solves the problem.

My daughter recently started working with a new prone rifle coach. She is shooting my old 1813, and one of the first questions he asked was how many shots did it take from a cold barrel for it to start grouping in the center. Note that it was how many, not if it did it. Just for interest sake the first is usually an eight at one o'clock, the second is usually a 9 then they tend to go in the middle. It might need a couple more after a really thorough cleaning. When Eley first released the EPS bullet the batches that I tried with it often needed 20 or 30 rounds from a thorough clean before the rifle would start to group reliably. Once it was on song though it was really good. That situation seems to have resolved itself now though.

Alan

This is not at all uncommon out of a cold clean barrel. The general rule for me is - one shot for every inch of barrel length to get the lube distributed.

I tend not to clean my barrel all that often, although I clean the bolt, ramp, and chamber each session.

In my experience, you will also see this phenomenon if you change to ammunition of a different lubrication. Lapua/SK/Wolf all use the same lubricant (I'm told, I sent them an Inquiry last week and am still waiting to hear back). Eley, on the other hand, does not use the same lube across their line.

Just for fun, I ran some Eley Sport through my match Anschutz without cleaning the barrel at the end of last season. The shots went everywhere for about 30 shots, then settled down to nice groups, albeit not as small as my Eley Match ammo. A follow up with the Match ammo resulted in large groups, which again settled down after a few dozen shots. Only one test to be sure, but worth noting for me.

As an aside, I wrote to Lapua because I had seen it written that all their lubrication is beeswax/tallow - the same at the upper end Eley. I'm looking for a less expensive practice ammunition, but the lower end Eley is a paraffin lubrication. Even though the beeswax/tallow may not be exactly the same, it might prove to be OK to use for practice. I suppose I should just buy some SK/Wolf and run some tests...