Shooting slugs? Clean thy barrel!

[mcoulter]

Stephen Archer sums things up well at the conclusion of his article here:

Accurate Slug Shooting - Barrel Cleaning Is Key!

If you want accurate slug shooting – and who doesn’t? – this investigation by HAM Contributor Matt Coulter demonstrates that […]

hardairmagazine.com

"Another conclusion is that your gun may be shooting accurately with pellets and not need cleaning, yet the barrel is too dirty for accurate slug shooting."

 

[ladwict]

This depends a lot on the barrel / liner used . With the LW my experience is similar as in the presentation of Stephen Archer but with the FX liners where the rifling is applied/ pressed in from the outside I have not find the need of cleaning the “barrel” at all. Even better the more I shoot the more accurate it becomes. I do clean even the TX barrels when I change ammunition ( size) though. Remeber that after cleaning a barrel needs to “lead up “ again to become in optimum condition again .

 

[mcoulter]

The "leading up" part seems to differ between shooting slugs and shooting pellets. Pellets definitely need a magazine or two of shots to settle in, but my experience is that slugs that "like" your barrel / gun seem to shoot well right after a cleaning.

 

[ladwict]

The "leading up" part seems to differ between shooting slugs and shooting pellets. Pellets definitely need a magazine or two of shots to settle in, but my experience is that slugs that "like" your barrel / gun seem to shoot well right after a cleaning.

Could well be..interestng remark. never gave that a thought but now you say…

 

[Vetmx]

Unfortunately we just can’t paint with a broad brush here. You just have to learn your barrel or liner. My FX liners do need a cleaning every now and then. Just depends on your chosen slug, tin content and juice.

 

[Geezerhood]

Though none of my barrels need a frequent cleaning, I have noticed that accuracy seems to fall off sooner shooting slugs vs pellets with several guns. I am assuming that is because of significantly greater contact surface with the bore.

 

[Ezana4CE]

And cleaned his Cricket barrel with a Patchworm kit and Ballistol.

 

[RM.510bigbore]

Rougher the barrel the more cleaning in short intervals to maintain accuracy. My factory Texan 50 barrel was horrible rough you could see tooling marks with naked eye in rifling.. Huge ring 3/4 way down the barrel like a lead accumulation donut. I could shoot.three accurate shots from a perfectly clean bore. One Fowler three accurate and accuracy went to hell. .I took that same barrel and hand lapped it with about 6 lead laps of pure lead. I started at 120 grit and worked up to 420grit. Now barrel is smooth and uniform I worked out all.the rough spots and.tool marks. Know for accuracy and cleaning of exactly same barrel ....shoot 20decent shoots after lapping then accuracy improved more. Its constantly shoots with much less cleaning. I can now.go a whole hunting season without having to clean and fowl.my barrel. Hope.this helps someone

 

[Airgun-hobbyist]

Rougher the barrel the more cleaning in short intervals to maintain accuracy. My factory Texan 50 barrel was horrible rough you could see tooling marks with naked eye in rifling.. Huge ring 3/4 way down the barrel like a lead accumulation donut. I could shoot.three accurate shots from a perfectly clean bore. One Fowler three accurate and accuracy went to hell. .I took that same barrel and hand lapped it with about 6 lead laps of pure lead. I started at 120 grit and worked up to 420grit. Now barrel is smooth and uniform I worked out all.the rough spots and.tool marks. Know for accuracy and cleaning of exactly same barrel ....shoot 20decent shoots after lapping then accuracy improved more. Its constantly shoots with much less cleaning. I can now.go a whole hunting season without having to clean and fowl.my barrel. Hope.this helps someone

I have seen this lead ring in barrels. It comes from a slight bulge and/or crack in the barrel, usually originating from where a slug was lodged and then the next round was shot into it (shooting both slugs out at that time). It can also form from bad tooling marks in the barrel, where the lead builds up as it passes over the rifling cutter flaws. Over a series of shots it creates a "speed bump" of sorts and flexes/pushes outwards on the bore, possibly cracking it. It would be best to take a bore scope and look closely at the spot after a good cleaning, or alternatively, remove the shroud off and look for external cracking.

 

[RM.510bigbore]

It was definitely tooling marks causing the lead ring. It was pretty easy using the lead laps.to feel.the rough spots. I really didn't have anything to loose. Premium 34 inch .510 barrel was.over $400.00 for the blank. I have a digital borescope I used to see what was going on. I'm happy and lucky the barrel smoothed out and is shooting slugs like.it should. In my younger days I'd of.given up on the barrel and bought A new premium hand lapped barrel. Less money more patience these days!!!!!

 

[waydeo]

Try powder coating cast slugs . Barrels don't lead up using powder coating.

 

[RM.510bigbore]

My slugs are all powder coated. When my barrel was really rough you still get leading. Copper jackets fowl on rough bores tooo. Powder coating helps but isn't magic on rough bores...