June/July Sniper skills says leave barrel dirty all hunting season - won't the barrel interior rust?

[johnl_19]

June/July Sniper skills says leave barrel dirty all hunting season - won't the barrel interior rust?

[JM]

If it just means the gun powder residue when it says dirty then no it won't rust over the course of a season. If I were you I would keep my rifle clean for hunting purposes - I have never heard of leaving it dirty. Leaving it dirty will decrease accuracy.

[pineywoods]

I never clean my rifle after I do the final sighting in each fall. It has been my experience that a shiny, clean barrel will throw a round in an unpredictable direction, especially if there's any oil left in the barrel. I missed a couple of nice bucks because of this. It's called a "fouling shot" when you do this before shooting for record. The gun gets an apology and a good cleaning at the end of the season. ---Of course it gets cleaned if it gets wet during the hunt, but I make sure I've always fired a fouling shot before hunting again. Been doing this for over forty years with no apparent harm to the barrels.

[JM]

I think piney brought up a good point. I always do the same(fire a few rounds before the season starts without cleaning it afterwords). When I made my first post my idea of dirty was to never touch the gun and allow for anything that accumulates on the rifle be it dirt etc. to stay on it.

[huntfishtrap]

Yeah, when you're talking about centerfire rifles, it's best for accuracy to just leave the powder fouling in the barrel for as long as you're hunting, UNLESS it gets wet, then you should definitely clean it.
Blackpowder firearms are a whole 'nother story however, and you should always clean them as soon after shooting them as possible.

[DSMbirddog]

I think the statement in that article is accurate but you do need to take weather conditions into consideration. Mine don't get cleaned unless they get wet. Black powder is a whole different thing though.

[johnl_19]

Do you ever "characterize" your rifle - e.g. my 243 CCB is 2" low and a half inch left of the followup shots from a fouled barrel, very perdictable. So I go into the woods with a clean, oiled barrel which has been dry patched once.

[ILikePike]

I agree on the fouling shot, and leaving the barrel "used" for the season. I would not worry about rust , even in wet hunting conditions as long as the muzzle is kept out out of direct rain. But I would be cautious about bringing a cold rifle (November in Wisconsin)into a warm environment (Nice warm cabin), moisture will form on every part of your rifle, including the parts that you can not see, to have a potential to start rust. But to answer your question, the barrel will not rust without moisture.