Aѕ I wаѕ watching a video οn rifle cleaning, thе instructor mentioned shooting a bullet through thе rifle аftеr cleaning tο “clear out thе oil аnd gunk.” Hе thеn ѕаіd thе rifle wουld need tο bе “zeroed іn” аftеr thе cleaning. Hіѕ rifle appeared tο bе a .22 аnd hаd a scope. Dοеѕ thе rifle need tο bе sighted іn аftеr a deep cleaning? Anу information wουld bе helpful. Thank уου.
Tags: after, Cleaning, Resighting, Rifle, scope
no nothing was removed if you removed it yes
It should only need to be resighted in if you remove the scope or bump it hard enough to throw it off. I strip down all my firearms fully every time I shoot and I never have to resight them in, that is unless i remover the scope or accidently bump it
Shoot it a time ot two to make sure it is still properly sighted. Now if you keep this gun clean all the time nothing will change.
NEVER fire a round through ANY firearm that has oil grease or anything else in the barrel! Make sure you barrel is FREE from obstruction (shiny clean inside) Use a cotton swab and jag to wipe the bore. No, if you were carefull not to bang the scope or sights around while cleaning you will not need to resight it.
I’ve never noticed that it needed it, but sighting it in after any kind of major disturbance or jarring movement is always a good idea. As far as shooting to clear out the oil and junk, cleaning the barrel should have done that if you actually got the barrel clean. The cleaning pads should be coming out as clean as when they went in order for the barrel to be considered clean. The same goes for the inner workings of the rifle. Unless you’re using way too much oil there shouldn’t be any heavy residue left anywhere on the gun.
That’s called a fouling shot. With oil in the barrel, a rifle will typically shoot a little higher than usual. Unless the scope was moved or jarred, there’s no need to resight the scope.
any time u are cleaning your rifle you always use a cleaning patch to run trough your barrel then u look through the barrel and if u still see carbon [little black things in your barrel] then u need to do it again keep this up till you don’t see anything in your barrel.
now making sure u have a good zero means that the bullet hits were u aim [where your cross hairs meet most ppl make that 100 yards but it depends on your cal. and the trajectory of your round]the reason is because sometimes you can knock off your zero while cleaning.
also i have head that for high precision wepons there zero can be off because of a really clean barrel so the fbi has this lube or stray that helps that and it helps with your cold bore shot to but that is what i have heard dont know if it is true
any way u should always check your zero before u hunt just so u know it is on.
take it easy
You should not need to adjust the scope unless it as been dismounted, but I always take it to the range for zeroing before a hunt, or competition even though I know exactly how it is going to shoot (force of habit).
As for shooting a round to “clear out the oil and gunk. ” I would have to question your instructors methods. You should run dry patches through the barrel until there is no “oil and gunk. ” Maybe that is just his way of saying; “fire a fouling shot after you’re finished cleaning, so the pressure change from the lube you are using don’t affect the cold bore shot”. . . . yeah, that’s it.
A clean, cold rifle barrel will shoot differently than a barrel that has had a few rounds pass through it. The difference can be as much as four minutes of angle (MOA) between the first shot and following shots even on a precision rifle. This translates to about 4 inches at 100 yards, and that is totally unacceptable for precision work. This is why competitive shooters clean their rifles between matches, then fire a “fouling shot” prior to going on record. Same thing goes for military and law enforcement snipers, after the cleaning (including the last step of running dry patches through till there is no gunk) we fire a fouling shot. Anything that contributes to the rifles cold bore accuracy, in competition or sniping you only get one first shot. Still a very good reason for anyone to fire a fouling shot after cleaning, but it is absolutely not for clearing out the oil and gunk.
Hope this helps. Have a good ‘un.
I would not use this video for any advice.
Any true instructor should know that the oil and gunk in the bore can act as an obstruction and could dangerous raise the operating pressure of the firearm. This tidbit is printed in nearly every manual that comes with a new gun.
Further, I have never heard of having to re-adjust the sights/scope after cleaning. As long as it was sighted in to start and the scope wasn’t removed or disassembled, it will still hold its zero.
This video scares me just a little. If this instructor is getting even basic things wrong, it makes it very difficult to believe/trust anything he says. Sad to say, you may do best to forget everything that you “learned” from that video.
Quapin is correct, never fire a rifle or gun that still has oil or cleaning solution in the barrel. The inside of the barrel should be shiny clean after cleaning. And no, the scope need not be re-zeroed in.
H