September 6th 2023Browning X Bolt rifle photo courtesy of Browning.Hunting is fast approaching, so now is the time to prepare your rifle. You’ll need to zero your rifle before hunting, and you’ll also want to know what impact your shots will have with a cold barrel. It’s vital that a hunter knows how his rifle will shoot with a “cold-bore shot”. The point of impact and possibly the velocity may differ with a cold-bore compared to a barrel that’s been fouled in with a series shots. In this video, the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit explains how to determine the cold bore point-of-impact (POI) of a rifle after it has been cleaned. You will also learn how to determine the cold bore POI for a barrel which has been “fouled”. SGT Joe Hein from the USAMU demonstrates how to plot cold-bore POI for both a clean and fouled bore. Note that the “cold-bore” shot from the fouled barrel was much closer to the subsequent shots than the shot from the clean barrel. This is common for many factory barrels. SGT Hein explains how to easily understand the cold bore performance of your rifle. Hein’s advice will help you avoid missing the long-range shot on opening day at that big buck. Spending some time on the range prior to that first shot is a great way to ensure you have meat for the freezer this hunting season.
Tags: Cold Bore, Hunting 101. Point of Impact. USAMU
