what do you guys do?

[davkrat]

How is cooling down a barrel quickly through evaporation much worse than EXTREMELY quickly warming one up by firing rounds through it? The one thing I would be concerned about with wet towel is that you only get the top of the barrel and not the under side against the stock. I simply wipe a little water on it which quickly evaporates. It takes the barrel from uncomfortable to warm, I don't think it's all that extreme. The blower is a great idea.

 

[steeltraps]

I dont know the answer to that. What i do know is that i want my rifle to do the SAME thing on the range as it does in F-class competion. Im not going to put water, wet towels, or ice on my barrel. You dont see anyone on the line with a cooler fun of ice laying next to them in a f-class match!

 

[davkrat]

Makes sense to me

I've actually been thinking perhaps for a hunting 2-3 quickly fired shot groups might be better representation of hunting situations.

 

[steeltraps]

Me too! I mainly hunt beanfeilds and long cornfeilds from tripods. Most of my rifles are sendero barrel or larger, so i shoot 10 shots and let them cool. I have some guns, like my m70 300wsm that i hunt from treestands in that i only shoot 5 rds from. My sporter barreled hunting rifles i just take my time, get a good aim at target and shoot threw chrono. My take 5 mins. to shoot 5 rds at most.

 

[AZShooter]

I am also in Az and yesterday at the range it was 90 by 8:30. Even with multiple rifles there is a great deal of waiting.

I have used wet towels but found it too slow. I fashioned a CO2 system. The guys at Praxair were nice enough to help me try different regulators till I got one with enough flow. Add a rubber line with the tip tapered with a utility knife.

I try to get the barrel cooled close to ambient temps and have an infra red thermometer to monitor. I did extensive tests with a very accurate 30 BR. Cooled the barrel far below the ambient temperature, cooled to ambient etc and found no change in POI or accuracy.

If you don't have the luxury of trying different regulators you can drill out the orifice for the right flow. Several shooters have copied me including Dave Miller.

If you want to work up a load there is nothing faster except running cold water across the entire barrel. or dunking your barrel in a bucket of ice water.

I was at the range yesterday morning. I began shooting at 7:30. I shot 12 6mm-284 loads two at a time and shot 10 with a 7mm/375 two at a time and was driving away at 8:15. This includes removing target, chrono and all the bench gear into vehicle and signing out.

 

[Cold Trigger Finger]

Come November and December I don't have any trouble cooling down a rifle barrel
I do need to get a swim snorkle to breath thru tho as I need to get my exhaled breath well away from the scope. The eye piece ices up pretty quick if I don't.

 

[Dosh]

Az, nice, makes my Wally World rig look Stone Age.

 

[justgoto]

To pass time in between shots?

I live life... I usually only take one shot a day.

 

[chrishatley]

Wow AZ, that looks like ca pretty awesome setup there.

 

[justgoto]

Come November and December I don't have any trouble cooling down a rifle barrel

My thoughts exactly.

 

[AZShooter]

Dosh,

Two other rifle shooters are using your air pump idea. It works and once you buy the pump you are through paying money. My tank refills cost just under $20. I depending on rounds fired I can cool three rifles for three load workup sessions on one tank.

I don't use the CO2 all the time only when it gets hot, or when I have time constraints.

With everyone wearing hearing protection and the range being in the desert we occasionally see a rattlesnake. Sometimes a nearby shooter will jump up and look around when I open up the valve and it starts hissing. One guy asked me if it was oxygen.

 

[Dosh]

Az, my Wally World rig does use up a set of batteries when a range session is extended and used to cool my rifles and my son's.