First Round Fliers - Every Damned Time

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11 years 5 months ago #24667 by Lizardette
First Round Fliers - Every Damned Time was created by Lizardette
This isn't a problem I'm having right now, but it's one that seems to come up on occasion and I figured I'd share the fix for it. It's easy.

The Problem: You've got a rifle that's sighted in perfectly. It puts all of the bullets in the same spot on the target, except the first one out of the magazine. For some reason, your first shot is always a flier. Not only that, it always goes to the same place - low and left in the case of my rifle. I mean, I could hold off for the first shot and reliably put that first one in the ten ring.

The Cause: You would think so, but there's a difference between the bolt being "locked enough to fire" and "locked completely." If this ever happens with your rifle (and a thorough cleaning and light lubrication doesn't help) you can test it in one of two ways. If you have a forward assist, you can give it a push after you hit the bolt release. If you don't have one, then you can use the charging handle to retract the bolt carrier completely and let it fly. If this solves your problem, then the answer is pretty simple.

The Solution: Try a new magazine. It could be either the feed lips or too heavy a spring on the magazine you were using. It's more likely, in my experience, to be the feed lips. Sometimes re-bending them works by itself. Sometimes there are rough edges that you need to smooth out. I'd use an Arkansas stone, but a really fine metal file can do the trick as well.

If that doesn't work, it's probably the recoil spring. If this problem occurs on a well used rifle, then you will probably be fine just by getting a new standard recoil spring. If it's a relatively new rifle but past the point that any "break in" should be expected, then you probably need a stronger recoil spring.

That's it.

What's great is that this doesn't just work for .308 AR's. I've had the same thing happen with Garands and AK's. This fix is still the same, as long as the tests I mentioned work.

Hope that helps someone.
The following user(s) said Thank You: jtallen83, Sharkey, Siscowet

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11 years 5 months ago - 11 years 5 months ago #24670 by faawrenchbndr
Replied by faawrenchbndr on topic First Round Fliers - Every Damned Time
Darn good info.......when I shoot for grouping, I ALWAYS intentionally shoot the first round on another target or low and right or left.
Last edit: 11 years 5 months ago by faawrenchbndr.

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11 years 5 months ago #24672 by mrraley
Replied by mrraley on topic First Round Fliers - Every Damned Time
Depending on who you talk to, this would be considered or what they call a "Cold Bore" shot.

What is a cold bore shot? link
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11 years 5 months ago #24679 by 13fcolt
Replied by 13fcolt on topic First Round Fliers - Every Damned Time
A quick spray of degreaser to wash the oil out of the bore, then fire a fouling shot or 2.
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11 years 5 months ago #24682 by faawrenchbndr
Replied by faawrenchbndr on topic First Round Fliers - Every Damned Time

mrraley wrote: Depending on who you talk to, this would be considered or what they call a "Cold Bore" shot.

What is a cold bore shot? link



Very true,.......

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11 years 5 months ago #24695 by Lizardette
Replied by Lizardette on topic First Round Fliers - Every Damned Time
The way I have always heard it, a "cold bore shot" is the first shot you take from a barrel that is at least room temperature - fouling or no.

In a quality rifle, with quality ammunition, and a fouled bore, a cold bore shot doesn't often go very far off of the point of aim, in my experience. After a few shots, when the barrel is at least warm to the touch, bullets seem to hit closer to point of aim. In fact, I've noticed that all of my rifles shoot tighter groups when the barrel is hot, as compared to letting the barrel cool completely between shots/groups. Personally, I've only seen two guns that fire exactly to point of aim from a cold bore. One was a Winchester 670 in 30-06. The other is the .300 Blackout AR that I built.

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11 years 5 months ago #24696 by magi
Replied by magi on topic First Round Fliers - Every Damned Time
This is very interesting..... And I was going to ask you guys about cold bore shots... Working out with warm bore... Or doing a cool down between sets.... I'm working with three shot groups for now..... But on my first group I'm doing four shots and logging the difference between the first shot and the others a hundred yards.......
I've only had the sass out for two session... I'm interested to see what kind of variable there will be....

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