[Charleo0192]

Are the first few shots through a gun important? The reason I ask is I was looking at going to a course. One of the the things they said they would cover in the course was "First shots and their importance". Should I know something that I don't already?

[NavyLCDR]

I think they were referring to the first shots fired in a given situation, not through a particular gun.

[Charleo0192]

It wasn't a self defense course, but just a basic rifle ownership course. I could be wrong but it seemed like they were suggesting the first few shots were important.

[joshk-k]

Often, as a barrel heats up, the point of impact, and/or the tightness of the group can change. Many hunters, for instance, care more about where the very first shot, taken from a cold barrel, hits than their group size. If those cold shots are consistent, and they know where they're hitting, that's the info they need for a morning hunt situation.

Just an example. I don't know specifically what he was talking about.

Josh

[Charleo0192]

Both of you could be correct. I was just reading the course overview. I just wasn't sure if I was not doing something right.

[FLAvalanche]

It's called a cold bore shot.

It's the first shot through a cold, clean barrel. The reason it's important is because it's point of impact will be different than following shots. You usually shoot more than one shot to sight in your rifle. Then you take it home and clean it. Then you wonder why you missed or didn't hit that deer, target, whatever where you had your rifle sighted in. That's because you made a cold bore shot.

[thezoltar]

I think the name 'First Shots' just means 'introductory class'. As to whether the first shot is actually important, that is subjective. To a hunter out in 20deg weather his first shot is most important. To a benchrest shooter the first shot may be only one of many to warm up his barrel before competition. I wouldn't read too much into the name of the class.

[Charleo0192]

So for me, I enjoy just target shooting at the range, would the first shot be important or would I be focusing on the ones after the first shot? also, this first shot has no risk of ruining the gun does it?

[kingpin008]

also, this first shot has no risk of ruining the gun does it?

Think about that question for a second, and ask yourself if it makes sense.

Not trying to be rude, but really - what good would guns be if there was a possibility of the first few shots put through them ruining them?

No, unless you use reloads that are wildly, dangerously overloaded, or your gun is severely out-of-spec from the factory, your gun will survive the first few shots, and many, many more after that.

[Charleo0192]

Seeing as I had never heard of this first shot, asking a question like that doesn't seem unreasonable.

I do appreciate the answer though.

[jfdavis58]

In all likelihood, you won't be making the first shot anyway. Most guns are 'proofed' at the factory and have fired at least one round-perhaps several. In many states you will be given at least one fired case as both 'proof' and 'record'-something to be collected by the gov'mt at the transfer of ownership.

Otherwise, I hold with those who opined, "first shots" as part of the introduction of the class as in first shots of new material to learn.

[NavyLCDR]

I shoot a target grade 10/22. I don't do any serious target shooting/competition with it until I've shot 10 fouling rounds through a newly cleaned barrel and 2 or 3 rounds before each session. I don't clean the barrel until I notice accuracy beginning to degrade. I routinely clean only the receiver and chamber.

I recently came in 2nd place out of 11 in a 100 yard competition with only my 10/22 and 6-18x40mm BSA Sweet .22 scope so I must be doing something right with it. It was NOT a rimfire match and I was the only .22 shooting. The other guns were multi thousand dollar setups with target scopes and spotting scopes, etc.

I was originally thinking you were talking about a handgun defensively class and assumed they were talking about 1st shot stops of a bad guy.

[Charleo0192]

That was my bad, I should have clarified it was a course for rifles

[Flynt]

Can you ask the people who are putting on the course?

[Hatterasguy]

Cold bore shots?

Your rounds point of impact will change as your barrel heats up. I don't shoot accurate enough rifles to have to deal with this, but if your shooting with a high degree of precision it comes into play. I'm sure people on here do and can help you.

Military and police snipers train for cold bore shoots since that's, especially in the polices case the most likely shot they will have to take.

[Legionnaire]

Gotta be referring to cold bore. First shot from a cold rifle barrel will likely impact slightly outside a five-shot group from a warm barrel. That's something you need to know when your first shot is directed "way out there." And NavyLT is right on. The guys at Storm Mountain told us NOT to clean our .308s during the many hundreds of rounds fired in the long range rifle course, because cleaning would screw up the cold bore shot.

[grammer rant] And things are "different from" one another, not "different than." Impact of the cold bore shot will be different from subsequent shots. [/grammer rant]

[NavyLCDR]

[grammer rant] And things are "different from" one another, not "different than." Impact of the cold bore shot will be different from subsequent shots. [/grammer rant]

OMG! I hate to see the size of the flame if he would have posted "different then"! :p

Oh, excuse me, I know the puncuation goes inside the quotation marks at the end of a sentence. I just can't resist that great big glaring button that says, "Don't push me!" :evil: