Wondering if anyone has a secret to getting your cold bore shot to match the rest of your shots.

Am I chasing a unicorn?

Is my SD/ES the too high? Seating depth?

Fairly new to reloading and also a mild perfectionist.

Looking for a half minute including the cold bore shot.

What rifle? Set up?

Your cold bore shot will always be a little off in my opinion. Fortunately it will almost always be consistent. The thing to do is learn where it hits in reference to your other shots and compensate for that on the cold bore shot. Basically aim that amount opposite of where it generally hits. Obviously this takes time behind the gun and a system that will show you a difference to start with.


Hopefully there is more insight incoming because I would like a better answer than mine.


Maybe run a dry patch through it immediately before shooting to remove any humidity build up??…. Idk

Remington 700 in 260 AI

Rifle shoots great but trying to get tightest group possible

4350 with 142 SMKs, federal 210M primers

How much are we talking? Is your cold bore always on a clean bore or are you keeping the gun fouled?

Not all will cold bore in a different location...most of mine after fouled won't be different, I've got one that even fouling won't matter but the clean bore shot is slower. I'm having a hard time thinking of one that is different. If it was different, I'd sight in for the cold bore...odds are higher I won't take but one shot versus 2 and 3 just means things have gotten western and not in a good way.

it's not much at all, gun will shoot 1 minute all day with the cold bore shot included. Yes I keep the fouling in there.

Lately I've subscribed to the "don't clean the gun until it starts throwing shots" school of thought.

Is that bogus? who knows.

Really just OCD about the bore brush touching the crown

Are you shooting suppressed? Shooting off a bipod or sandbag? Rifle bedded? How much POI shift are you seeing from your group?

We've discussed this in detail. We've even had shooters in a class say they have a first round POI shift. Some did, but for most it's a set up variation when they get in behind the rifle. Some shooters take one round to settle in. If you get in behind the rifle with a good natural point of aim and your first shot is the same as shots 2 through whatever, you should see no shift. Yes, there are some variables with the rifle that can cause a shift. But what I've seen had a lot to do with the shooter themselves.

That's a fair point...

Could be cold shooter instead of cold bore.

Yes had the rifle bedded, blueprinted, and (almost) always shooting suppressed. Also shooting off two bags.

POI shift is always under a minute.

After that it will shoot a clover leaf.

As Chad said, cold shooter can be the problem. I shoot rifles most days every week. And most of the time they belong to someone else. For myself, and my recommendation to everyone else is get settled, adjust the scope, close the bolt with no round in the chamber, exhale, squeeze. Dry fire 3 times before checking 100 yard zero. You're programming your breathing and your trigger back into line before a live round. It costs no money, but will pay dividends to your results.

And, it is not uncommon for suppressors to create a POI shift from first round, to the rest of them. The theory is they are full of air, which is an oxidizer. After that first shot, the ambient air is gone.

I'm with Chad...if you've eliminated the shooter, change something. Obviously, the easiest thing to change is the primer...this might require you to tweak the powder charge but it should tell you if it's the load combination. Only change one thing at a time so then you'll know what happened.

Also, for a hunting rifle...I'd likely not change anything and deal with it, especially if it clover leafs and the initial shot is as close as you're saying.

Solid advice here.

Thank you gentlemen!

Not at all. But a useful discussion of the topic would be futile here.

Several good discussions of the topic available Here

Dan I’m not sure why you’re wasting your time on this forum if we’re clearly all idiots.


I may very well be wrong on this subject since shooters with far more experience than me disagree, but where exactly do you come in?

Guess where you are?

IME the higher quality the barrel, the less the cold bore/warm bore zero deviates.

Something like a Bartlein will have less deviation than a factory Remington barrel.

Interesting: The majority of the people on your link agree with the 3-4 most knowledgeable people on this thread.

I like the dry fire practice it has helped me I feel like quite a bit.

It’s almost the exact same thread from beginning to end


@ wp graph…at least it’s not a YouTube link, he’s graduated to the Hide. Be careful over there TCD, you think we’re hard on ya…those guys will rip your head off and [censored] down your throat

Then laugh about it.

just me but if your cold bore shot is over 500 yards might make a difference?

I've seen too many cold bore 500-yard shots which would kill any game animal. These were fired by Great guns by great shooters who know their guns and Dope. Most of the cold bore shots are not more than 3" off center hold.

I think your dope is much more important than any cold bore shot.

Agreed. It was more a question of ‘can it be done?’ as opposed to actually needing it for anything.

.2 Mil is .2 Mil. 1/2 MOA is 1/2 MOA

A miss is a miss, no matter the distance.

If your zero isn't solid, there's no since in worry about any DOPE. You don't get DOPE until you have a zero.

Hold your breath for two minutes.

I always see a slight shift no more than a 1/10 of a mil shooting suppressed. It’s most apparent in my gas guns. No matter how much I tune the gas system it’s a boring consistent result. This usually doesn’t impact my overall goal making hits on steel. I would argue this is why BR and F class guys don’t run cans like the prs guys. I attribute this phenomenon to rate or velocity of the expanding gases, displacement of ambient gases, and the pressure curve of specific loads. No empirical evidence but what I recall from physics and dynamics in college leads me to believe there is some accuracy in my presumption.

This is a good thread Dusty. I hope it keeps going.

Thicker barrel and waiting several minutes between shots have been the two most significant factors after good load development in minimizing cold bore POI shift for me.

I wish Dan would go post on the Hide. I will go watch with

Chewed up, spit out, and banned probably in one day.

You've got Trashcan Dan pegged.