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Outdoor Life writer Tyler Freel tested whether removing fouling from other ammunition improves accuracy with monolithic copper bullets. In two rifles, the results showed no clear improvement beyond ordinary variation, though the test was limited and does not settle the question for all rifles.
Outdoor Life writer Tyler Freel tested whether cleaning two rifle barrels before shooting monolithic copper bullets affected accuracy. The results showed no clear improvement across the two rifle-and-ammunition combinations, though the test does not establish how other rifles will perform.
Freel tested a 70-grain Hornady CX load in a 20-inch .22 ARC and a 55-grain Barnes TSX load in a 20-inch .223 Remington. Before the test, each barrel had fired about 300 rounds of other ammunition without being cleaned. For each rifle, he recorded four five-shot groups with the fouled barrel, cleaned and inspected the bore, then fired a five-shot fouling group followed by four more recorded groups.
Freel combined each set of four groups into a 20-shot aggregate and compared group size and mean radius. For the .22 ARC, group size changed from 1.53 inches with the fouled barrel to 1.66 inches after cleaning, while mean radius shifted from 0.41 to 0.40 inches. For the .223, group size went from 1.97 inches to 1.59 inches and mean radius from 0.55 to 0.45 inches after cleaning.
The .223 results favored the cleaned barrel by roughly 18 to 19 percent on the two measures, while the .22 ARC results were nearly unchanged. Freel said the .223 difference was within the variation he considers typical and was insufficient to confirm a lasting improvement. He concluded that the test showed no clear, statistically relevant benefit from cleaning.
What the Accuracy Results Show
The test examined whether shooters need to clean a barrel after using lead-core ammunition before assessing a copper-bullet load. It found no clear overall accuracy improvement from cleaning in the two rifle-and-ammunition combinations tested. The .223 results favored the cleaned barrel, but Freel said the change did not exceed his threshold for a convincing result.
Freel noted that five-shot groups can vary substantially. He combined four groups into a 20-shot sample to estimate the performance of each rifle-and-ammunition combination. The results document the measurements from this test; they do not establish that cleaning caused the differences.
Why Shooters Clean Between Loads
Monolithic copper bullets, including the Barnes TSX, TTSX and LRX and Hornady’s GMX and CX, have both supporters and critics, Freel wrote. Some shooters report that these bullets are finicky in particular rifles. One explanation is that copper or gilding-metal fouling left by lead-core ammunition affects how a copper bullet engages the rifling.
Freel said he and Outdoor Life Shooting Editor John Snow have observed changes in the first one to three shots after switching ammunition or starting with a clean bore. He described the effect as inconsistent and said they often fire a fouling group before recording accuracy data. That possible settling period is separate from the test’s central question: whether cleaning the bore produces a dependable improvement across subsequent groups.
“I haven’t seen any real difference in how copper bullets perform — whether I start with a clean bore or not.”
— Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life
Limits of the Two-Rifle Test
The test covered two rifles and two copper loads, so it cannot determine whether cleaning helps other barrels, cartridges, bullet designs or ammunition combinations. Freel said more extensive testing would be needed to establish whether removing previous fouling generally affects copper-bullet performance.
The article does not report repeated test cycles across different days or a broader set of rifles. The .223’s improvement after cleaning could reflect a real effect, ordinary variation or other factors; the test does not distinguish among those possibilities. The reported data describe these trials, not a general rule for rifle maintenance.
Further Testing Could Clarify
Freel said a conclusive answer would require more extensive testing. He also reported that his experience suggests the first few shots after switching ammunition can behave differently, so shooters may fire a few fouling shots before collecting accuracy data. The article does not announce a follow-up test or provide a schedule for additional results.
The test’s findings apply to the two rifle-and-load combinations examined. Whether cleaning improves accuracy in other combinations remains unresolved.
Key Questions
Did cleaning improve accuracy with copper bullets?
The test found no clear improvement overall. The .22 ARC results were nearly unchanged, while the .223 shot smaller groups after cleaning; Freel said that difference was not enough to confirm a lasting effect.
Which rifles and bullets were tested?
Freel tested a 20-inch .22 ARC with a 70-grain Hornady CX bullet and a 20-inch .223 Remington with a 55-grain Barnes TSX bullet.
How did the test compare accuracy?
For each rifle and ammunition combination, Freel recorded four five-shot groups before cleaning and four after cleaning, then compared the resulting 20-shot aggregates using group size and mean radius.
Does the test prove cleaning never helps?
No. It covered only two rifle-and-load combinations. Freel said broader testing would be needed to determine whether cleaning generally affects copper-bullet accuracy.
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