22LR Rifle Break In

[tac]

I have seven .22 rifles, and clean them with unerring regularity.

Once a year, whether they need it or not.

I find that it takes 20 - 30 shots to go back to where they were before.

YMMV.

 

[Spitpatch]

Centerfire rifle barrel makers DO differ in their recommended break-in procedures. (Thanks @JuglansRegia.) However, (also for @JuglansRegia) their intended "accomplishment" for their procedure can easily be obtained in their literature or by direct communication with them. @Holepuncher gives a general overview toward the accomplishment. The makers know their product. It makes sense to follow their instructions. Yes, it can be tedious, but for what good barrels take out of your wallet, protection of the investment and obtaining the best result from that investment is a very good idea.

Your barrel is a machine just as a car engine is a machine. Engines fare far better and perform better if they are broken-in according to who built them. You DO NOT drive a new car engine "like you stole it". The average shooter may never notice (or be able to document) the gains made by proper break-in. Precision shooters can do both. Certainly it is YOUR choice what to do with your investments.

Having said that, there are a very few makers that claim their barrels are polished to the extent that no break-in is necessary.

I am not aware of any "barrel break-in" procedure for a standard production .22lr rifle. (Rimfire). Perhaps such exists somewhere in factory instructions (I'd look for it in higher-end gun literature).

As to cleaning .22 Long Rifle barrels, as a smallbore competitor I had a coach that was an Olympic medalist. His advice was to NEVER clean a .22 Long Rifle competition barrel. (I am certain his blanket prohibition did not necessarily include Biathlon guns that might see a snowstorm, and certainly did not include hunting guns that might see the same or worse.) I followed his advice with my Anschutz that I had spent hard-earned dollars for. I believe it paid off. I continued that advice when I began to shoot Silhouette. His explanation included reference to the wonderful anti-corrosive elements of modern .22 ammo.

For my hunting .22's I apply the same, but not entirely. Repeater chambers need to be clean for best function. Any gun that sees the outdoors regularly gets a NYLON brush light scrub and standard patch treatment after a hunt in moisture. (The medalist also explained barrel metallurgy: rimfire barrels are most normally of softer steel than centerfire barrels and might be damaged by repeated attacks with a bronze or...HORRORS...stainless brush.)

For your new .22, follow the instructions from the guys who built it. It's your money. It's your standards for performance that count. Give the gun every chance to meet them.

 

[tac]

And for those who prefer to read the genuine, original language of this island, here is the same message in Welsh -

Yr wyf wedi cael saith .22 o led, ac yn eu glanhau'n ddi-oed.

Unwaith y flwyddyn, p'un a oes ei angen arnynt ai peidio.

Rwy'n gweld ei bod yn cymryd 20 - 30 o esgidiau i fynd yn ôl i'r man lle'r oeddent o'r blaen.

Efallai y bydd eich milltiroedd yn amrywio.

 

[Spitpatch]

And for those who prefer to read the genuine, original language of this island, here is the same message in Welsh -

Yr wyf wedi cael saith .22 o led, ac yn eu glanhau'n ddi-oed.

Unwaith y flwyddyn, p'un a oes ei angen arnynt ai peidio.

Rwy'n gweld ei bod yn cymryd 20 - 30 o esgidiau i fynd yn ôl i'r man lle'r oeddent o'r blaen.

Efallai y bydd eich milltiroedd yn amrywio.

Who am I to argue with that?

 

[Member 5605]

I started shooting 22 bench rest. Standard procedure with these rifles is not to clean them! The barrel will
'settle in' after about 80 rounds reducing or eliminating flyers. Clean the barrel only when accuracy deteriorates
some where over 1K rounds. Then you clean the barrel getting the carbon ring cleaned in the first couple of
inches of barrel. Of course these bench rest guys shoot 22 match ammo only. Like SK or Lapua match ammo.
Real greasy stuff. I know it sounds crazy but I am following advice of the other top shooters I compete with.

That is the advice I'd follow too.

 

[Ringo]

What does this word "clean" mean?



P

bobby i'm going to "CLEAN" the living room and i don't want your muddy shoes on the carpet... ok mom... that's what it meant to me 60 some years ago

 

[Bon Sauvage]

And for those who prefer to read the genuine, original language of this island, here is the same message in Welsh -

Yr wyf wedi cael saith .22 o led, ac yn eu glanhau'n ddi-oed.

Unwaith y flwyddyn, p'un a oes ei angen arnynt ai peidio.

Rwy'n gweld ei bod yn cymryd 20 - 30 o esgidiau i fynd yn ôl i'r man lle'r oeddent o'r blaen.

Efallai y bydd eich milltiroedd yn amrywio.

Wiser words were never spoken.

 

[tac]

Now, now, it's only Welsh, not the gospel, y'know. In Wales, even young children can speak it quite easily. Not until you've heard 'All through the night' sung in Welsh can you appreciate the true beauty of the language, spoken before the Romans came here, and after they had gone...

 

[Spitpatch]

@oremike said: "...buy a rifle then a scope and have it installed and bore sighted." (emphasis mine)

Never.

 

[Labradorian]

What does this word "clean" mean?

You know you want too...

 

[oremike]

@oremike said: "...buy a rifle then a scope and have it installed and bore sighted." (emphasis mine)

Never.

I should clarify, not at a big box store, my local gunsmith installs the Leupold scopes I buy from him. Or I do it myself.

 

[Spitpatch]

figgered there's a little more to that story.

However: a VERY close friend (now passed on) was a trained machinist. Owned his own gun store (and was the in-house Smith), and had been at this game of guns nearly as long as I have. He did meticulous work on guns that I am glad I trusted him with.

He and I early on cheerfully agreed that I would not allow him to mount a scope for me and he would not allow me to do the same for him. Both for the same list of reasons born from experience.

 

[ron]

What does this word "clean" mean?



P

to clean a Target means to shoot a perfect score. Typically a match is 80 rounds. Each stage has two sighters and then 10 rounds for record. a perfect score of 100 you have cleaned the target. All rounds in the 10 or X Ring. And X counts as 10 points. In the event of a tie score it is the highest X count that wins

 

[Holepuncher]

The phrase "breaking in a barrel" is sort of a misnomer. It's not like breaking in a new pair of boots. The goal you are trying to achieve with a new barrel is to achieve the best accuracy for that barrel. A new barrel will have microscopic burrs and other imperfections from the manufacturing process. When a bullet is fired through the barrel, some of the burrs are removed or smoothed out. The bullet will also leave behind a small amount of fouling. Basically, you are using the bullet to polish the inside of the barrel. To accomplish this polishing, you will need to shoot one bullet and then scrub the barrel clean with solvent and a bronze brush, then follow up with a couple dry patches. I do this 10 times. If you are shooting paper from a bench with a rest, you will notice the bullet group starting to tighten up with each shot. This is pretty amazing to watch! After the first 10 shots, you can then increase the number of shots to 5-10 per string. I do this 4 or 5 times. After this, your barrel will be "broke in" (polished)! You will notice the polished barrel will have less fouling and will shoot tighter groups. I know this method is time consuming, but it is well worth the effort. You will end up with a true tack driver! I forgot one thing, be sure to use copper or bronze plated bullets. Lead is too soft.

As a follow up to the above information... After you have taken the time to polish/break in your barrel, you can then experiment with different brands of bullets to find which one gives you the best groups. Make sure to do this off a shooting bench with a rest. Use paper targets so you can track the group size. Aim at the same spot every time. At this time you are not trying to sight in your rifle, you are experimenting to find which ammo gives you the best groups. I would usually shoot about 15 rounds of each brand, clean the barrel, change the paper target and mark the target with the bullet info (brand etc). Remember that the first couple of shots of each brand will probably be fouling shots or flyers. A flyer would be a shot that is outside your main bullet group. So don't use those first couple of shots to judge the grouping of the rest of the shots. After trying several brands you can then check your target sheets to determine which brand gives the best group. You will be surprised at the various groups. You can then sight in your rifle with with the ammo that gives you the best group.

 

[titsonritz]

Is there a specific or recommended way of breaking in a 22lr rifle?

Yeah, shoot it.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Probably OK if they ALWAYS shoot the very same ammunition with the same bullet lube all of the time. When I test various brands of .22 rimfire for accuracy, before I change ammunition, it's, two solvent soaked felt plugs and then one dry plug, and then on to the next brand for testing. That's my method, and it works for me.

Fwiw that's the same procedure I use for airgun pellets but have never tried it for 22LR. For airguns (which can really show any inconsistencies in pellet type, weight, shape, skirt, etc) it does make a big difference. Although choked barrels for airguns (resizes the pellet as it leaves the barrel) seems to minimize the difference somewhat.

For airguns I dont do it for break-in of the barrel but more for a consistent starting place when switching to a different pellet. After x number of rounds, the groups settle down for that particular pellet. May not translate to 22lr though I dunno.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

Fwiw that's the same procedure I use for airgun pellets but have never tried it for 22LR. For airguns (which can really show any inconsistencies in pellet type, weight, shape, skirt, etc) it does make a big difference. Although choked barrels for airguns (resizes the pellet as it leaves the barrel) seems to minimize the difference somewhat.

For airguns I dont do it for break-in of the barrel but more for a consistent starting place when switching to a different pellet. After x number of rounds, the groups settle down for that particular pellet. May not translate to 22lr though I dunno.

Yes, and I've found that it pretty much does indeed work the same with .22 rimfire. Even some of the Bench Rest guys who shoot some high-buck custom rifles with high-end .22 rimfire ammunition, will clean and then recondition their barrels when they go to a different brand of .22 rimfire ammunition. Their thoughts revolve around the idea that when some.22 rimfire bullet lubes mix with one another, accuracy may indeed suffer. Again, most everyday .22 rimfire shooters may not give a hoot about that concern and are happy with what their rifle and bulk load boxes of ammunition will provide.
Now, this is not to say that .22 rimfire hunters or plinkers need to do anything this drastic, but it does help when trying to wring out the best accuracy possible out of a specific rifle and ammunition combo.

 

[Certaindeaf]

These days you break in a barrel by mopping the dust out every 4 years.

 

[Holepuncher]

These days you break in a barrel by mopping the dust out every 4 years.

It's pretty pathetic when you can't find a box of 22lr to buy. When I was a kid, you could by a box of 22 shorts for 75 cents at the mom & pop grocery store.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

Some didn't learn much with the OBama .22 pandemic shortage, several years ago. Those who did learn something, at least, must have been Boy Scouts and learned the phrase, "Be Prepared" ! :