breaking in a 10/22 green mountain barrel, is this necessary

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johnnymo

Bearcat
Joined
Dec 24, 2011
Messages
10
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independence, mo.
I got a new green mountain barrel for my 10/22. Its a .920 stainless fluted 20". The directions that came with the barrel say
fire 5 rounds,clean barrel, repeat total of 30 shots.
fire 10 rounds clean barrel,repeat total of 70 shots
thats a 100 rounds total
now fire 100 more rounds cleaning between each 20-30 rounds.
They say the barrel will continue to break in but is past critical stage at this point.
I never did anything like this at all with new guns ive puchased, is this really necessary? lol
thanks for everyones input
johnny
 

wwb

Hunter
Joined
Nov 18, 2004
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wisconsin
I have always done something similar with centerfire rifles, but never with a .22 rimfire.

I suppose it couldn't hurt, as long as you are careful around the muzzle..... or, you can poke a hole in the rear of the receiver that will allow it to be cleaned from the breech. Quite a few folks have done just that.
 

BlkHawk73

Hunter
Joined
Dec 30, 1999
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4,459
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Maine
I've yet to do so with any of my .22's, including GM barrels. If you're inclined to do so, go for it. Not exactly a hassle to do so.
 
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
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Greenville, SC: USA
In thinking about this... I'd do it. Then if the barrel does not shoot to your liking then it's their fault.

I would think that they would also list the type of ammo you should shoot for this first 200 rounds... I would use some fairly good slightly expensive stuff for it.

keep in mind once the rifle barrel is broken in, that is still going to be the key to 'tack driving' with it... my experience is that these barrels and rifles will shoot okay with the standard bulk stuff but you need to find that one brand and type that the barrel really likes.
 

mishtub

Blackhawk
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Oct 24, 2011
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611
Location
Kansas
blume357 said:
you need to find that one brand and type that the barrel really likes.
Then get as much of that same lot# as you can, sometimes I've had different lot #'s shoot much different.
 

Snake45

Hawkeye
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Mar 14, 2009
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Complete waste of time. If a .22 barrel needs any "break-in" at all, it's best done by putting 500-1000 rounds through it without cleaning (assuming you're shooting some ammo that doesn't completely lead up the rifling, as I've seen a couple different low-quality types do, but that's the rare exception, not the rule).

IMHO, GM only puts that instruction in there as porn for people who actually believe in religious break-in rituals. The rest of us can disregard it completely and just Get On With Our Lives. :wink:
 

Geo

Bearcat
Joined
Feb 17, 2001
Messages
24
Location
Indian Territory
The trouble with breaking-in rituals is that I have never seen anybody prove that it made any difference. There are no studies with actual measurements of bore dimensions or condition in 22s. There are no published, reliable studies with before and after group sizes--you know, a large enough number of groups to be statistically significant. And the list goes on.

It has been written elsewhere that Remington, in the good old days, had a 40X rifle on the .22 ammo production line; they used it for production acceptance testing of ammunition lots. One reliable account states that they waited 125000 rounds before they cleaned it the first time.

Lead bullets will lap a barrel, but at an incredibly slow rate. Just how much will a couple of hundred rounds change a modern steel barrel? Not enough to measure, for sure. Probably not enough to change anything. Maybe the cleaning rod is what does the barrel break-in. Yeah!

Maybe the cleaning rod is what actually does the break-in.

I have an old Anchutz 1413D that came with instructions to never let a metal bore brush touch the bore. The group that came with that rifle could be covered with the tip of one's little finger for 10 shots at 50 meters. I never did put a metal bore brush down the bore and it still shoots great after all these years.

If you really want to polish the bore, add a little really good abrasive powder to the wax bullet lube. That has been shown to do a little something, but I won't guarantee what.

Better yet, simply shoot the thing and enjoy it!
 
Joined
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I have to admit I've never broken in a rifle barrel. Most of what I have was bought used, even replacement barrels and so it didn't matter. And the one new rifle where i had a chance to do this, I kind of tried but was having too much fun shooting it to go through the rigmarole....

Greenmountains instructions don't sound that hard if you use a bore snake or just go from the end and are careful... but I think Snake is probably right in the end it really doesn't matter, at least on a 22.
 

CraigC

Hawkeye
Joined
May 27, 2002
Messages
5,197
Location
West Tennessee
Snake45 said:
IMHO, GM only puts that instruction in there as porn for people who actually believe in religious break-in rituals. The rest of us can disregard it completely and just Get On With Our Lives. :wink:
Exactly!!!!!!!

I also would never "polish" a bore. This is a ritual best done by professionals. Rifling is supposed to be crisp and sharp, not rounded off as "polishing" would do.
 
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