Breaking in a 308 Ruger Go Wild

[Starky]

Hi all

Just wondering how many rounds does it take to break in the barrel? I've probably put 120 round through and still trying to find a bullet it likes. Have a 100 zero and hitting gongs at 200 yet not every shot.

I can't seem to get a good average group and there is always a spray in there. Interested to know your thoughts and what brand of bullets and grains you are using .

TIA

Nicko

 

[Mobuck]

Generally speaking, 'break in' is a very broad term. For a common hunting/range use rifle, 20/40/100 rounds should be sufficient. HOW these rounds are fired is a bigger issue than HOW MANY.
I'm not a follower of many of the break in procedures. I shoot 2-3 and clean the bore with Hoppes. Then maybe 5-6 and do the Hoppes again. By this time, you should be seeing some improvement in a 'smoother' feel while cleaner or less green on the patches because less jacket is being gouged off by bore roughness. Another 6-10 shots and even more improvement. . If I'm not seeing considerable improvement within 20 rounds, I'm disappointed. I NEVER fire more than 10 rounds through a new bore until it's had 40-50 rounds through it--that just makes cleaning the bore so much more difficult.
I clean a LOT of bores(especially AR platforms) using the same patches for each caliber and can feel a difference in smoothness w/o any other input. With this sort of experience, I can literally clean an unknown bore and say 'That's a good one or HMMM needs more work."

 

[Starky]

Generally speaking, 'break in' is a very broad term. For a common hunting/range use rifle, 20/40/100 rounds should be sufficient. HOW these rounds are fired is a bigger issue than HOW MANY.
I'm not a follower of many of the break in procedures. I shoot 2-3 and clean the bore with Hoppes. Then maybe 5-6 and do the Hoppes again. By this time, you should be seeing some improvement in a 'smoother' feel while cleaner or less green on the patches because less jacket is being gouged off by bore roughness. Another 6-10 shots and even more improvement. . If I'm not seeing considerable improvement within 20 rounds, I'm disappointed. I NEVER fire more than 10 rounds through a new bore until it's had 40-50 rounds through it--that just makes cleaning the bore so much more difficult.
I clean a LOT of bores(especially AR platforms) using the same patches for each caliber and can feel a difference in smoothness w/o any other input. With this sort of experience, I can literally clean an unknown bore and say 'That's a good one or HMMM needs more work."

Thank you Mobuck very good info to take on board

 

[beentheredone]

Without a definition of what you consider a good group, and a report of what kind of groups you're getting, any answer I would give you would be strictly a WAG. Could be the barrel needs cleaning, is out of spec, or the stock bedding is wrong, or the action screws are not properly tightened, or the scope mount is loose, or the scope adjustments are broken, or -- you get the idea. Or, the shooter may have unreasonable expectations, or not be a very good shot...

 

[noahmercy]

Most of my Ruger rifles- including a pair of Americans- did not require much shooting at all to reach their full potential. A couple grouped just as well out-of-the-box as they did after hundreds of rounds. The others were fine after no more than a couple dozen rounds. And one of mine in particular needs to be "dirty" to shoot well. My 300 Win Mag 77MkII All Weather needs 20 or 30 down barrel to foul it before it groups well. That one really messed with me...I thought is was garbage when I first got it, because it only did around 2MOA with its favored load. Of course I cleaned it after a range session, which typically was 20 rounds or less. One day, being bound and determined to find a good load or send it down the road, I took a bunch of new combos to the range and shot 60 rounds. After 30, groups started to shrink, until I was getting just under or just over MOA with virtually anything I wanted to send through it. Weird-azz gun...

If one doesn't handload for the .308, I recommend getting a box of Federal match ammo and trying it after verifying all screws are properly torqued, both action and optics. If it doesn't group well with that, there is either an optic issue or the gun is a pooch. (If one handloads, the Sierra or Nosler 168 grain BTHP match bullet over 46 grains of Varget has never failed to group well in a wide variety of rifles for me.)

Another thing to look at is the parallax of the scope. If it is fixed, at what range is it parallax-free? If it has an AO, are the markings on the dial accurate? I had a friend (unknowingly) mount a fixed objective scope designed for rimfires on his 30-06 and initial sight-in at 50 yards was just a small ragged hole, but he had a hard time hitting a 12" plate at 300. The scope's parallax was fixed at 50 yards, and the slightest misalignment of his head behind the ocular resulted in severe deviation of the bullet from the crosshairs at 300.

The stocks on Ruger Americans can be pretty flimsy. If you (like I tend to do) muscle the rifle on the rest, the forend can flex and apply pressure to the barrel, causing flyers. A light hold may be neccessary.

As for bullet weights? I shoot 180 grain Ballistic Tips or SSTs for hunting, and they group like match ammo from my 308s (a Model 70 Heavy Varmint and an LR308). They also perform exceptionally on deer.

 

[Starky]

Most of my Ruger rifles- including a pair of Americans- did not require much shooting at all to reach their full potential. A couple grouped just as well out-of-the-box as they did after hundreds of rounds. The others were fine after no more than a couple dozen rounds. And one of mine in particular needs to be "dirty" to shoot well. My 300 Win Mag 77MkII All Weather needs 20 or 30 down barrel to foul it before it groups well. That one really messed with me...I thought is was garbage when I first got it, because it only did around 2MOA with its favored load. Of course I cleaned it after a range session, which typically was 20 rounds or less. One day, being bound and determined to find a good load or send it down the road, I took a bunch of new combos to the range and shot 60 rounds. After 30, groups started to shrink, until I was getting just under or just over MOA with virtually anything I wanted to send through it. Weird-azz gun...

If one doesn't handload for the .308, I recommend getting a box of Federal match ammo and trying it after verifying all screws are properly torqued, both action and optics. If it doesn't group well with that, there is either an optic issue or the gun is a pooch. (If one handloads, the Sierra or Nosler 168 grain BTHP match bullet over 46 grains of Varget has never failed to group well in a wide variety of rifles for me.)

Another thing to look at is the parallax of the scope. If it is fixed, at what range is it parallax-free? If it has an AO, are the markings on the dial accurate? I had a friend (unknowingly) mount a fixed objective scope designed for rimfires on his 30-06 and initial sight-in at 50 yards was just a small ragged hole, but he had a hard time hitting a 12" plate at 300. The scope's parallax was fixed at 50 yards, and the slightest misalignment of his head behind the ocular resulted in severe deviation of the bullet from the crosshairs at 300.

The stocks on Ruger Americans can be pretty flimsy. If you (like I tend to do) muscle the rifle on the rest, the forend can flex and apply pressure to the barrel, causing flyers. A light hold may be neccessary.

As for bullet weights? I shoot 180 grain Ballistic Tips or SSTs for hunting, and they group like match ammo from my 308s (a Model 70 Heavy Varmint and an LR308). They also perform exceptionally on deer.

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. I will check all the torque settings and pick up some federal match along with some different types and stick to 100 metres until I am happy some good groups. The match ammo do you suggest 180 or 150 grain?

 

[Starky]

Without a definition of what you consider a good group, and a report of what kind of groups you're getting, any answer I would give you would be strictly a WAG. Could be the barrel needs cleaning, is out of spec, or the stock bedding is wrong, or the action screws are not properly tightened, or the scope mount is loose, or the scope adjustments are broken, or -- you get the idea. Or, the shooter may have unreasonable expectations, or not be a very good shot...

 

[Starky]

These are some samples from yesterday. I will certainly check action and scope and see how that goes. Appreciate the info

 

[noahmercy]

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. I will check all the torque settings and pick up some federal match along with some different types and stick to 100 metres until I am happy some good groups. The match ammo do you suggest 180 or 150 grain?

I usually go with the old standby 168 grain.

 

[Hvymax]

I prefer to lap the bore. I use Flitz polish and a patched tight jag and work until everything feels uniform then I moly coat the bore and a dozen or so fmj bullets. Every few hundred rounds I'll run some moly coated bullets.

 

[Starky]

Still away yet have just checked the scope and the rail has movement in it. That could well be an issue. I'll tighten when home and see how that goes next time at the range.

 

[Chief 101]

The ,method Ruger makes barrels these days as I understand it should not take much if any breaking in. I have a .308 American and it shot well from the onset...by the time I had it sighted in it was shooting well...I didn't read all the replies so I may be repeating what others have said, dunno. Good luck

 

[Starky]

Just a quick update.

I have checked the rail mounts and they we loose as buggery and the rings were also loose. Have now torqued them to the correct settings and a dab of blue locktite on the threads. Will update on the next range time soon hopefully.

Thanks to all that assisted in helping to resolve the issue. Always learning.

Cheers