Season your 22LR barrel for best results

Something to consider when you are shooting 22lr is that each bullet from different manufacturers has a different type of coating on it. Those coatings are applied to the barrel under firing and require a good cleaning or can be shot out with different ammo.

27yds - 1/2" dots


Prior to shooting these groups, the rifle had approx 350rnds of various different ammo comprising of wolf MT, CCI Sub HP, winchester sub HP, CCI blazer, and about 5 other brands of ammo. Then I put a new target up and decided to illustrate this "seasoning" for you guys.

Each group is 25 shots fired at 27yds with CCI SV. The group on the left was shot first, followed by a subsequent 25rnd group to the right. You can plainly see the second group is much better. The two bullets on the left edge of the group on the right were called. Shooting off a wobbly table has its challenges!

As you can see, it takes a solid 25rnds or so after switching to a different ammo for the coating in the barrel to change out. Once it does, it will start to settle in. So don't buy some new ammo, fire 10rnds, and expect to see how it will perform. It can take as much as 50-100rnds of a specific ammo before it will be shooting its best. It's always a good idea to start with a clean bore and if you switch ammo, clean the bore again.

It is also noteworthy that when switching from ammo with a heavy waxy coating such as that on CCI SV to a light oily lube such as is on wolf MT, it will take a lot more firing to get the wolf to settle in. Going from wolf MT to CCI SV doesn't take much firing at all. Again, for the most consistent results, simply clean the bore when switching ammo.

On a clean bore, you will still need to "season" the barrel with multiple shots before it will come in nicely.

jblackfish said:

You could be right...but how do you know it was the coating? Couldn't the better grouping on the right have been simply because the barrel was warmer and both groupings, the 1st one too, improved as you shot because the barrel "warmed up?"...or something else? Just a question but I'm not sure that you've conclusively proven that the better grouping was caused solely because the barrel "adjusted" to a new bullet coating.

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Prove me wrong.

The rifle I was shooting will put wolf MT or Eley into one ragged hole at 50yds. I use it for competition, and have a thousand rounds or more through it every month during the summer. The barrel on a heavy 40Xb doesn't "heat up" no matter how fast you can load her. Of the 6 40x's and several savages, rugers, etc... this always holds true. I have conclusively proven it over and over again, but I just haven't conclusively proven it to you. Frankly I have no interest in doing so. Go find out for yourself. This is something that all 22LR competitors know already.

When you switch ammo, nearly every time it will take at least half a box before it will start to "come in."

http://www.primalrights.com/PRRC_standings.html
There is the last rimfire competition we put on. I won by a large margin.

Here I am with a couple friends shooting mosquito's at 25yds. You don't do that unless you have seasoned your bore, I assure you.
http://youtu.be/IwtGAm1CXZs

I encourage you to prove me wrong. All you'll need is a couple boxes of ammo and a 22lr rifle capable of tight groups. Shoot a certain type of ammo for 50-100rnds, then switch to a tight shooting target ammo. Tell me if your first 25 shots group as tight as shots 50-75.

Jblackfish, This pertains to 22LR only. I've never seen it make a difference with anything but 22LR.

Nushif, I'm not talking about different guns. That's a completely different argument. Please take the "prove me wrong" comment in the spirit it was intended, which was to have him go out and do it for himself. After all, giving information to someone that is not going to use it isn't practical.

JohnBT, lots of people know, but there are still some that don't, as indicated by this thread. I've known for a few years, but it was quite the revelation when I stumbled onto it.

I'm not trying to "win" anything here. This has been proven time and time again by world class competitors much more qualified than myself. It's been proven to the point that it is fact. I was just sharing it in the interest of introducing it to people that might have never heard of it.

jblackfish said:

Sorry for my part in the confusion.

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Likewise. I never said I was the best at making sense all the time.

russ69 said:

It was a good post Orkan but you can only lead a horse to water, you can't make it drink.

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Yeah, but at least if the horse doesn't drink I can shoot it and eat it!

9mmepiphany said:

But this reminds me of the reason for the existence of this forum...to pass on the accumulated knowledge to new shooters.

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rodregier said:

Thus my comment on testing warm-up as a variable.

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I don't think it has any bearing. The 22LR doesn't have the velocity, nor are we shooting jacketed bullets. Thus, the temp never gets to a point where it would matter.

I tested this once with a savage Mk-II pencil barrel. I grabbed all my friend's magazines, and ended up with about six 5rnd magazines and something like fifteen 10rnd magazines. I had friends load magazines while I shot as fast as I could accurately manage it. We did this for an entire 500rnd brick at 50yds. I used a dot drill with twenty 1/2" dots and fired 25rnds into each dot. By the end, no discernible difference could be distinguished amongst the groups. This was done with suppressor attached, so the most heat would be retained.

A pencil barreled semi-auto might get hot enough to walk, but you'd have to be firing at a rate not conducive to accuracy anyway. Granted there are exceptions to every rule, but I've not ever seen accuracy deteriorate on a 22LR due to the barrel heating up.