How Many Shots?

[Adrian Prisk 6]

Managed to spend an hour out with my first 22 rimfire, loved it. Zeroed at 45 meters and then went to 60, 70, then meters. 45 mtr all in 0.75 in 60 mtrs a bit wild 70mtrs inside inch 80mtrs a bit wild and also shooting lower then chairgun said. I understand the gun is just settling down. Its second hand and it had a good clean before I took it out. How many shots before I can say the barrel is leaded in?. Only shot 45 rounds so far. Also when I stripped and cleaned the gun after purchase it had what looked like no nails adhesive between the stock and barrel looks like the previous owner bedded the barrel in with it. I have removed it, is there any need to bed a rimfire barrel ?

[Froudy 40]

What does it group like at 45 yards mate? If it is all over the place it could be the stock and barrel are loose or there is some movement somewhere along the line, was you shooting off a bipod?

 

Atb

[dadioles 68]

Well done, you will enjoy your shooting.

 

I find that to get the best 'flat' shooting I need to zero a bit further, 50 metres or 55 yards, but it depends on your gun and ammunition. Chairgun gives a reasonable idea of what to expect but there is no substitute for time spent shooting targets at different ranges and making up your own range chart based on 'real world'.

 

Have you tried a few different makes of bullet. If not, you really need to. It is surprising what a difference it makes. Buy a box each of whatever your local dealer keeps in stock (and is likely to continue to keep in stock!!) and when you find which one shoots the tightest groups, buy all you can and stick with it. Do all your target shooting and trajectory plotting with that one.

 

As far as 'leading in' is concerned (and cleaning) that debate risks an endless thread (again - boring). Personally I keep my gun barrels absolutely clean with rod and patches. At 50 yards using a bipod my groups are all touching and less than half inch. The first shot after cleaning may be slightly less accurate than the following shots but still within half inch. I feel that many problems are caused by inadequate cleaning. A properly clean barrel is the only state that can be reliably reproduced. Anything else is dirty and therefore inconsistent. Many will disagree and report great accuracy using guns that are never cleaned.

 

Some guns have fully free floating barrels and others do not. I do not think bedding in is necessary for a typical rimfire used for hunting and if done badly will do more harm than good. It sounds as though your was done badly.

 

Screw tightness can make a significant difference so be careful with that when the metalwork goes back into the stock.

 

You did not say what gun you have or what ammunition you are using.

 

Happy shooting. Get it right shooting on targets before you shoot rabbits. I also find a laser range finder essential. One last thing, using SK Subs I shoot better than half inch 5 shot groups at yards with a 3.4" drop. I am happy with that.

[Adrian Prisk 6]

thanks forthe reply,i use a 22 cz 452 american with winchester subs at the moment.Shooting prone off a bipod. Before this i spent years with air rifles and testing pellets i would clean barrel everytime i changed type,then ignore the first 20 shots. How many rounds do i put through the barrel before i dismiss that ammo and try another? If a certain ammo suits my barrel will i see this after 10 shots ,30 shots or or will i see this within the first couple of shots? I got the gun second hand and it was in need of a strip and clean,so i striped the gun and bolt all feels a lot smoother now. I thinking now that my usual barrel cleaning for my air rifles my not to upto the job of cleaning the barrel of a rimfire,i just pulled a few swabs through it. Do you think it would benifit from a more rigourous clean before i start dismissing ammo brands?

[SportingShooter 0]

What sort of solvent did you use to clean the barrel?

 

If it's been left dirty for a long time and potentially never cleaned then it could probably do with being squeaky clean. Personally I use Forest Bore foam but that's because I bought enough to last me a while so whether there's something better out there I don't know.

 

As above, once cleaned buy as many different makes of ammunition you can and see which one performs the best.

[Adrian Prisk 6]

I think barrel needs doing probally before testing more ammo,i just used a airgun gun oil napier soak some patches and pulled through. Time to find some proper cleaning equimpment for rimfire.

[SportingShooter 0]

Whatever cleaner you buy it needs to be able to clean lead and copper residue rather than just the burnt powder.

[dadioles 68]

Whatever cleaner you buy it needs to be able to clean lead and copper residue rather than just the burnt powder.

 

There is no copper residue

 

Get a bore guide (look it up on google), a rod, jag and patches and maybe a brush all suitable for .22 then use a cleaning fluid such as Hoppes #9 which deals with lead and powder residues.

 

Incidentally - I hate the 'bore snake' and will not allow one anywhere near any of my rifles.

 

All the information you could need is on the internet and there are videos on youtube about using rods and patches and bore guides. There is also a lot of nonsense and misinformation of course, you need to engage your brain and filter out the bad stuff.

 

It sounds as though you have got off on the right foot though.

 

Differences between ammunition makes will normally show up quite quickly, just change brands and ignore the first 5 shots as it settles in to the new type. The really bad ones will be obvious. No need to be too anal about it. You are just looking for the tightest groups. Some ammo will shoot higher and some lower, that does not matter. You are looking for something that is smooth and easy to chamber and reliable, tight groups, no fliers. You really need to be testing this at 50 yards or more, better yards if you can. It is only at longer distances that the differences will really start to show. Do this testing in still air. You do not want wind to complicate things.

[SportingShooter 0]

 

Whatever cleaner you buy it needs to be able to clean lead and copper residue rather than just the burnt powder.

 

There is no copper residue

 

That would depend what ammunition it has had through it.

 

I was using some copper plated segmented rounds from CCI the day before yesterday,

 

I'd rather strip it all out and start a fresh.

[andyf 144]

Suggest you buy some top end 'target' ammo for evaluating the rifle. I know you will use Winchester Sub's on

the 'real' thing, but good stuff like Tenex is a great benchmark as you know it's select.

I have found 40gr GECO target solid to be exceptional (and it's cheap).

As for leading up the bore I reckon 5>10 fired into the ground (mind your toes, 'Health & Safety').

[Cedric 132]

Try different brands of ammo. I found a big difference with sub sonics in my rifle (Anshutz 1417). Eley and Lapula virtualy the same, best groups! Winchester a bit less so and RWS quite poor. Every rifle differs.

 

You should check and see if the 452 comes with a free floating barrel, my 453 does. If so, clean all the crap out of the stock until you can slide a piece of paper all the way along. Partially touching stocks cause lots of problems.

 

You should see the difference in ammo within a couple of shots on a .22, blasting the different lube out is not all that critical.

 

You'll need to burn a lot more ammo to get it right !

[Adrian Prisk 6]

I will get a barrel cleaning kit today give it a clean, then see what the gun shops hold in stock ammo wise. Then wait for the weather and go testing. Cheers

[Deker 3,478]

 

Whatever cleaner you buy it needs to be able to clean lead and copper residue rather than just the burnt powder.

There is no copper residue

 

As SS said, there are loads of .22lr with copper coats, who knows what the original owner has shot, or indeed what the op may shoot!

[dadioles 68]

 

 

Whatever cleaner you buy it needs to be able to clean lead and copper residue rather than just the burnt powder.

There is no copper residue

 

As SS said, there are loads of .22lr with copper coats, who knows what the original owner has shot, or indeed what the op may shoot!

 

 

Fair point. I was assuming typical all lead subsonic rounds but that is an unreasonable assumption.

Cleaning for copper will do no harm at all.

Try a drop of meths on the last but one patch, it will clean out any residue from the solvents and finish with a dry patch. I find full accuracy returns after just one shot (SK Subs)..

[Adrian Prisk 6]

Well i cleaned the barrel with parker and hale 009, used a nylon brush and swabs and went back out this evening with 150 rounds. I have just came back and have come to the conclusion that the problem was 95 % me. I have been using sub 12 ftlb pcp air rifles for the last 3 years and even compared to the spring air rifles i use to use the modern pcp is a very forgiving gun to shoot,my son can put pellet on pellet at 30 yards. I find the 22 rimfire more hold sensitive and i am starting to get the feel for it .I put 150 rounds at varying ranges out to my max 95 mtrs, and by adjusting my hold and trigger grip i was getting 1and a quarter inch 5 shot groups at 95 mtrs. With my air rifles i use to strip the triggers and polish the sears, gave me a nice feeling trigger.I have order a trigger kit for the cz 452, with changing that and more practice things will only get better.I will try other rounds just to get the best possible. After 2 hours on the targets i packed up and found i had 2 shots left so i walked back where there is always a couple of rabbits . The first one was 52 mtrs off sticks and the second was at 92 mtrs off bipod got both with head shots well pleased.My previous best was 70 mtrs with fac air. Thankyou all for the advice. I was just to quick to blame the tools.