zeroing probs

[riggers 2]

again thank you all will take in every thing you have all said

[riggers 2]

hi all wel gutted the barrell and shot it tonight inch and a half group at 100 cheers guys what is your average groups at 100 yards

[dicehorn 38]

I don't use a copper solvent, any suggestions on what to use. I have no bore snake, i use fishing gut doubled, and then put flannelet in the join to pull the barrel through. I have got rods, with wire nylon and soft attachments, so will use them from now on. I was going to buy a bore snake but dont think i will bother. I really appreciate all comment and advice thank you very much. :notworthy:

 

 

Many bore solvents concentrate on powder/lead removal with a bit of copper removal as well...copper solvent does what it says!!! I use Hoppe's but I suspect they are all pretty much the same!

 

HMR is a tiny bullet and quite fast up the barrel...and copper coated (the copper coat is generally applied to fast rounds to stop the lead bullet deforming with the heat of air friction and becoming inconsistant in delivery..as a bonus it assists penetration)....this being the case the bullets tends to leave copper deposits up the barrel and if the barrel has not been broken in effectively these deposits can often be laid down in the bore VERY inconsistantly and build up needing a proper copper clean!

 

This may well lead to the sort of innacuracy problems you have suggested.

 

Most barrels could do with a decent copper clean on a fairly regular basis although most general cleaners do an adequate job!

 

To maintain accuracy and optimum barrel life it is essential to maintain the bore condition to as high a standard as possible!

 

Agree totally with Deker's comments, but I use Shooter's Choice MC7.

 

There is one aspect of cleaning that is often overlooked. If you have put 400 rounds through this rifle, apart from a build up of copper fouling which is easy to remove, you will also have a build up of carbon in the throat of the barrel which if not removed will cause your bullets to spray around a target.

 

This carbon will not be removed with copper solvent and certainly not with the dreaded boresnake. The carbon can only be easily removed by the use of J B Compound - bench rest shooter's secret weapon!!

 

There is of course a tried and tested way to shoot in/ break in a new barrel and whilst it may now be too late for you, for others who are getting a new centre fire or indeed the quick 17 rim - this is one method

 

Firstly and most importantly give the new bore a thorough clean before you fire the first shot - reason? some manufacturers coat the bore with an oil based substance to prevent it from rusting during transit and storage.

 

Anyway

 

Fire 1 then clean

Fire 1 then clean

Fire 1 then clean

 

Fire 3 then clean

Fire 3 then clean

Fire 3 then clean using also a phosphor brush

 

Fire 5 then clean

fire 5 then clean

Fire 5 then clean using also a phosphor brush

 

Fire 10 then clean

Fire 10 then clean

Fire 10 then clean using also a phosphor brush and a clean with J B Compound

 

All this may seem very laborious but when you have paid hard earned money for something that will give you pleasure for a few years, getting it right from the start is not a waste of time.

 

Finally, JB Compound is very abrasive - it should only be used every 70 shots or so - read the instructions on the pot

 

Peter

[riggers 2]

thanks for the advice have scrubbed the barrel with a .177 cleaning kit and there is no fowling in the barrel well none that i can see used a carbon solvent in the barrel wire brush few times nylon brush few times woolen brush then swabbed with flannelets shot it inch and a half group 10 rounds 100 yards so its good enough for me will keep it clean though thanks all is there any thing i can do to re shoot in the barrel also how many .17hmr owners actually did it like you said think its a bit too much to fire 1 clean and so on and so on i have a range at the top of a hill and its blooming cold up there and have to walk 1/2 mile to get to it. i don't have the comfort of an purpose built range wish i had thank you for all you comments and would love to hear any tips that you have for zeroing ranging and so on

[Deker 3,478]

Riggers

 

Just lifted this from the FAQ section.....

 

Hi all

i just read this on a site www.border-barrels.com about 'SHOOTING IN' A BARREL do any of you do this on your new gun or barrels or is it done from the factory

do you think this needs to be done or not?

This is what they do

 

 

'SHOOTING IN' A BARREL

 

There is much discussion about 'shooting in' a barrel. Everybody seems to have their own way of doing it, so this is a brief monograph about how we do it.

But first, a few words on why 'shooting in' a barrel is necessary. No matter how well lapped or how finely finished the internal surface of the barrel is, the first few bullets down the barrel seem to leave a significant fraction of themselves behind as heavy metal fouling. A subsequent bullet shot up a barrel with heavy metal fouling will tend to press that fouling into the barrel causing dints and roughness in a bore that the barrel maker has gone to a lot of trouble to make smooth and even. So it is important to get all that metal fouling out before shooting another bullet up the barrel.

 

When we shoot in a barrel, we fire one shot and then use a phosphor bronze brush and Shooters Choice to clean the barrel of powder fouling and loose dirt. Having dried out the barrel with a few patches, we squirt some Forrest bore foam up the barrel and leave it sitting for 24 hours to get out all the metal fouling. There is no way to quickly clean metal fouling out of a barrel and we find Forrest bore foam seems to do the job best as the foam clings to the whole interior surface of the barrel.

 

After 24 hours the Forrest bore foam has turned dark blue, but all traces of the metal fouling is gone. Now we fire another shot and repeat the process.

 

We do this about five times. Finally, we fire five shots and then give the barrel a final 24 hour soak in Forrest bore foam. The bore of the barrel will now have been 'conditioned' and metal fouling should be minimal from now on. Yes, we take a week to shoot in a barrel! But there is no quick way to remove heavy metal fouling. Anyone that says there is doesn't have a bore scope!

 

Using moly coated bullets seems to minimise the metal fouling during this shooting in process and makes it all a lot easier.

 

For general cleaning after shooting, we use a phosphor bronze brush dipped in Shooters Choice. This is pulled down the barrel from the muzzle a few times to loosen off the powder fouling. The barrel is then cleaned out using dry patches. It is important that the phosphor bronze brush is clean and in good condition. It should be kept in container so that does not pick up any sand and dirt. If the brush collapses on one side, as some makes tend to do, then throw it away and use a new one. A phosphor bronze brush will do no harm to your barrel provided it is free of dirt and in good condition. It is also important to clean out the chamber and the area in front of the locking lugs, just behind the back of the barrel.

 

I should just say at this point that we are getting no favours or promotional payments for mentioning Forrest bore foam or Shooters Choice. I mention these products because that is what we use - for now. Someday, we may find something that we like better for one reason or another and then we will use that instead.

 

Forrest Bore Foam is available in the United States as Outers Bore Cleaning foam and is available from WalMart's. In the UK, the distributor is GMK Ltd.

 

 

 

If you have the time and patience it isn't going to do any harm and can hopefully help.

 

There are those that say shooting in a barrel is a waste of time, but this needs qualifying! The likes of a .22LR firing sub sonic lead may require hundreds of rounds to break it in properly, but on the other hand if this is all you ever use it for, it could be argued there is no need to break it in at all!

 

Serious fast centrefires will break in, or break a barrel quickly, a good bit of cleaning and copper removal would be distinctly useful.

 

I suspect those that care, want accuracy and can't afford a new barrel every few rounds will do a reasonable job of breaking in a barrel!!

Edited October 18, 2008 by Deker

[riggers 2]

thanks mate i read it earlier on today many thank s

[SNAP SHOT 194]

best group at 100 yards with the hmr is 1/4 inch 5 shot group, normally hovering around 3/4 to 1/2 inch......

good luck with it.........

[SportingShooter 0]

I did shoot the barrel in on my HMR, having spent a fair bit getting it and all the little pieces to go with it, so I thought it wouldn't inconvenience me an awful lot to clean it after each round, then every few rounds, I took the cleaning stuff with me and spent the day pretty much playing with it.

 

My best group is just under 3/4" but then I don't use it enough or want it to shoot better than that!

 

With higher mag optics perhaps I could but for my shooting, thats enough for me!!

 

Personally, I cant see the reason why people don't shoot in the barrel if you've spent hard earned dosh on it.

 

It's too late for your barrel, its already been broken after 400 odd rounds, is there a bi-pod on it?

 

SS

[Deker 3,478]

best group at 100 yards with the hmr is 1/4 inch 5 shot group, normally hovering around 3/4 to 1/2 inch......

good luck with it.........

 

1/4 inch....edge to edge or centre to centre???...good going that man!!

 

Not absolutely sure myself but I have had 3 clover leafing, but 5... probably about 3/4 inch

[riggers 2]

hi all yes i have a bipod on it checked my licence and its accually 300 i fired i scrubbed the barrell twice and shot it again at 100 yards my group size was under 2 inch my scope is 8x42 so with a higher mag i could probably tighten it up as i am struggling to see the spot at 100 yards would it not be a better idea to zero it in at 50 then give one click then check at 100 i bought some bore foam today and used it on the barrell cleaned it and it come out spot less no gunk or copper

[Deker 3,478]

hi all yes i have a bipod on it checked my licence and its accually 300 i fired i scrubbed the barrell twice and shot it again at 100 yards my group size was under 2 inch my scope is 8x42 so with a higher mag i could probably tighten it up as i am struggling to see the spot at 100 yards would it not be a better idea to zero it in at 50 then give one click then check at 100 i bought some bore foam today and used it on the barrell cleaned it and it come out spot less no gunk or copper

 

 

Targets and zero work and scopes become very personal... but I use 6 x Mag anyway and zero at 100 on the HMR.

Target wise I make my own on the computer..EASY....A4 sheet of paper and print 3 thick black (3-4mm wide) horizontal lines and 3 thick vertical lines, this produces a grid with multiple aiming points and leaves lots of white space to see the shots, and is easy to use with any cross hairs on a scope!! Works for me and it's quick and easy to bring in any scope in a couple of shots!!

 

PS

and it's easy to see at 100 yards at 6x mag!!

Edited October 19, 2008 by Deker

[rob reynolds uk 3]

you need this stuff .. http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/...leitemid=643582 you will find rimfires arnt like centerfire rifles and you dont need to shoot a rimfire rifle in or clean them as much so i was told by some guys who really no there stuff ..if you clean your rifle it will be off and you will need at least 15 shots to get it shooting right after cleaning mine does..

Edited October 19, 2008 by rob reynolds uk