17 HMR barrel break in-a reply from CCI

J

jmabrey

Inactive
I recently purchased a Savage .17 and began looking at websites to gain more knowledge. I was surprised to find so many posts on "break in procedures". After looking at 4 different forums( http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/index.php? , http://www.savageshooters.net/index.html, http://17hmr.net, http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-160148.html.
and reading many posts on other sites(http://yarchive.net/gun/barrel/break_in.html about Gale Mcmillan and his belief that barrel break-in is a ruse to sell more barrels), http://www.snipercountry.com/Articles/Barrel_BreakIn_II.asp a post from a guy in Texas looking at the scientific basis for barrel break in, http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.rifle-bore-cleaning.html, http://www.6mmbr.com/barrelFAQ.html#24641, it became apparent that there were several things going on here.


1. A lot of well intentioned people were applying big bore needs to the 17 HMR rifles without any facts to support their opinions.
2. All of them seemed to make assumptions about a relatively small round and how it operates in a rifle.
3. Most were using their single or small incidences of experience to justify a complex break in process.
4. Much of this practice seems to be historical(handed down from one person to another) and ritualistic in nature.
5. Information about barrel break in often refers to other calibers not the 17HMR. http://www.jacksonrifles.com/maintenance.htm

I began to realize that no one had really talked to "an expert" (except the larger bore rifle barrel makers, some of whom only supply a break in procedure because the customers wanted one). Also, so much energy had been expelled in looking at the barrel and how we interacted with it( cleaning, break in, maintenance, ritualistic swabbing, pasting, oiling ) that the real interacter, the bullet, was over looked. Some people have touched on the subject with discussion of various bullets that are used to break in large bore barrels.

In Chuck Hawks page on the .17 HMR he states that "It is true that CCI actually loads all of the .17 HMR ammunition for the CCI, Federal, Hornady, and Remington brands" http://www.chuckhawks.com/ammo_roundup_17HMR.htm

Based on this I decided to talk to an expert with intimate knowledge of the 17HMR and wrote to CCI and here is Brett Olins reply- (I did ask him permission before using this post)(the under lining and bold font is mine)


John,

Thanks for asking about the post, if you don't mind post what I have
edited below.

1) Clean the bore before shooting the gun the first time. Run a brush
wet with bore solvent from the breech to the muzzle.
Remove the brush and retract the rod. Let the solvent soak for a few
minutes and then run a couple of dry patches through the bore.

2) Since it doesn't take very long, run a wet patch through the bore
every 5 rds for the 1st 20 shots. Whether or not this "breaks in" the
bore is up for debate but it can't hurt. Make sure the bore is dry
again before continuing.
3) Clean the rifle after shooting at the end of the day. I run a
couple of wet patches through my NEF single shot after a days use. I
do not clean during a days shooting.
Since the rifling is only .002 deep per side I recommend using a
brush very sparingly. A Bore guide would help keep the rod from wearing on
one side of the throat. The HMR actually has very little bore fouling
because the bullet isn't going 4000 fps like a 17 Remington CF.

Regards

Brett Olin

Dev Eng CCI/Speer
 
My approach is simple. If and when someone with more knowledge and stature than the late Gale McMillan says it's anything but bunk (in any caliber), then I'll listen. And he even had an interest in promoting said ruse to sell barrels, but didn't.
 
Proof of the pudding!
My son and I bought the same rifles, Marlin 917v, .17cal., HMR. My son broke his barrel in using the Ft. Bragg, Nat. Comp. Shooters recomemdation. I believe it was shoot 3 and clean, shoot 5 and clean, and so on, I'm not 100% sure of the procedure. Anyway, I just started shooting mine from the box, no break in.
After we both put about 200 rounds through the rifles, one day at the range we traded rifles. Neither of us would have known the difference. After adjusting the scopes to our eye, they were both still tack drivers regardless of who shot who's rifle. At 50 yards groups of 3 were nearly going into the same hole. At 100 yards the groups were all touching and could be easily covered with a dime.
We're both very satisfied!
 
I agree with you

It's the main reason I did so much searching on the net. I was impressed that other well respected forums posted Gail M's writings. I also like to have a factual basis for acting is a certain way and knowing that the 17hmr produces very littl fouling helps. thanks for your reply, John
 
17hmr

ok i saw this savage 17hmr sitting alone on the gun shelf .it looked so lonely i took it home.for under $300 i got 150 rounds,the rifle with a bushnell 3x9 scope and a nice cardboard box to take it home in.Have'nt fired it yet.so who has fired thier sand what do they think of the caliber itself?Will it shoot the nuts off a chipmonk at 100 yards?
 
Will it shoot the nuts off a chipmonk at 100 yards?
Click to expand...

The rifle can do it as long as you can. Practice makes perfect! Read my prior post, that will answer your question.
 
Whether or not this "breaks in" the bore is up for debate but it can't hurt.
Click to expand...

Or, you could shoot 5 rounds. Put rifle into refriderator for 2 hours. Shoot another 5, fridge for 2 more hours, and repeat this 100 times. After all, it can't hurt....:p

Just shoot the darn thing!
 
I am not an Expert on this subject by any means, but I will tell you what I was shown by a reputable gun-smith.
He took a Bore Scope(at about a gazillion power) and put it down the barrel of a Brand New Rifle, out of the box.
What I saw were the edges of the rifleings in the barrel magnified to the point that they looked more like a hack-saw blade the a rifling.
His opinion is that the "BREAK IN" of a barrel is really no more than shooting the rifle enough times to smooth those edges as smooth as they can get, resulting in better accuracy as they smooth up.
The cleaning between shots would only be a matter of removing any particles or debris that loosens up.
I tend to beleive that as I have noticed with new barrels they tend to tighten the groups tighter, the more you shoot them.
His thinking is the same as mine, I don't beleive in wasting time or ammunition when I shoot, so I use every shot to sight in, or hone my shooting skills at the range.
If the first 200 rounds is called BREAK-IN, then so be it.
What I call them is FUN.
The clean out is just something any resonsible gun owner does with his weapons anyway.
 
Will it shoot the nuts off a chipmonk at 100 yards?
Click to expand...

The rifle can do it as long as you can. Practice makes perfect! Read my prior post, that will answer your question.
Click to expand...

Just how many chipmonk's would you have him shoot the nuts off for practice? ;)
 
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