Break in for 10/22

R

Redleg

New member
What's the proper break in procedure for a new 10/22 LR? I've been told to fire in five round groups up to fifty, cleaning the tube between each group. Is this correct?

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Matthew J. Giegler
US Army
Fort Irwin, California
"GUN CONTROL MEANS USING BOTH HANDS!"
www.geocities.com/onemilmhz
 
Break in procedures have a following among the benchrest crowd and a good case can be made in either direction for sporters.

However, I have not heard anyone advocate this for .22s. The BR-50 folks may have a different take...

I would shoot the rifle and clean it after shooting. The .22LR is both low pressure and soft bullets, that you may never wear out the barrel from shooting.

However, when you clean it, use a high quality one peice cleaning rod and be very carefull with the muzzle. I usually insert the rod, wrap a wet patch around the jag while it's in the breech and pull it through. Do this two or three times and then dry the bore. I also use an old toothbrush on the bolt face and chamber area.

Giz
 
1. Clean rifle and lubricate well before you shoot for the first time. Barrel should be dry.

2. Go to Wal-Mart and buy 500 round box of El Cheapo .22LR ammo.

3. Shoot 500 rounds of El Cheapo .22LR ammo.

4. Clean rifle and lubricate well. Use toothbrush on bolt face and breech face. Get the crud out of the extractor groove in the breech face.

Enjoy!

:)

Seriously, the rather protracted break-in for precision rifles is not really necessary for a standard .22 rifle. Now, if you have a 10/22T with the heavy target barrel and all that jazz, then you do the shoot 1, clean, shoot 3, clean, shoot 5 clean, and so on.




[This message has been edited by Chad Young (edited November 02, 2000).]
 
I don't think that the break-in physics change with 10-22's, even if you have the Target model. .22 bullets are much too soft to effectively do any burnishing of the bore, as one gets in centerfire rifles, shooting jacketed bullets. Just keep the barrel clean, as .22 rimfires will foul the bores quicker than jacketed bullets.
 
I would also add that drilling the receiver for breech cleaning the 10/22 is an easy thing to do, and it saves the crown.
 
Like Chad Young suggests, you shoot, and shoot, and shoot, and shoot... It's a 10/22 and not some prima donna of a target rifle. You're suppose to enjoy it.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I pick the gun up Tuesday and plan on shooting the heck out of it the following Saturday!
 
Redleg, do a search in the archives for Gale McMillan, and read his posts. If this man said, "breaking in barrells is bunk" (paraphrase) then I believe him.
 
Follow Chad Young's advice, except get some decent ammo. The cheapo stuff tends to leave nore residue behind, requiring more cleaning to avoid malfunctions. 10/22s like to be shot, so keep it happy!
 
The first thing I did was disassemble the gun. I then polished the rear of the trigger and the face of the spring detent behind it. I removed all of the factory lube and fired it 500 times. No malfunctions. Then I clean the crap out of it and never look back. Shooting it dry is not my recommendation, just something I do to make it work smoother. Every 10/22 I've owned has immediately gotten an extended mag release and automatic bolt-stop release modification. About an hour of work on the gun and one range session make it a pretty smooth plinker.
 
I've already ordered both the extended mag release and the auto bolt release as well as a recoil buffer pin and ventilated hand guard. Is there anything else I need to get my 10/22 up to speed?
 
Redleg! To get your rifle up to speed, one needs the Norell full-auto
conversion. They seem to be fun, we in Europe just have these Voehre
guns that will empty a brick of .22s in 20 seconds.
 
You don't need another part for the automatic bolt stop. You just need to modify the part in there. I'd just buy the part, but all you are getting is a modified part when you do. Worth the $12 IMO.
 
badgerarms - Where does one obtain the extended mag release and automatic bolt stop release mod?

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Safe shooting - PKAY
 
PKAY,
I got the hand guard and extended mag release from Cabela's. They have a section devoted to 10/22, 77/22, mini-14 and mini-30 accessories. $3.99 for the extended release and $9.99 for the hand guard. I got the auto bolt release and the buffer pin for $5/ea on eBay. Do a search for "10/22". There's lots of stuff there.

------------------
Matthew J. Giegler
US Army
Fort Irwin, California
"GUN CONTROL MEANS USING BOTH HANDS!"
 
Rather than drill a hole in your 10/22 receiver so you can clean it from the bore...just use a bore snake! Much easier, and seems to make the bore just as clean.
 
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