Care of rifles

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kknud

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I have just been able to purchase a rifle that I have wanted for a long time. It is a Weatherby Accumark in .300 Wthby. When I bought it, the salesman said that no special break in was required. Is that correct? Other people have told me that a certain break-in is required. Also, how often should a person clean the bore of a rifle? I clean my other rifles after shooting 20 rounds or so. Can over cleaning cause a proble? I use shooters choice and nylon brushes. I was told that shooters choice would corrode brass brushes so I stopped using them. Any cleaning and maintenance tips would be appreciated.

THANKS!!!

KRK
 
Kknud, unless Weatherby is breaking them in at the factory these days, either the salesman didn't know about barrel break in or was afraid he might lose the sale if you thought there was some big mysterious procedure involved. Basically any new rifle or rebarreled rifle needs to be broken in. The procedure that I use is to fire one round, run a wet patch through the bore and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then take another wet patch and run it through the bore 10 stroke in and out. Follow with 3 dry patches and fire the next round. Repeat this process for the first 5 rounds. After that go through the cleaning process after every 5 rounds for 50 rounds. After that you should clean the bore thoroughly after every 20 rounds you fire. I use Hoppes solvent when breaking in rifle barrels but Shooter's Choice is an excellen solvent. It sounds like you have the right idea about cleaning. I like to use nylon brushes myself. I also use a muzzle guide and a one piece cleaning rod. Also after cleaning run an oily patch down the bore followed by a dry one. This will leave a light protective coat on the bore. Before firing again dry the bore and especially the chamber. George
 
Kknud, on the suggestion of one of the members I'm moving your topic to The Art of the Rifle. I agree that you'll probably get more different prospectives there. George
 
I never heard of breaking in rifles before I came onto TFL in late 1998. I have two rifles I bought new in 1970 or 1971. The Wby MkV in '06 has some 4,000 rounds through it. The Sako Forester in .243 has some 2,000 rounds through it. I just took them out and shot them. Some of the first shooting of the MkV was to fireform some 100 rounds of brass, for reloading.

A year or so back, I sat down at the benchrest and got serious about holding for "best groups". The '06 put three shots into 1/2" center-to-center. Three shots from the .243 could be totally covered with a dime.

I use a copper-solvent bore-cleaner from time to time, if I've been a busy shooter. Otherwise, a patch with some sort of gun oil or WD40 through the bore. If you shoot, say, 40-50 rounds in a session, a good cleaning is worthwhile. If all you do is shoot three or four rounds to check your sight-in, and don't live in a damp climate, why bother? The bore isn't dirty enough to matter, and your only worry is rust.

I guess if my opponent was the guy at the adjacent benchrest, and we were trying for groups inside 0.1", center to center, I'd use every trick I'd ever heard of. Reliably very-small ten-shot groups don't come easy. If my opponent is Bambi, the gun is only one percent of the equation, and what I've always done with a rifle has always been better than good enough.

FWIW, Art
 
Uncle Art, was that Ayoob Count on those groups? hehehe jes couldn't resist! LOL ;)

------------------
o I raised my hand to eye level, like pointing a finger, and fired. Wild Bill Hickok
o If you have to shoot a man, shoot him in the guts... Wild Bill Hickok
o 45 ACP: Give 'em a new navel! BigG
o It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error. Justice Robert H. Jackson
o It is error alone that needs government support; truth can stand by itself. Tom Jefferson
o When you attempt to rationalize two inconsistent positions, you risk drowning as your own sewage backs up. BigG
 
You do need to break-in a barrel. The friction between the bullet and the bore wears the bore down to a consistent diameter, and also polishes the grooves and lands smoother than the initial machining.

You need to remove copper fouling between shots for the first five individual shots, because this interposes itself between the bullet and bore, interrupting the polishing process; then remove copper fouling between 3-5 shot groups for the next 3-5 groups, then between 20-shot groups for three more groups--a total of 74-90 rounds. Use FMJ bullets, and don't worry about accuracy. This is breaking in, not sighting in!

After that, most people will not remove copper fouling until after every 300 rounds or so, or if the gun is going to sit for several weeks between outings.

Some people claim a properly broken-in barrel has a longer life (I don't know!) but it does make the rifle easier to clean in the long run. It can also tell you about the quality of the bore as you repeat the cleanings. If it takes an excessive number of patches for each cleaning while breaking in, you probably have a pretty rough bore, or one that will not hold up well in the long run.

Have fun!
 
BigG, I was getting ready for my first-ever antelope hunt. Now, I don't mind missing a shot in front of friends; that's just part of the fun. But in front of strangers? No way, Jose! Besides, it was an almost-free deal instead of the usual $1,500. Me? PAY $1,500? For a dang goat?

So, I copper-cleaned and reloaded and shot and shot and cleaned and shot...And Lo! And Behold! I just got plumb lucky, I guess. Tri-focal eye-goggles and all.

And it was a one-shot drop at around 90-100 yards on the antelope. 15-1/2"; my first and only mount. No record, but nice.

What's an Ayoob count? "The best of..."? I always do three-shot groups on hunting rifles. If the scope's off, I move the group-center...

:-), Art
 
Hi Uncle Art! Ayoob count is "shoot five, take the best three!" He says that is suspiciously close to how good the gun will shoot five shots using a Ransom Rest. LOL

My apologies to Mas if I've misstated his methodology. LOL

------------------
o I raised my hand to eye level, like pointing a finger, and fired. Wild Bill Hickok
o If you have to shoot a man, shoot him in the guts... Wild Bill Hickok
o 45 ACP: Give 'em a new navel! BigG
o It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error. Justice Robert H. Jackson
o It is error alone that needs government support; truth can stand by itself. Tom Jefferson
o When you attempt to rationalize two inconsistent positions, you risk drowning as your own sewage backs up. BigG
 
BigG, back when the mountains were not as tall, I worked and worked on tight five-shot groups with my first '06 sporter--a 1917 Enfield with a Bishop stock and a K2.5 Weaver. I finally got five shots honestly, completely, inside one inch.

I wuz as proud as only a skinny 16-year old could be.

So my uncle came out with his Varminter (WW II Mauser 98, Jerry Gebby barrel and a K10) (maybe .22-250, to you young folks), put a patch over my group, and shot the middle out of the patch. He grinned, and said something along the lines of, "That'll give you something to work toward."

Well, 50 years later, and I'm still having fun "workin' on it".

:), Art

[This message has been edited by Art Eatman (edited February 09, 2000).]
 
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