Barrel running in procedure

[ellmerfudd]

Hi everyone, just purchased a new Remington 700 SPS Tactical 20" in .223 and need to get out run her in, i just wondered what your thoughrs on this were and how you recommend doing this, was thinking 1 shot clean barrel for five times then 3 shots clean barrel five times then 5 shots clean barrel five times, then just shoot it as normal. Also when run in and shooting how often do you all clean your .223 barrels ? I clean my .17hmr thoroughly every time ive used it and always have to put a fouling shot down first new shot as the first cold bore shot always goes high left, then i can cloverleaf at 100yds with it.

[meles meles]

We could ask Diogenes...

[meles meles]

...though in practice, if the barrel has been well made by a competent maker, it ought not to need running in.

That's just our view as a metallurgist and mechanical engineer, ooman.

[Daryll]

Hi everyone, just purchased a new Remington 700 SPS Tactical 20" in .223 and need to get out run her in, i just wondered what your thoughrs on this were and how you recommend doing this, was thinking 1 shot clean barrel for five times then 3 shots clean barrel five times then 5 shots clean barrel five times, then just shoot it as normal. Also when run in and shooting how often do you all clean your .223 barrels ? .....

I followed this type of process when I got my SPS Tactical .223, and to be honest I don't think it made any difference, it still won't group...

[ellmerfudd]

Have you tried different types of ammo in it mate

[ellmerfudd]

Im hoping mine groups had it from SYSS and they havr "fettled" it, polished bolt runners, trigger smoothed and adjusted and barrel re crowned as aparantly they dont come from the factory with a very good crown on them ? Hope it groups well now :-( shooting a mates at the range a couple months ago and was doing three shot groups touching holes.

[ellmerfudd]

How bad is yours mate ?

[MrD]

I followed this type of process when I got my SPS Tactical .223, and to be honest I don't think it made any difference, it still won't group...

I sent my 308 SPS back to Edgar Bros as it was shocking. They cleaned up the mould lines inside the stock where it was pressing on the barrel and bedded the action which helped a fair bit. From speaking to their gunsmith, he wasn't too flattering about the standard synthetic stock. I subsequently changed to an AICS and am much happier.

Donald

[Daryll]

I've tried many different makes of .223 factory ammo, handloads, and mil surp 5.56.

The 5.56 62gn gives the best groups I've had so far, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch..... at 25 yds..!!

(Bear in mind there is another thread on here talking about the wisdom, or not, of using 5.56mm in a .223 rifle... what works fine in my rifle may not in yours)

Its not the "nut behind the butt", as I can get much smaller groups with other guns.

It has been suggested that the barrel need re-crowning, I just haven't gotten around to having it done yet, but it would have to be pretty rough to affect the accuracy that badly at 25yds... I've inspected it closely and it looks and feels smooth enough.

Like MrD I found the Houge stock as much use as a chocolate fireguard, so changed it to a Choate "Ultimate sniper" stock.

[rox]

how you recommend doing this, was thinking 1 shot clean barrel for five times then 3 shots clean barrel five times then 5 shots clean barrel five times, then just shoot it as normal.

There are numerous plans and sequences, but you should be adaptive, depending on how much copper you remove during each clean.
My most recent barrel produced practically no copper during run-in, so my process was something like:

1 & clean
2 & clean
3 & clean
5 & clean
10 & clean
done.

Remember that it's copper we are talking about when cleaning during running-in, so a quick clean to remove powder fouling is doing nothing. You should use a good copper solvent, most of which take 10-20 minutes to work, and may need to be repeated if there is much evidence of copper.

Also bear in mind that even the finest hand-lapped match barrels can have lateral tooling marks in the leade, created during chambering.

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