How Many Rounds To Warm Up A .22?

[ACP230]

I went out shooting this morning while almost everyone else was going to work.
I fired almost 50 shots of Wolf Match Target before shooting some benchrest targets with my Remington 541-T HB. The two targets I shot after that were the best I've shot to date. I think maybe I haven't been warming up the Remingtion enough before shooting targets for record. Today the hotter the barrel got and the dirtier the 541 was the better it shot.

I have an early Winchester 52 which seems to shoot the same hot or cold.

How many shots does it take to warm up your .22 rifles and get the best accuracy out of them?

 

[Mk VII]

the first one of the evening always goes astray. After that it doesn't seem to matter.

 

[Delmar]

Sounds like to me the 541 has some issues in the bedding or something is twisted somewhere, and gets to a uniform measurement once its heated. An aquaintence of mine has a MkV Weatherby in 257, which came with a bent barrel. The factory tried to straighten it, but when it starts heating, it warps back to where it was and stays there. The first 3 shots are about 2 inches apart in a straight horizontal line, and then it stays there and becomes a tack driver.

In my 10/22, the first shot always groups about 1/2 inch to the left of the next 9 shots, but I suspect that is because the bolt is released by hand on the first shot, with the rest being operated in auto loading mode.

 

[blue86buick]

better throw an even brick through for good measure.

i'm not good enough of a shot (yet) to notice a difference.

 

[Owen]

ACP230, are you cleaning the barrel? If you are, it will take 20 to 30 rounds to replace the lube from the bullets. Legend has it, that the lube itself makes a difference, so when you change brands, you need to shoot another 20 or 30 rounds to get you back to representative group sizes.

As near as i can tell, benchrest guys, and target shooters never clean the bores on their .22's

owen

 

[Crimper-D]

Every .22 is different

I have one little singleshot that is a 'Cold Barrel Gun" = the first shot out of a cold tube is right where the sights were set the last time I shot it (same range). Then I have several more that take a magazine full or 2 to settle into an even group. I shoot benchrest rimfire using USBR and ARA targets at 50 yds, I also Boresnake all my guns, Benchrest, hunters or plinkers,once each year = whether they need it or NOT!
There are those who shoot the same rifles at the same range who have more cleaning supplies than ammo in their range bags - and appear to clean more than they shoot....Interesting ritual to watch Comparison of group sizes is pretty inconclusive = they pretty much look the same given same rifles and ammo.
Old saying from my misspent youth: "It's not the High, it's the Ritual Man! To each his own...

 

[ACP230]

I have shot the 541 for about a year and never cleaned the barrel.
The Winchester 52's barrel hasn't had its barrel cleaned recently either.

I was switching around between brands of ammo for a while last year, but since I bought a case of Wolf Match Target nothing else has been shot through the Remington.