How many shots to "dirty" the barrel of a .22?

[JellyJar]

I understand that for best accuracy in a .22 firearm you should shoot a few rounds through it to "dirty" the barrel. Question is how many rounds do you think would be enough?

Thanks

JJ

 

[tcj]

1 or just wave a 22 in front of the chamber On a serious note probably 5-10,

 

[Damon555]

My 22 lr barrels are always fouled.....as I never clean the insides

 

[Riomouse911]

Every gun varies. I'll suggest you clean your barrel, then slowly fire shot groups until they tighten up to the point that you don't see improvement from one group to the next. At that point you have probably found your rifles sweet spot.

Plus you get to go have some fun and shoot, something I am finding harder to do every month .

 

[ColtPythonElite]

My Lilja barrelled target rifle takes 5 to 25 most of the time.

 

[Slamfire]

The word is "it depends". I purchased a couple of CMP Steven's M416 22lr WW2 training rifles. One had been ill treated and it takes almost 10 rounds before the zero stabilizes. With good match 22lr's, I always start the match by shooting two fouler shots down range. I am of the opinion that I have seen movement from the first shot from a clean barrel, to the second. I clean my target rifle barrels after a match and it could make a difference, but these heavy bolt rifles with match barrels are very consistent shooters.







However, after enough practice sessions, I always fire at least two rounds in the berm when shooting a target 22 lr pistol. The point of impact changes noticeably from the first round out of a clean barrel, to the next. It may not be the barrel as much as the dynamics of the pistol. I can't prove one of the other, but it will take one round, maybe two, before I am confident of the zero of a target 22lr.

 

[Reloadron]

I understand that for best accuracy in a .22 firearm you should shoot a few rounds through it to "dirty" the barrel. Question is how many rounds do you think would be enough?

Thanks

JJ

Normally called fouling rounds I would guess it depends on the ammunition. Maybe five rounds or maybe ten. Powder and bullet will eventually settle in to as good as it is going to get.

Just My Take....
Ron

 

[k4swb]

I have also found that when changing brands and on some guns the type of ammo in the same brand to require another few rounds of "fouling" to get things settled in again.

 

[MedWheeler]

k4swb writes:

I have also found that when changing brands and on some guns the type of ammo in the same brand to require another few rounds of "fouling" to get things settled in again.

I've read this, too. It seems I recall a suggestion of up to forty rounds of a particular ammo load to "warm" the barrel up to it.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

If you are accuracy testing ammo, you want to clean the barrel when swapping brands. The lube on the ammo is half the magic in accurate ammo.

 

[redbullitt]

From a clean bore I would say mine is calm at 15 or 20 shots. If you want to shoot the best it can then clean the barrel when switching ammunition, then let it settle in should be as good as can be that way!

 

[DM~]

Every gun varies. I'll suggest you clean your barrel, then slowly fire shot groups until they tighten up to the point that you don't see improvement from one group to the next.

There's the right answer right there...

DM

 

[Curator]

In competition, "fouling" shots are necessary as the lube left in the bore does oxidise over time, even a couple of days. When a .22 rim fire rifle has sat for a few weeks one can usually see a bit of oxide at the muzzle. How many shots depends on circumstances. As one poster points out, a change in the brand of ammo often requires a few shots to "season" the bore with a different lube. Also, the type of bore cleaner used in cleaning makes a big difference. The old stand-by, Hoppe's #9 may require up to 10 shots in my rifles. Some more modern bore cleaners have needed 50+ rounds to get the gun to shoot accurately again. I clean my match rifles at the end of the season (June here in Florida) When we start shooting in October they are wiped out with two dry patches. I don't expect the rifles to group well until they have fired at least a half box of ammo.

 

[PapaG]

My Savage-Anschutz 141 Sporter decides each day what it takes. Sometimes three or four, sometimes twenty or more. I love/hate it. Once settled in it is good all day.

 

[mokin]

I've recently been giving this some thought. I reckon it varies a lot between firearms, but I noticed a huge difference in the accuracy of my Ruger MK II between shooting it real dirty, cleaning it, and shooting it again on the next trip. On the first trip to the range after cleaning, it was all over the place. On the next trip though, this was after 50 rounds, it seemed pretty much back to its old self.

 

[Sunray]

"...The word is "it depends"..." That's the answer to all questions like this. Depends on the firearm. The ammo. What your shooting at. Everything.

 

[DavidABQ]

I have been testing to see how many rounds it takes for my Anschutz 1712 to shoot its best after a good cleaning. I stil want to repeat this test another 6 times but so far it seems the magic number is around 15 to 20 rounds. After that the group sizes don't really change unless I mess up and throw a shot.

 

[Tiro Finale]

13 to 16 rounds usually does it for my Contender.

 

[Skylerbone]

I've read 1-round per inch of barrel as a rule of thumb. The following link is the most comprehensive article I have read to date on rimfires and cleaning. If you have the time copy the link and save it for reference. http://www.ssvtexel.nl/index.cfm?act=files.download&ui=C5C9D865-2200-0A21-B5F5CF897974784F

 

[ms6852]

I only run an oil patch on my 22 firearms and a dry patch never have cleaned them. As far as the actions every few hundred rounds only.

 

[Walkalong]

If you are accuracy testing ammo, you want to clean the barrel when swapping brands. ...........

Amen to this, drove me nuts until I figured it out. The very greasy Wolf was throwing things out of whack. Stick with something though and things would settle down.

 

[481]

I only run an oil patch on my 22 firearms and a dry patch never have cleaned them. As far as the actions every few hundred rounds only.

I do this, too. After its first cleaning out of the box, I don't clean my .22 barrels except for a wet patch, followed by two or three to remove excess oil/cleaner.