I recently picked up a Ruger M77 Mk II in 260 Remington. The rifle appears to be in real good condition. I have shot it using factory ammo (Remington ultra corelok 140 grain) and it groups around 2" at 100 yards.

I do not know the history of this gun. It appears to be as it came from the factory. The trigger is heavy with some creep.

Once I shot it and started cleaning I noticed I couldn't get the copper fouling out. I spent 6 nights applying copper solvent, brushing and running patches through the bore. I finally was able to get a clean patch. I am assuming the barrel was never broken in properly.

My question is, should I treat this gun as a new barrel and go through a break in procedure or can't that bell be unrung? What steps would you take now?

Thanks!

Well, in my mind this is kind of along the lines of you dont get a second chance to make a first impression.

The barrel is not new, so no need to try and break it in. I say develop a load, maybe have it beded and the trigger worked on. have the smith polish the crown and go from there.

Barrel break in is bs. I've never broken in a barrel, just go and shoot.

Ruger barrels are somewhat rough, but they do shoot. If you really want a squeeky clean barrel, heres how to go about it. Use your generic solvent to get out most of the carbon and other residue. Then run in Barnes CR-10 and let it sit 15 minutes. Patch out with your solvent, the patches will be blue. Then go at it with JB compound. Then use your solvent to patch out the JB, then apply CR-10 again. Keep alternating CR-10 and JB until no more blue patches.

Here's shots 11, 12 and 13 out of a ruger 350 rem mag. Shots 1-10 were factory fodder and "accuracy" was 3-4".



Work up good handloads and only clean when the accuracy drops off. I've seldom seem accuracy drop signifigantly until I've fired hundreds of rounds.

I have only owned 1 Ruger rifle, (bought it new) it did the same thing. I did a barrel break in on it and after 200 rounds I just gave up. Shoot it 20 times and clean copper for a week. I put up with it 4 years and got rid of it. I have never owned another nor will I.

PaPa260

It may shoot extremely well with a different load,check the torque on the action screws. I have been getting alot of rifles lately where they are loose not tight at all and that will only cause you fits with accuracy. I agree Barrel break in is a bunch of BS.I have owned alot of rugers and alot were very accurate.

Pegged. Squarely.

100 stroke with a tight jagged patch and some JB's wouldn't hurt.

Jeff

You cant go back to yesterday. From what you described it sounds like not only was the rifle never broken in but it also sounds like the previous owner never even knew about copper fouling.

One more thing on barrel break in. It is not nessacary to break in you barrels it is a lot of work and really doesn't improve the accuarcy much if any at all especially for hunting purposes. However I still do barrel break in on all my rifles at this point. It seems to me that when I do a proper break in that the copper fouling decreases alot and it makes the rifle easier to clean I never have any problems with the accuarcy in my going to hell because of copper fouling after 200 rounds.

Wow, a lot of replies in a short time. Thanks everyone! I'll try the JB. Never used it before.

So, I guess I'll install a new trigger and start developing a load. I'll check those action screws, also.

Get some foamy bore solvent, made to dissolve copper, follow the directions, and save yourself a lot of time.

There is nothing wrong with the ruger triggers as designed, they are just poorly finished from the factory. If you have a good gunsmith nearby, have him properly stone the trigger and perhaps put in a ligther trigger return spring. You'll get a trigger that breaks cleanly and has no adjustments to go out of wack. It is an excellent hunting trigger as designed.

As to break in, again it's bunk. Yes, barrels do smooth out after firing a couple hundred rounds. But mulitple cleanings between firing is just a waste of time and there is much greater risk of you damaging the bore from running the rod through it so many times.

The only reason people go through the "break in procedure" is somebody told them to do so and they blindly followed it. Those of us that don't do it have guns that shoot just as accurately and foul the same. We just save time by avoinding unecessary cleaning and put more rounds down range vs. running the cleaning rod.

+1
Save a lot of time and elbow grease as well as wear and tear on the barrel.

Shoot until accuracy wanes,give it some modest bore attention,repeat. Unless you are bored out of your mind and are bent on reinventing the wheel.

Moly is your friend.........................(hint)