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We were shooting some .22s yesterday at the range and trying to shoot the Precision Rimfire challenge and had a very relaxing day. One thing I noticed was when I was changing ammo and started to season the barrel, how satisfying it was to watch as the barrel would season and suddenly the groups would start to get smaller and smaller until it got to where you kind of expected it to shoot.

I brought some SK Standard plus, some Eley Action, and some RWS I just received in a shipment I ordered several weeks ago. Each one shot very well, but the SK tended to have fliers in both my rifles , which was incredibly frustrating when I had a good target going.. the Eley was pretty comparable- not quite as accurate, but the fliers were fewer and not quite so wild as the SK. When I move to the RWS, it was all over the place at first- probably 2" or larger groups at first, then, after the first 10 shots it started to settle down and at about 15 seasoning shots, it was printing little cloverleafs like I had expected it would. However, in this challenge you find out real soon that those little cloverleafs can be pretty satisfying until you start to shoot one shot at each red dot and realize the real dispersion you get even with good ammo. Definitely humbling but a lot of learning going on at the same time...

In any case the ammo I was shooting would easily have resulted in deceased squirrels and sage rats , which is what these rifles mostly get used for anyway...

Bob


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Sheister I agree wholeheartedly. SK is capable of remarkable groups considering its price point but the fliers are gonna happen so you just have to accept them

I have never had any consistency with any of the eley offerings other than match (black)and tenex (red) and as such have no more interest in experimenting with them.

It’s oft opined that “a couple” shots down the bore when changing ammo types is sufficient but like you I have seen much better results after 15-25


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Bob…..that pretty much mimics my experience as well (both seasoning and accuracy). That’s one thing that the precision rifle challenge has done for me that shooting groups for the last 40+ years hasn’t- I’ve identified ammo that performs better AND worse (consistently for either) than I expected with each rifle. It will be great documentation for future reference and will be invaluable in the squirrel woods!

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Originally Posted by Certifiable
Sheister I agree wholeheartedly. SK is capable of remarkable groups considering its price point but the fliers are gonna happen so you just have to accept them

I have never had any consistency with any of the eley offerings other than match (black)and tenex (red) and as such have no more interest in experimenting with them.

It’s oft opined that “a couple” shots down the bore when changing ammo types is sufficient but like you I have seen much better results after 15-25


My observations mirror yours. Especially regarding the overall medicre grouping iof Eley ammo in all but the very highest grades. And that is based on nearly 45 years experience shooting Eley in dozens of rifles.

As to barrel seasoning when changing loads , I have found that it takes 5 to 14 rounds to get a barrel seasoned for a particular round depending on how dirty (lube and powder) the previous load used was.

I have also found that I seem to save on wasted ammo used seasoning a barrel by running a pull- through patch ( on weed eater line) through the bore when changing ammo. I usually have the load shooting by 5 rounds.

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Staying with same brand and lube type usually requires little if any barrel fouling change, but you "seasoned" shooters already know this. Just stating it for less experienced shooters who might come by and read this thread.

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Originally Posted by Phillip_Nesmith
Staying with same brand and lube type usually requires little if any barrel fouling change, but you "seasoned" shooters already know this. Just stating it for less experienced shooters who might come by and read this thread.


So true. I've changed ammo, but within the same manufacturer's products and I assume the same lube and only took a couple shots to start to season the barrel....


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Great thread.
Originally Posted by Certifiable
Sheister I agree wholeheartedly. SK is capable of remarkable groups considering its price point but the fliers are gonna happen so you just have to accept them

I have never had any consistency with any of the eley offerings other than match (black)and tenex (red) and as such have no more interest in experimenting with them.

It’s oft opined that “a couple” shots down the bore when changing ammo types is sufficient but like you I have seen much better results after 15-25

Cert, I'm wondering if different barrels are more finicky in this regard? It would be interesting to see what the consensus is on this subject. I have some rifles that it takes about 5 shots to season the barrel, some that maybe are not as precise that only require a "couple" shots down the bore. My newest Savage mkII FVT seems to be like that, where my Ruger 10-22 with its Kidd barrel seems to want more down the bore to "season" it. I'm thinking the Kidd has tighter tolerances, thus requiring more shots to season? Its an interesting subject for sure. In a recent thread, I posted up some targets I shot with my new Savage and I didn't season the barrel at all, just went from one brand of ammo to the next and still managed to keep them in the X-ring. I find my other Savage MKI FVT single shot to be the same way. Very interesting subject, that does have some merit. However, I've seen some barrels that need to be seasoned much more than others to see how accurate/precise they really are.


Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.

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Interesting observations for sure... I know that at times when I change between different ammo in the same manufacturer's lines that I can season the barrel in just a few rounds- maybe 2-5 rounds and then shoot for score.... but when I change manufacturer like Saturday when I went from Eley to RWS, it takes 10-15 rounds to fully season the bore... I suppose running a patch down the bore between changes could shorten the seasoning process, but in the end it would take more time and gain little and the end process would be about the same scores IMO.... To me, the shooting is the learning process and even when I'm seasoning a barrel I am learning something about my rifle, my shooting and technique, and other things as I go along....

I will say that Saturday was an especially great day for this as there was one constant we seldom eliminate here is the wind. The weather was about as perfect as it could be for shooting precision .22's and centerfires and there was barely a hint of a breeze at any time all day.

Bob


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Originally Posted by Sheister
Interesting observations for sure... I know that at times when I change between different ammo in the same manufacturer's lines that I can season the barrel in just a few rounds- maybe 2-5 rounds and then shoot for score.... but when I change manufacturer like Saturday when I went from Eley to RWS, it takes 10-15 rounds to fully season the bore... I suppose running a patch down the bore between changes could shorten the seasoning process, but in the end it would take more time and gain little and the end process would be about the same scores IMO.... To me, the shooting is the learning process and even when I'm seasoning a barrel I am learning something about my rifle, my shooting and technique, and other things as I go along....

I will say that Saturday was an especially great day for this as there was one constant we seldom eliminate here is the wind. The weather was about as perfect as it could be for shooting precision .22's and centerfires and there was barely a hint of a breeze at any time all day.

Bob

That is for sure Bob. A dang near perfect day it was...


Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.

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Sheister: About 25 years ago "I" discovered the "seasoning phenomenon" of the 22 L.R. ammunition in my Rifles.
I only wish I had "discovered" or known about it 35 years prior to that - it would have saved me a LOT of ammunition and consternation!
For instance I have an exceptionally accurate Remington 40-X in 22 L.R. that repeatedly took 10 to 20 rounds of the new ammo to settle down (season itself) back when it was new to me - and I was doing accuracy testing of various munitions.
I have NOT noticed the "seasoning phenomenons with the copper jacketed 17 HMR ammo in any of my several 17 HMR Rifles.
I am so happy you had a great day at the range Saturday.
My Elk Hunting partner and i had one of those great range days (no wind, no mirage, bright sun at our backs and 58 degrees!) yesterday as we sighted in three centerfire Elk Rifles (338/378 Weatherby Magnum, 300 Winchester Magnum and a 7m/m Remington Magnum) - no seasoning needed there either - thank goodness!
Hold into the wind
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Originally Posted by VarmintGuy
Sheister: About 25 years ago "I" discovered the "seasoning phenomenon" of the 22 L.R. ammunition in my Rifles.
I only wish I had "discovered" or known about it 35 years prior to that - it would have saved me a LOT of ammunition and consternation!
For instance I have an exceptionally accurate Remington 40-X in 22 L.R. that repeatedly took 10 to 20 rounds of the new ammo to settle down (season itself) back when it was new to me - and I was doing accuracy testing of various munitions.
I have NOT noticed the "seasoning phenomenons with the copper jacketed 17 HMR ammo in any of my several 17 HMR Rifles.
I am so happy you had a great day at the range Saturday.
My Elk Hunting partner and i had one of those great range days (no wind, no mirage, bright sun at our backs and 58 degrees!) yesterday as we sighted in three centerfire Elk Rifles (338/378 Weatherby Magnum, 300 Winchester Magnum and a 7m/m Remington Magnum) - no seasoning needed there either - thank goodness!
Hold into the wind
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Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.

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I once had a pretty good shooting Anschutz & cleaned the bore like I would a centerfire.

It took 42 shots to recoat it & get it back shooting good.

I didn't do that again.

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Seasoning can affect not just groups, but also POI. More than once I’ve watched the little holes march across the target towards their final destination as the ammo settled in. I do the rope trick too sometimes to speed it up.


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My eye opening experience with seasoning was with a Walther KKM.


I don’t recall what I was shooting prior, but I started shooting some TAC match and shot about 5, five shot groups back to back and watched the groups go from quarter/ish size with fliers to constant dime sized groups.

I will shoot a whole box at a time now, and if I change ammo manufacturers i won’t bother shooting for groups til I have at least 20 rounds through the barrel.

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Several years ago I bought a CZ 452 Varmint from the classifieds here. I have shot it off and on since then with no particular attention paid to ammunition it shot well but not spectacularly. A while back I bought a 17 cal cleaning kit and finally got around to using it. My first trip to the range after cleaning was interesting. I ran 5 or 10 rounds of Remington thru it then changed to a new brick of CCI standard velocity that was given to me. The first group at 50 was good, the second went to .6 and is now consistent there. With a proper rest and and a target scope I think the groups will shrink even more. The seasoning process was fascinating to watch/experience. I’m not changing from the CCI standard. The results are too consistent and good to dink with, no flyers, etc..


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