22-250 Savage Break-in

[alwaltr817]

Recently purchased a new Savage Model 12 Varmint rifle in 22-250. I'm moving out west in a year or so, so I bought the 22-250 for long range work. After about 30-40 rounds through the gun (first 10-15 shots - shoot one and clean) and the balance in 3 to 5 shots then clean, Im still getting copper out of the bore. My question is: Is a 22-250 with 1 in 9 rifling, stainless barrel (and +/- 3,500 FPS velocity) prone to coppering up, even after usual break-in?....I use Shooters Choice for general cleaning an Sweets 7.62 for the copper.....Ive done my best to get 100% of the copper out each cleaning. Also, I've properly and sparingly used BJ Bore paste and even Holland's Witches Brew.....still coppering up after 5 shots. For my Marine son's DPMS Panther (308) I broke in about the same and now it wont copper after 20-30 rounds...Just keep breaking in or accept that this caliber is prone to copper fouling?

 

[44marty]

Have you examined the bore? It could be that the green from copper you are seeing on your patches is actually from the cleaning rod and not the barrel.

 

[cockpitbob]

Copper solvents eat bronze brushes too, in case you are using one.

A wealth of info and some great folks are a savageshooters.com

Good luck.

 

[alwaltr817]

Thanks for the info. I use carbon fiber rods (now a Tipton)....My thought is that maybe this high pressure round with small bore- 30-40 G of powder is just prone to coppering up....also 1-9 rifling may not help...will try that websight...best...

 

[Jasper]

people do more damage to a bore by over cleaning / improperly cleaning than they do with ammo.

you can fire 1 round, and you'll get copper in the bore. nature of the beast. some barrels see more fouling (deeper grooves and sharper lands and whatnot), but as a rule it isnt going to drastically impact the performance of the round.

keep in mind, not all bullets are equal. i swapped from 69gr SMKs to 75gr Hornadys this year in my service gun. just as accurate, but im seeing more copper fouling with the hornadys. likely answer? thinner jackets.

if you really want to remove the copper from the bore, use JB Bore Paste. copper solvents do good at softening everything up, but wont always get it all. JB (used right) will have it shining like a mirror.

 

[bpm990d]

The main difference between an aftermarket barrel like a Krieger and a factory barrel like a Savage or Remington is that the aftermarket barrels are lapped to ensure there is a super smooth surface. The material and twist rate really should not have anything to do with the coppering, although I think that chrome molly barrels copper a little more than stainless steel. I have used fire lapping to smooth factory barrels. David Tubb has final finish and you can get a kit from Nostalgia Enterprise Company (NECO) to make your own fire lapping bullets. It works as advertised.

B