My first .204 ruger

[2002silverex]

New to the forum as a member but I have been following his forum for about 6 months now. Finally decided to pull the trigger on a new varmint rifle. Went with a cz 527 varmint Kevlar 204. Also ordered a weaver v series 6-24x42 with varmint reticle, and a bipod. Gun should be in today and should have glass mounted and bore sighted Monday. Will be taking it to the range Monday after work. Does this model rifle tend to shoot the 32gr better than the 40gr? I will probably buy a box of both. Also saw nosler makes a varmint round for 204, might try that. Any advice for barrel break in would be appreciated, and or any other advice you can give me
For this rifle.
Will be shooting mostly woodchuck and crows.

Thanks in advance,

Tyler

[Bill K]

Oh are you in trouble now.. Enjoy that 204. Til you shoot your rifle, you will not know which bullet works best. I prefer the 32 and my rifle/s shoot it the best, in most cases. As for break in, there are numerous ways and manners and thoughts. Goggle up sinclaire or other sites and/or barrel dealers and follow one of their suggestions. Your rifle may even have a section in the manual showing how they reccomend. Reloading and having fun with that firearm will be great. I know the chucks and crows will dread the day. Welcome aboard and play safe. Bill K

[vanhammer]

My 527 varmint shoots handload 32s into sub 1/2 inch groups. 40s tend to expand the group size out to about an inch. Nice gun to shoot. you will have a blast shooting it.

[2002silverex]

I'll grab a box of 32 and 40. Did you guys follow the shoot clean method for barrel break in? I have never done any special break in on any new gun I've owned... Thought I might try on this one?

[Wrangler John]

Barrel break-in is controversial to say the least. I read a gun writer in one of the national mags that said he couldn't see any changes in the bore with a bore scope during break-in. Which may be true, but I'm not sure any microscopic surface changes would be visible, nor would any internal grain structure changes from heating and vibrational harmonics. That doesn't explain why my barrels groups tighten up somewhere between 35 and 50 rounds. Just for giggles I tried the gun writer's technique on my latest new barrel and wound up with a badly fouled bore that opened up groups and necessitated a laborious cleaning. So I went back to the abbreviated break-in.

Use a good cleaning rod such as Bore Tech's Proof Positive rod. I also use their Proof Positive nylon brushes and jags because they don't contain brass or bronze that can leach blue color on the patches mimicking copper fouling. Also use a rod guide.

Next, I acquired a supply of Holland's Witch's Brew break-in Fluid (http://www.hollandguns.com/ Click on Maintenance). Clean the barrel of all preservative oil and lapping compound, then dry it. Next run a patch saturated with the Break-in Fluid, followed by a dry patch.

Fire a shot, then clean and re-lube the barrel as above. Do this for five shots.

Next fire five shots, then clean and re-lube the barrel. Do this for five groups. If the barrel is getting easier to remove all the copper fouling with a few patches then fire 10 shots and re-lube. If not fire a few more 5 shot groups, the switch to the 10 shot groups again. Don't overheat the barrel, allow a couple of minutes between shots. Try to use an ammonia free solvent. Some say using an ammonia based copper solvent in a warm barrel then firing it can nitride the steel and embrittle the surface. I use Bore Tech's Eliminator and Cu+2 Copper Remover, followed by C4 Carbon Remover, but there's many others out there.

That's about it. Is it a waste of time? Maybe, but what's the hurry? Sometimes, while waiting for the solvent to work, I fall asleep sitting in the sun behind the firing line. Not a bad way to spend a day.

[2002silverex]

Thank you for the reply. I've been doing a lot of research and your technique follow very similar to a lot of others, so that's what I'll try! Can't wait to watch the first chuck explode

[jrwoitalla]

My thinking-barrel break in vs hand loading. Hand loading wins hands down for shrinking groups. So if its groups size I am confronting, I'd much rather spend my time reloading than scrubbing a barrel(which may or may not do it the good you are looking to accomplish). Let the process of shooting do the breaking in, then clean it at your leisure. Of course that's just my opinion, I've been wrong about elventy-seven other things today, this could make eleventy-eight.

[Bodei]

What does cleaning after every shot do to help "break in" the barrel anyway? Just shoot and clean like you usually do.

[Bill K]

I came upon a product, or I should say I recieved a small bottle of Eesox when I bought the last Bullberry barrel in 20VT, they said shot a few rounds, clean with this product and let the liquid left dry. I started doing this and in my humble opinion this product is really good. It leave a film that almost acts like coated bullets, cleans very easy, and I am sure my barrel has improved in accuracy and smoothness. I know this sounds like a commercial, but I really like this stuff. It is a synthetic fluid, smells good and just plain works.
Goggle it up and read about it. You may just want to give it a shot.... smile/ha BIll K

[Joe O]

http://www.warrencustomoutdoor.com/pl-eezox.html#eezox

Here/s the site.

[2002silverex]

Just talked to my gun dealer. Gun won't be here until THURSDAY NOW!!! :'-( We've got 70 degree weather here in VT... chucks will be popping out anyday now! Still have to sight in too! Dang!

[2002silverex]

Picked it up today, it's even nicer in person! I am so happy with my purchase!!! Will post pics tomorrow morning!

[Pmoper]

New to the forum as a member but I have been following his forum for about 6 months now. Finally decided to pull the trigger on a new varmint rifle. Went with a cz 527 varmint Kevlar 204. Also ordered a weaver v series 6-24x42 with varmint reticle, and a bipod. Gun should be in today and should have glass mounted and bore sighted Monday. Will be taking it to the range Monday after work. Does this model rifle tend to shoot the 32gr better than the 40gr? I will probably buy a box of both. Also saw nosler makes a varmint round for 204, might try that. Any advice for barrel break in would be appreciated, and or any other advice you can give me
For this rifle.
Will be shooting mostly woodchuck and crows.

Thanks in advance,

Tyler

Hey Bro...got the same rifle....Mine will be here tomorrow...was supposed to be in last week but snail mail and all....went with Nikon glass...Hope I am as happy as you seem to be....Weather here in upstate NY is just as tempting...going up to the hunting camp this weekend with it in tow....

[fireman204]

I had a rem 700 with a 1 in 12 twist that didn’t like anything bigger then 32gr . I now have a white oak AR .204 with a 1 in 10 that likes 40 and 50gr

[2002silverex]

I only had time to shoot 2 shots last night... Will be taking it to the range after work today to break in, sight in, and see which bullets it likes. Ive got a box of 32 hornady and 40 hornady.