Running in new CZ 17 Hornet

[Timboon]

Hi guys,

Picked up the new rifle a week ago and have since put 50 rounds through it.

Being my first brand new CF rifle I wanted to ensure I ran it in slowly and methodically as per my local gun stores recommendations.

1 shot, clean
1 shot, clean
1 shot , clean
1 shot, clean

2 shots then clean
repeat

Then 3 and clean
repeat

Then I thought I'd done enough and could start the sighting in process.

Now i've heard how accurate these are straight out of the box which is why I wanted one but unfortunately after 50 shots its certainly not getting sub moa like i'd hoped for pretty early on.

So a couple of questions - Being such a small calibre and having to do so much rodding out cleaning during the break in period it certainly feels like being as careful as you can perhaps is still not careful enough and I'm worried somehow I may have caused some damage giving me accuracy issues already!! Do you guys think this could be the case or - 50 rounds isn't enough to start seeing a laser beam accurate 527 like i've read so much about!!

FYI - I ensured there are no sharp edges on my 1 piece cleaning rod where it connects to the jag, nylon brush and brass brush...

Has anyone here had issues early on that after more rounds started to see accuracy greatly imrove??

Thanks in advance,

Timboon

[No1_49er]

What ammo are you using? And what distance for testing?

FWIW, I've not long finished running-in a 6mm barrel using similar method to you. Continued that until there was NO evidence of any copper on solvent patches. Bore is oh so smooth and quick/easy to clean. Was an expensive barrel blank though.

[marksman]

recently l bought a teslong borescope and have gone through quite a few bores looking for the damage from a cleaning rod and cannot find anything
l have never used a bore guide and have looked at not just my own but other peoples, some rifle bores that have seen several different owners,
still looking and still cant find it making me think the salesman has done his job well
l am glad you are using a 1 piece rod and do be careful how you use it

what l have seen from some factory bores is that it can take 200 or so shots before the bore settles down and starts to shoot consistently without fowling
basically if your barrel is still showing copper keep cleaning till it does not, you will not burn the burr off in a dirty barrel so keep cleaning after every shot till it stops copper fowling, then a couple of shots and clean till it stops showing copper, l get a couple of hundred shots form my 17 ackley before l see a hint of copper but it is a match barrel so it shouldn't fowl like a factory barrel, a bit of copper will not stop your rifle shooting precisely
IMHO you may need to reload to find a good load but l would expect any firearm sold new today to be able to shoot MOA from the box

here is a discussion we have had on the forum in the past about running in, it looks doctored a bit but still has a lot of info there
even eddie is there but he is calling himself sergeant hartman back then you will also see his remarks being quoted as ziad and anyone can recognise that the grammar is still the same standard now not up to the standard of a dean of science but
hey just playing eddie/sarg/albert/ziad
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10894&start=18
good luck with it anyway

[in2anity]

watch this https://youtu.be/3d0-FOEpAuw
perhaps it's just a lemon barrel then again maybe it's the ammo the only way to guarantee match grade groups is to get a target gun. Otherwise it's a bit of a roll of the die - every barrel is different, some factory barrels are just better than others.

[Timboon]

Thanks for your speedy replies!

I'm using Hornady Superformance Varmint 20g Vmax.

I'll certainly chase up some other ammo to try but that was all I had initially.

There is so much conflicting information regarding all things cleaning its really hard as a bit of a novice ( had rifles all my life ) to have confidence what you are doing is corrrect.

My local gunshop steered me in the right direction before leaving the shop but then when you are out in the field going through the process its easy to second guess yourself.

I'll continue to persist.

A couple more questions... - Do you guys use brass brushes at all? My gun dealer recommended using iosso bore paste on a Nylon brush to de-burr the first 1/3rd of the barrell, being extra cautious I didn't go back and forth which in hindsight I probably should have but being a new brush it felt like it was going to take a lot of force to do so. They also said its not a good idea to be pushing a brush out the crown end but there isn't an alternative sticking to the "dont drag crap backwards into the chamber" rule so again I felt like I could be doing damage to the crown doing that but i'm sure I'm just over thinking this!!

It seems like people are of the opinion using a brash brush with solvent just continues to give you blueing on the patches and also the brass sounds like could be potentially too harsh so nylon might be a better way to go.

Timboon

[in2anity]

I tend to steer clear of brass brushes - a single nylon brush (forward only) after the ammonia is enough. None of my club buddies use brass, that I know of. I also would certainly never "polish" a barrel manually using any sort of compound in hope of improving things; just let the bullets do the work, your groups should more of less settle with time. The fouling will decrease, showing that the barrel is indeed breaking in. With a factory barrel sadly you may never obtain the accuracy you are chasing, unfortunately, that's the nature of the beast. It's all a learning. It's a little unrealistic to compare your results to the youtubers of the world.

Most "wear-and-tear" is done to a barrel from over-cleaning, and mechanical intervention. A champion shooter once told me to never over-clean your rifle; let the chemicals do the work, then remove them with as little intervention as possible. Less is more.

[Bugman]

Not sure about the 17 Hornet, but I have a 17 HMR and Sako advises that the barrel should only be cleaned with solvent and bore patches, no wire brushes.
Maybe this could pertain to your 17Hornet. (great caliber by the way)

[Timboon]

I think I'll certainly just stick to nylon brushes from now on!

[in2anity]

Those fast little laser guns foul pretty quick. Make sure you use a copper solvent and make sure you clean after every shoot, potentially mid-shoot if you are punching a lot of paper. I reckon my 223 opens up after only around 20 rounds.

[in2anity]

You should handload for it also - bloody cheap to run that way, not to mention fully controllable.

[Timboon]

Yep I intend to handload, here in Australia nothing is cheap but when I accumulate enough brass I'll hand load

[in2anity]

I have a CZ 527 in .204, one of the ones with the set trigger. Nice little gun, and bloody cheap to run. It’s accurate but it doesn’t take much wind to bugger up your groups. Really need to keep an eye on the mirage before each shot, either that or take a mate to watch the flags!

[Bill]

Grab some Sellior and Bellott ammo, I paid $24/20 in Sydney. I ran some in my Ruger 17 Hornet and the stuff was moa straight off the bat.

Avoid the Hornady brass n ammof like the plague, primer pocket size are inconsistent and you'll have primers leaking and bolt face marking in no time, plenty of info online about the issue. took only 4 rounds to do it to my gun, I took the ammo back and swapped it for S&B

I found no copper but plenty of carbon with my brief 17 Hornet experience, I use Helmars carbon removal, non toxic and ease to use, aussie made too.

Good luck

[marksman]

I think I'll certainly just stick to nylon brushes from now on!

l personally use bronze brushes but do know people who wont l push the brush through the bore but do not drag it back across the crown
it has also been quoted by a gunsmith to me that a good stiff nylon brush works as hard as a bronze brush
l just like to give the bore a good scratch every now and then and have not seen any ill effect from doing it but each to their own

the problem with losso paste is that it will polish the bore and the bullets can react similar to car tyres on ice in an over polished bore so you will have the slip grab effect and accuracy goes out the window, some people do polish a bore that has not been lapped to try and give the same effect, but to polish it you need backward and forward motion, imagine polishing your car by just pushing over the top, if you get what l mean
it is a good idea IMHO to occasionally polish the throat area to minimise heat craze that strips copper off your bullets fowling the bore and ruining precision,

what l would suggest is to push a wet patch down the bore slowly feeling for irregularities meaning slipping nicely then grabbing, a good barrel will slide nicely all the way but get a bit tighter near the muzzle

l do not believe in looking at colour for a determination of copper in the bore either, l like to check by putting a light down the muzzle and have ing a look for streaks, if you can see them there they will be all the way down

[Timboon]

Appreciate the replies/info fellas... I'll give the S&B ammo a go forsure...

Regarding using any brush obviously there is no alternative to push the brush all the way through the crown so I assume provided its not excessive then no damage shoud be done.

[marksman]

the only reason l have ever heard of not letting the brush be pushed all the way through is to protect the crown when dragging the brush back
l would not worry about pushing the brush all the way through l cant think of how it will cause damage
the reason l dont like to pull the brush back is that you will be dragging crap back through your action when taking the brush out

[in2anity]

the reason l dont like to pull the brush back is that you will be dragging crap back through your action when taking the brush out

+1. The gunk the ammonia dissolves is not something I want back in my action. A little bit of machine oil and a quick wipe with a patch is all my actions get. The rod only ever goes forward!