TargetTalk

I'm new to smallbore (I shoot fullbore). Have a new FWB 2700 - is there a need for any shooting in of the barrel or anything special one needs to do with a brand new rifle?

Cheers

David

David,

does the manual give any suggestions?

If not, I'd give the barrel a thorough clean. There may be crud left from the proof and accuracy test, or possibly some sort of preservative grease. After that shoot it and clean at appropriate intervals. You don't need to follow the rigorous break-in procedures recommended for fullbore barrels. You may get some lead fouling from the newly cut throat requiring cleaning with a brush.

No, the manual is rather sparse in that regard. It has a 1 liner at the top of a page on 'cleaning' saying a major clean should be done every 500-1000 shots then proceeeds to a paragraph on how to clean after every shoot. So no idea what a 'major clean' involves :)

There is also a 1 liner that says trigger parts need to be greased but only at the edges. God only knows what that actually means! I have no doubt the SB guys at the local club will be able to help me out.

Cheers

David

David,

a major clean usually means soaking the bore with solvent and use of a bronze brush to remove any lead and other stubborn deposits from the rifling grooves. From memory Anscuhtz recommend a roughly similar frequency, particularly for the first 5,000 rounds as there may be sharp edges in the throat that will scrape lead from the bullet.

I haven't read a FWB manual in some time, but if I recall correctly it recommends running dry patches through the barrel after shooting? The patches remove the gritty primer residue before it hardens and becomes abrasive, and a fair bit of the powder residue/bullet grease, but hopefully not enough that the barrel needs many fouling shots the next time you shoot. Some barrels are senstive to the amount of fouling (particularly bullet lubricant) and may group erratically if over-cleaned; once enough lubricant has built up accuracy will stabilise. This can take anything from one to thirty+ shots depending on the barrel. A major clean should not harm the barrel if sufficent care is taken, but not every barrels needs one very often.

As for greasing, I normally dab a thin smear of grease on the locking lugs, and on the cocking cam in the rotating handle/lug collar. I have to confes that I leave the trigger to the Anschutz service guys at Bisley.