A few rifle questions

I bought a Savage 12 FVSS in 22-250 a couple months ago, finally getting to shoot it some. I've ran two boxes of Hornady 55gr V-max's through it and have started working up a hand load also using 55gr V-max bullets and Varget powder. Is 40 rounds through a new barrel enough to start searching for an accurate hand load? If not, how many?

What is a good cleaning solution and how often should the barrel be cleaned?

Does anyone know the torque spec on the two screws that hold the action in the stock? I have to adjust the trigger up some.


Thanks, Justin

Clean it when accuracy falls off. The way I do my new barrels is shoot it the 1st day at the range 50-100 rounds. Clean it when I get home and then shoot it until groups open up. Then repeat.

Ask a hundred people get a hundred answers. Do a search for barrel breakin or barrel cleaning and i am sure you will find enough to confuse anyone.

Welome. Quick answers, 40 shots are enough. Savage barrels tend to copper up until several hundred rounds smooth them out. Savage barrels tend to shoot better dirty, clean when accuracy drops off. Any good copper cleaner and solutions like Hoppes No 9 or Outers work. Torque to 35-45 inch/lbs. Sometimes changing torque wil improve groups. Torque higher. Clean from the breech and dont forget the chamber. Good luck

El Lobo

All I have to say is I wish Ellobo was my neighbor!

Welcome to the site
The questions you have asked have many schools of thought, and many different answers, none are truly right or wrong. The right answers are find what works for you, and stick with it. It is also the questions that most time will create great debates, and arguments.

From my experience, I find that I look for a load the shoot good right off the rip. When it come to barrel break in there is a hundred different schools of thought, from some people believe that a barrel needs to be broke in, (Myself included) and some say that a barrel shoots its best right off the start and looses it accuracy potential with every shot fired. Then you get into different schools of thought on how a barrel should be broke in, some say just shoot it (My self included.) and some say you need to shoot a certain amount of shots then clean, and so forth.

Going onto cleaning there again are a hundred different schools of thought and it even get to how clean a barrel needs to be. The main thing that just about everybody agrees on is THAT CLEANING SHOULD BE DONE FROM THE BREACH OF A FIREARM, EVERYTIME A BORE GUIDE SHOULD BE USED, (To protect the barrel) AND A GOOD QUALITY 1 PIECE CLEANING ROD SHOULD BE USED. There are long time arguments even on how a gun should be cleaned and what tools used. Some recommend foam in cleaners, some only use bore snakes, some only use patches, some only use nylon brushes, and some use bronze brushes. Some will even argue on how to brush a barrel; some believe that you never drag a brush across the crown. Some people believe that a barrel has to be spotless, and some say only clean enough. In my experience the most important thing to remove from a barrel is hard carbon, and this is ultimily kills accuracy and barrels. Then it depends on the purpose of the rifle, and the desired accuracy level that is needed, to state how often a barrel needs cleaned. Many hunters don’t want their gun to smell like chemicals and they clean at the end of the season, and bench rest shooters with precision rifles with aftermarket barrels clean after every relay or 7 to 10 shots. Some shooters shoot moly coated bullets, and they clean after accuracy falls off.

Then the last argument is on torque specks, I never torque them just bring them up hand tight and it works for me, but if you need torque specks then do it. The main thing is to do what feel good to you. From my experience with the Savage rifle, I can say the barrels are rough, but they shoot remarkly well. I can say every factory Savage barrel I have ever shot better dirty, with at least 25 rounds down the tube, after cleaning.

I prefer to not clean them as often. On cleaning I use a bore guide a Dewey rod, and I use the same cleaning regiment as I do on my benchrest guns. I push 2 wet patches down the bore, (Usually Shooter Choice, Butches Bore Shine, or RB-17 solvents.) then I use a bronze brush wetted with solvent down the barrel out past the muzzle and I then pull it back in, repeating for 20 strokes. I then let the barrel sit a couple of minutes, and then patch it out with dry patches, until they come out clean. I then shoot; some people will run a patch of oil down the bore. (I use cloatial graphite on my bench guns after cleaning.) I highly recommend then cleaning the breach of the gun, and greasing the lugs on the bolt. I use JB bore cleaning compound on a patch after several cleanings when I notice that the patch has a "grabby" or rough feel, JB will clean out hard carbon.

I found that most department store cleaners are useless, (Hoppe’s benchrest, regular Hoppes #9, Outers, CLP ETC.) I would say the best solvent I have ever seen for copper fouling is Sweets 7.62, second best is Montana extreme. Some black powder gel solvents work great. I always use a bronze brush, for one I have many doubts that is could harm a steel barrel, any worse than a bullet passing through it, and in my opinion it is the only way to break up hard carbon. Some people like to let cleaners sit overnight; I personally don’t have that much time. Some people get breach plugs, insert them, and let the solvent sit in the barrel as the gun is sitting upright. Many people complain that the factory Savage barrel will copper up, my though is if it shoots good who cares. Many complain that removing moly is a pain, all I use is RB-17, and it comes out with little effort.

Last is dealing with bullets and powder, try different stuff, in my experience I have only had one barrel that liked 55 gr bullets, most barrels tolerate the 50 and 52 gr bullets better. Varget is a fine powder for a 22/250 but personally I don’t think it holds a candle to 4895. I would say if I had to give advice on what is the best way to improve accuracy, I would say it's in tuning brass. (Length, weight, brand, flash holes, primer pockets, ETC)

I hope this helps you out.

Thanks guys.

Hey steelyjones, I may be your neighbor, I am in So. New Hampshire.

El Lobo