Good start with my CBI barrel

[22 Mag]

I picked up a donor Model 11 nonaccutrigger Savage with a DBM last fall to use as my receiver for my CBI barrels I would be ordering. I purchased a H-S precision DBM stock for my project gun when I ordered the CBI barrels from Jim at Northland. Last week the 2 CBI barrels I bought from Jim came in along with a new recoil lug and barrel nut both Jim’s new products.
Barrel one is a .204 Ruger Match, 1/11 Twist, 26” Light Varmint.



After mounting and headspacing the barrel I did my normal routine of scrubbing the chamber and throat area with J-B bore paste. Out to shoot on Saturday the 14th AM. I was hoping to shoot and break-in the barrel before the wind got too bad, but I stopped after 25 rounds when the wind gusts got to 20 mph.
My break-in routine for an aftermarket barrel is; Clean with J-B before I shoot, Clean and reuse J-B after each of the first 5 shots, Start 5 shot groups cleaning and using J-B after each group for the next 20 rounds. After the first 25 rounds I shoot and clean as needed normally.
First 5 rounds are shot at 25 yards to center the scope using the windage screws on the mounts.
Second 5 rounds are shot at 100 yards to fine tune the point of impact. This is when I decided that my choice for the break–in load was not good. The group size was greater than 1”. So I grabbed my loads that work very well in my dedicated P-dog rifle in .204 Ruger and this is the next three 5 shot groups that I shot with the new CBI barrel.

The inside of the white target box is 0.800 wide by 0.750 tall.

Shots 11 thru 15

Shots 16 thru 20.

Shots 21 thru 25.
By then the wind was gusting at me from the 10 O’clock position and I thought it would be better to pack it up and come back when the wind is less.
It is nice to know that CBI has held their chamber size and throat length consistent over the last two years that I can interchange loaded brass between my two CBI barrels and get groups like this within the first 25 rounds down the barrel.
I look forward to pushing some 40 grain Bergers down the barrel to see how small of a group size I might get!

22 Mag

[22 Mag]

Maybe my images are not clear enough about size, or how small the groups are. Here is the same target shown with and without the Famous Dime that shows up on a lot of other targets.






22 Mag

[snowgetter1]

Very nice.

[mattri]

Well done!

[Tackdriver]

Do you have to do any special brass prep for the 204 Ruger Match chamber?

[22 Mag]

I used winchester brand 204 Brass: 1. Run all the brass thru F\L resizer just too make the necks all round and uniform in size 2. Chamber length gauge to find length of match chamber then cut brass to (length - 0.005)
3. Cleaned inside and outside of flash holes 4. Cut primer pockets all to the same depth
Start load work up

22 Mag