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CCI Stinger or Blazer for break in

7.7K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  Gohon  
#1 ·
Read on another site where a guy swore you should break in a .22 with CCI Stinger or Blazer ammunition. Any truth to this? Just bought a Model 60 50th and want to break it in right. And I know there are those who say no break in is required and those that swear you must "break in" a new barrel.
 
#2 ·
Congratulations on your new Marlin 60 .

CCI Stingers and any hypervelocity rounds are NOT RECOMMENDED in the 60 , as they will distroy the

recoil buffer and eventually crack the receiver :eek:.

Just use regular high velocity 1100-1250 fps rounds ,

buy several different types and see which ones shoot the best in your rifle .

And above all enjoy it ... the 60 is one of my favourite Marlins ;D
 
#3 ·
Run some 40 grain lead solids through it (CCI Standard Velocity). Don't use Mini Mags, as they are copper plated and not dry lubed.
It will take 50 rounds or so to 'foul out' the barrel and get it to tighten up.
You can jump start this process by running 10 or 15 CB Longs through it first. That will tighten up the throat. You'll just have to cycle them manually.

The idea is to fill in any microscopic nooks and crannys with dry lube or lead. This is 'seasoning' the bore.

Don't clean it. Just use a rag or T shirt and wipe out the crown and the bolt face when your finished shooting.

If the accuracy falls off (after 2000-3000 rounds) run a bore snake through it 1 pass.

Enjoy!!!
 
#4 ·
I beat a semi-auto to death many years ago by firing nothing but Stingers through it. Now I avoid them. Most other loads shoot better anyway. What good is extra velocity if you can't put it where you want it? 8)
 
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#5 ·
Blazer ammo is okay. There is better out there, but the Blazer is decent for the money. My Buckmark really likes it. The Browning Semi-Auto (it's a rifle), not so much. CCI Standard Velocity and Federal Champions are some other good low cost rounds. I tend to stay away from the copper plated ammo these days, they just aren't as accurate, aren't made for accuracy as much as the lead bullets. I started buying Mini Mags a couple years ago and thought there was something wrong with my Browning 22s because their accuracy seemed to be falling off...finally put two and two together with the ammo, particularly after starting to research this new CZ I just bought...and in the last few weeks since I went back to lead ammo, have been getting excellent accuracy again.

My new CZ 452...I took out for the first time with lead ammo. Fed it Federal Champion lead solids and it seemed to like them. Going to compare to CCI Standard Velocity next to see which is likes better, and try some pricey Lapua ammo to see how much better they do...but regardless this rifle will never see anything but lead ammo if I have anything to say about it.

IMO "break it in" with whatever ammo type you plan to use, and try a few different brands to see which your individual rifle likes best.
 
#6 ·
I've been buying the Federal Champion in 50-round boxes for years, all my 22's shoot it well. Saw what looked to be the same stuff bulk-packaged, so I bought three bricks. WRONG! The bulk stuff is copper-clad, and I'll only shoot copper clad ammo in my junker guns, I'm convinced it's a lot more erosive than plain lead. I guess I'll run it through my latest 10/22 and see if it smoothes out that god-awful barrel. :p
 
#7 ·
#8 ·
I guess they dont make model 60s like they used to.
My 1979 has ONLY ever had CCI Stingers shot though it, as long as Ive owned it.
The grandboy goes though 400-500 a range session
 
#9 ·
I'm not getting it..... why not just shoot it to your hearts content and let the natural process of filling in the micro porosities happen while you're having fun? We're not talking fire lapping the barrel to reduce restrictions. And to add lunacy to idiocy, the ammo most of us shoot is lucky to shoot 1" @ 50 yds. Those of us that shoot the high end stuff argue over when to clean it, not how to prepare it.
 
#10 ·
Wow....talk about resurrecting the dead. Anyway, I think the idea of of using solid lead as a seasoning round is because a copper wash first is not as good....just my thoughts.

As to the Stinger thing...there are three things that keeps this myth going. First was the poor material that Marlin once used for their recoil buffers. This was compounded by the second thing which was people letting cleaning solvents get on the plastic buffer which helped deteriorate it at a faster rate. Third and last is the Stinger case is just a tad longer than standard 22 Long Rifle and in some rifles with tight chambers such as match spec chambers the Stinger would not seat all the way and if it did the mouth of the case would jam into the rifling. This sometimes caused split or blown cases. This is not a problem with standard chambers such as the Marlin 60 or Ruger 10/22. Personally I don't care for any of the hyper velocity stuff as none shoot accurately in any of my guns. The exception being the CCI Velocitors which I do shoot but mostly in bolt guns.

Of course the hyper velocity ammo creates more pressure and since blow back of the bolt is dependent on weight of the bolt and spring pressure, the hyper velocity ammo is a little rougher on the life of the gun than normal but shooting Stingers in the Marlin 60 is not going to destroy the gun.