Picked up my 15-22 yesterday. Advice?

[Bigeyes]

I don't understand why waste so much time and energy breaking in a barrel (unless it's a high quality precision firearm). My usual procedures for breaking in newly acquired (both new and used) firearms are as follow:

1. Clean, inspect and lube
2. Shoot the $hit out of it.
3. Clean, inspect and lube again.
4. Repeat #2 and #3 above.

BE

 

[RolandW]

Sweet! With iron sights as shipped, first shot was dead nuts on elevation and 1" to left. Second and third were 1/2" high and 1/4" apart. This at 25 yards with a not-so-steady rest, gathering darkness and 59-year-old eyes that can barely pass the driver's test. Think I'll inspect and BoreSnake one more time and then try to put some serious empty space in my Sam Walton Box o' BBs. I am looking forward to the weekend, can you tell?

 

[photoracer]

Thank you for all of the great info I've already found on this forum. My new-in-box M&P 15-22 (DZL serial, black with threaded barrel) is sitting in pieces on the kitchen counter, awaiting better weather. My break-in plan is based on an article I read. Hey, it was on the internet so it has to be true!

• Clean cardboard fuzz and any other debris from the chamber.
• Pull a BoreSnake with a little Hoppe's through.
• Put one round in the magazine and fire it.
• BoreSnake again.
• Put two rounds in and fire once to make sure it doesn't full-auto, then fire the other round.
• BoreSnake again, fire three, BoreSnake, fire four, BoreSnake, fire five, BoreSnake.
• Put the cleaning stuff away and start having fun.

I will be using bulk Federal 36-gr. hollowpoints from Walmart.
Any advice or admonitions?
Is it OK to use compressed air (dry shop air, not from a can) to blow out crud when cleaning? Machinist's textbooks always warn not to do this because it can force stuff into places where it shouldn't be, but of course we all do it anyway.
Thanks again. Looking forward to "kicking some brass" in the sticks outside St. Louis!

This is a .22 not a .223 AR. Just burn about 200-400 high velocity rounds through it then clean it. Putting Hoppe's on the boresanke for a .22LR is a waste. The ammo lube protects the barrel so you just need to get any loose crud out, so run the BS dry. I also don't like compressed air except for the trigger area since it is separate in the AR-like S&W. I use Eezox and Eezox only as a CLP in my rimfires.

 

[RolandW]

Seems to be two schools of thought on gun cleaners and lubricants. One says, sure, purpose-made products are expensive but you don't use much of them so why take chances. The other extreme says you're a sucker to spend that much per ounce; just soak that puppy with brake cleaner and slop on some 5W-20.
When my gun oil runs out, I have a 5-gallon pail of Mobil Velocite No. 10 in the shop. It's made for high-speed machine tool spindles, and the specs say it is also suitable for "sensitive instruments such as telescopes, laboratory equipment, etc." If it's good enough for a $200,000 machining center...
What's the best cleaner for these things (visions of polymer parts turning to jelly)? I have an aerosol can of Break Free Powder Blast gun cleaner that works great on metal, but the label warns about plastic.

 

[Majorlk]

I have an aerosol can of Break Free Powder Blast gun cleaner that works great on metal, but the label warns about plastic.

Both Break Free and GunScrubber make polymer-safe formulations. Get the right product for the application.