New rifle - brake in needed or a myth worth ignoring???

Cleaning with good cleaners from the start will help the bore smooth out faster which reduces fouling down the road.
The best combo I found was scrubbing with Gunzilla to remove carbon/powder, and Wipeout for copper will clean everything out. I clean it every 20 rounds, which is what I shoot in a range session. After 3-4 sessions one scrubbing with gunzilla is all they need, next to zero copper fouling by then.
 
Duh, I really shouldn’t post first thing in the morning.
Do what you feel is the correct thing to do with your home noting rifle.
Keep it clean ..up to your standards and be one with your gun.
Rob
 
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Not so much break in, but I've had more than a couple rifles that shot like crap until well past the 100 round mark, then factory loads I had previously used all of a sudden tightened up to sub MOA

I know guys that 100 rounds is 20 years of shooting for them...
 
Barrel break in is nothing more than hocus-pocus. A feel good ritual performed by the individual that provides no more benefit other than self satisfaction.

I always give a new rifle a quick cleaning before I fire it just in case there is anything in there left over from manufacturing. Then I fire just enough rounds to get me zeroed in. Give it another quick cleaning and then I just go shoot the thing. Subsequent cleanings don't happen unless I think accuracy isn't up to par (sometimes up to 200 rounds or more). I hate a clean unfouled barrel as they seldom shoot good. I find it usually takes around a box of ammo after a cleaning to get it shooting good again.

I think it's more important not to overheat a new barrel during the first few outings. All this shoot a couple then clean then shoot a couple then clean then repeat and repeat accomplishes nothing more than give you something to do.

Just my opinion.
 
Definitely break yourself into your new gun imo. Shoot it as much as you can and figure out its particular characteristics until you are completely confident with using it.
 
DMS1 said:
Not so much break in, but I've had more than a couple rifles that shot like crap until well past the 100 round mark, then factory loads I had previously used all of a sudden tightened up to sub MOA

I know guys that 100 rounds is 20 years of shooting for them...
Click to expand...

This has been my experience as well with a McGowan barrel and a shilen select match. Both shot good until around 100 rounds then became exceptional shooters afterwards.
 
DMS1 said:
Not so much break in, but I've had more than a couple rifles that shot like crap until well past the 100 round mark, then factory loads I had previously used all of a sudden tightened up to sub MOA

I know guys that 100 rounds is 20 years of shooting for them...
Click to expand...

My experience to , some rifles that i have are at their best at around 200 mark
 
There was a great article on Tubbs honing bullets, a series of abrasive bullets that lap a barrel and the end result was improved groups. I suppose regular ammunition does the same thing, just a lot slower
 
myth imo.

Do typical disassembly/clean & lube upon purchase, shoot & zero.

Clean as normal after session .... stand on a hilltop and yell "Wolverines" !!!

Break-in complete.



Now if I were some hardcore F-Class guy or the like I might be a little more superstitious.
 
Break in is NOT to improve accuracy, but rather to make them easier to clean down the road.
An accurate barrel is accurate from the start, but may improve over the first 40-100 rounds as noted.
This is not technically a break-in, but is due to minor irregularities being ironed out over time and
rounds fired. However, if the barrel coppers up at the beginning, say in 4-15 rounds, then it can be very difficult
to get rid of the copper. Shooting 1 or 2 rounds, then cleaning [at the beginning] can erase that tendency, making
the barrel clean up easier in the long run. I always break-in a new barrel, it only takes about 20 rounds or so,
and cleaning becomes much less of a chore subsequently. D.
 
I will just clean the bore out of the box and go sight the rifle in, fire 20 rounds or so, then take it home and clean it. After that I will clean the bore when accuracy goes south, some rifles that takes 500-600 rounds or more
 
...do a search on barrel break-in and read what barrel manufacturers say

...then do as you will

...i break-in all of mine, even used guns that i get
 
Eagleye said:
Break in is NOT to improve accuracy, but rather to make them easier to clean down the road.
An accurate barrel is accurate from the start, but may improve over the first 40-100 rounds as noted.
This is not technically a break-in, but is due to minor irregularities being ironed out over time and
rounds fired. However, if the barrel coppers up at the beginning, say in 4-15 rounds, then it can be very difficult
to get rid of the copper. Shooting 1 or 2 rounds, then cleaning [at the beginning] can erase that tendency, making
the barrel clean up easier in the long run. I always break-in a new barrel, it only takes about 20 rounds or so,
and cleaning becomes much less of a chore subsequently. D.
Click to expand...

Correct you are! Guys like Lilja and Kreiger think a proper break in is beneficial. But who are they compared to those who frequent the gun forums...?

Some morons even believe the reason a break in procedure is recommended is so the barrel will be worn out quicker and need replacing sooner...
 
I can't remember which gun writer recommended it, I think maybe Layne Simpson or John Barseness, but I read an article years ago where the writer would rapid fire 30 rounds as fast as he could load and shoot them from a new rifle. The claim was it would heat up the barrel and "align" the molecules in the steel. I'm no metallurgist, but I suspect a bit of voodoo science here.

I've got a couple rifles that, after a couple of fouling shots, will shoot sub moa for only about 20 rounds before the groups start to open up and require cleaning. I've also got a 300 RUM that needs about 10 fouling shots before the groups start to shrink down to 1 moa. I only scrub the barrel on that rifle once a year.
 
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