Is it necessary to "Break in" a new gun

Mine was already test fired, judging by the brass stains on the bolt face. Cleaned, 3 shots, clean, 3 shots clean and called it done.
 
HKMark23 said:
IMHO, first thing to do is get a "Lucas" bore guide and a stainless one piece cleaning rod for your rifle. You can do more harm than good with the wrong tools and technique doing all this cleaning.



This is very close to what I do but I do a bit of brushing too and for that you'll want a supply (they're cheap), of nylon bore brushes. Between the steps outlined in your method you should actually see a reduction in the amount of blue (evidence of copper fouling) on your patches as you near the end of each step. If you don't, try adding a shooting cycle or two to the step before moving on to the following step. When you complete the process, you'll have a rifle that takes more shots to copper foul and fewer patches to clean. I've had rifles that took well to the process and showed results as anticipated. I also had a rifle that required many more than the prescribed number of shots per cycle before improvement was evident. They don't all respond the same.
Click to expand...

Appreciated.. thanks
 
hometownhero said:
One shot clean for a bit then 3 shots and clean for a bit. But they are in the business of selling you more barrels. The more you wear them out the more you need.
Click to expand...

Do you clean with just one product ? Hoppes or something else for the whole process ordoes it really matter.
I tend to use Ballistol for just about everything..
 
Shot my new bartlien barrel on Saturday for the first time. Ran a patch down be for I started shooting shot 27 lapuas down ranges and came home. I hit it with some cr-10 this morning and all that came out was a touch of powder fouling, so I think is good.
 
Ross Seyfried did an article on barrel break-in about 10 yrs. ago and concluded the 'shoot one, clean' procedures seemed unnecessary.
(Or maybe that was Rick Jaimeson)
 
"...2 schools of thought..." Three actually. Yes, No and it makes no difference.
"...if the bore is rough and..." If a barrel has burrs, even tiny ones, it's a junk barrel.
 
All barrels have imperfections...some barrels benefit greatly from break in...some don't....but it never hurts so I do it with every barrel.
 
scott_r said:
its a myth read this article by someone who knows what he is talking about

http://www.6mmbr.com/gailmcmbreakin.html
Click to expand...

Well it states it is a dissenting point of view... whoop dee do.

Here is what Lilja has to say. "It is important to break-in a barrel though. The jacket material must be removed after every shot during the initial few rounds. If this isn't done the areas of the barrel that fouled will tend to pick up more fouling and it will build on itself. It is important to get a layer of powder fouling on top of the lands & grooves. This hard deposit will prevent the copper from stripping off the bullets. However, if the internal finish of the barrel is too rough the barrel will never be completely broken-in and fouling will always be a problem. Some barrels can't be broken-in. "
...there are breaking in procedures if you wish to do it.

 
sunray said:
"...2 schools of thought..." Three actually. Yes, No and it makes no difference.
"...if the bore is rough and..." If a barrel has burrs, even tiny ones, it's a junk barrel.
Click to expand...

:bsFlag:
1. Don't ya think, "it makes no difference" falls into the 'No' category?
2. They all have burrs - it's just a matter of how big they are. I suppose all yours are burr free...
3. For God's sake, engage brain, then mouth....er...fingers!
 
Insert sounds due to flatulence here...

As far as I can tell the only thing you NEED from the advice here is a bore guide and good rod. I have a Dewey Guide and Cleaning Rod. Any quality one will do.

I've never bothered to indulge in the Voodoo. It's your time, if it will make you feel better why don't you compromise. After the first few range visits give it a good cleaning with CR-10 (or your favorite brand of copper cleaner).
 
Last edited:
A proper concept of a full field strip clean, of which mostly means remove the bolt and clean it, after every shooting session is more important than anything. If it gets wet, dry it. it is gets grimmy, clean it. If you shoot it swab the bore. Always store it clean and lubed. This will go a long way.
 
Aniest said:
A proper concept of a full field strip clean, of which mostly means remove the bolt and clean it, after every shooting session is more important than anything. If it gets wet, dry it. it is gets grimmy, clean it. If you shoot it swab the bore. Always store it clean and lubed. This will go a long way.
Click to expand...

Good advice.
 
IMO, it helps with cleaning later on.I must agree with the poor barrel scenario that some break in may help but for accuracy in a quality barrel, can't see it.

What I do want to add is a cleaning procedure I now use after fumbling with everything else.

A bore guide, nylon brush AND a patch.

Soak the patch , put on end of brush, push through and repeat.Cleans faster and better than doing it seperatly with a jag and also puts less metal in contact with the bore/chamber.

I won't however divulge my cleaning chemical. ;)
 
redshooter said:
Insert sounds due to flatulence here...

As far as I can tell the only thing you NEED from the advice here is a bore guide and good rod. I have a Dewey Guide and Cleaning Rod. Any quality one will do.

I've never bothered to indulge in the Voodoo. It's your time, if it will make you feel better why don't you compromise. After the first few range visits give it a good cleaning with CR-10 (or your favorite brand of copper cleaner).
Click to expand...

This is the same way I feel about it.

Good bore guide and rod is more important than anything.

After a few range visits do a good cleaning and you'll see how much copper is left in the barrel.

Usually I just get the carbon out after a few visits then get the copper out when groups start looking funky.



Another thing, for removing baked on crud (especially old rifles that have never been cleaned properly) my new favorite is kroil. I read the bench rest guys use it and since I have some I tried it. Excellent. Spray it down the bore and let it sit overnight, scrub with a nylon brush and wow.
I tried it on a 1950's vintage bore that hadn't seen a good cleaning in ages. The rifling looked shot but after? Wow.
 
Last edited:
silverfoxdj said:
Do you clean with just one product ? Hoppes or something else for the whole process ordoes it really matter.
I tend to use Ballistol for just about everything..
Click to expand...

I dont buy into this break in thing one bit. I buy the gun and shoot it cleaning when it needs it. I also dont uses hoppes either its stinks and it sucks imho
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom