Is it necessary to "Break in" a new gun

This is from an older guy who as a younger guy was maybe more paranoid with break in.
Best advice is not to overheat the barrel by firing many rounds in sequence. As far as the micro
difference's re group size due to "Shoot.. Clean.. Shoot...Clean...etc. I'm not and I have never met
someone who ever got a measurable difference from a break in ritual. Now I've read and still have
the articles written by the gun god writers with the stripes to back them up that endorse the break in
schedules, but I just can't shoot that good. Ransom rest?? Well then what do I know.
 
Ransom rest!! It's late. I shoot pistol more than rifle. BENCH REST. But even then
I stand by what I said. I just don't see the difference and I've experimented with my
700 308, 223's, and the knock off garands.
 
I say no, flame all you want.
I will give it a patch of wipe out after a range session, then a bit of oil on the bolt. That's breaking in for me.
No more bronze brushes inside the barrel for me.

My lifetime best group was after 70 rounds of shooting in an hour, hot and dirty barrel, 3 shot cloverleaf at 200 yards 300 win mag.
 
There are a few theories, none of which have been proven, and this question will probably never be settled. I certainly see no harm in following the various rituals that are prescribed.

I just shoot and clean a new barrel as I do a more experienced one. As for break-in, I have observed however that the barrel's characteristics do change with time, and it seems that they shoot best after about 100 rounds (broken in?), and stay consistent for quite a while afterwards until they start to wear out at 1000-5000 rounds depending on the cartridge (e.g. 7mm RUM to 30-30).
 
Andy said:
There are a few theories, none of which have been proven, and this question will probably never be settled. I certainly see no harm in following the various rituals that are prescribed.

I just shoot and clean a new barrel as I do a more experienced one. As for break-in, I have observed however that the barrel's characteristics do change with time, and it seems that they shoot best after about 100 rounds (broken in?), and stay consistent for quite a while afterwards until they start to wear out at 1000-5000 rounds depending on the cartridge (e.g. 7mm RUM to 30-30).
Click to expand...

Thanks Andy.. I won't worry to much but do my standard thing maybe with some additional copper cleaner as suggested from time to time..
 
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Kryogen said:
I say no, flame all you want.
I will give it a patch of wipe out after a range session, then a bit of oil on the bolt. That's breaking in for me.
No more bronze brushes inside the barrel for me.

My lifetime best group was after 70 rounds of shooting in an hour, hot and dirty barrel, 3 shot cloverleaf at 200 yards 300 win mag.
Click to expand...

You can't ask for better than that.
 
You could find as many internet articles to support break in. Use the proper style brushes and your barrel is 100% safe. There is zero harm in doing it if done properly. The benefit is open to debate.
 
How can anyone really know if there is any benefit to breaking in a barrel? All barrels are slightly different and there's no way to compare a barrel against itself with/without being broken in.

Unless there's some scientific evidence (and there doesn't seem to be any) that shows barrel break-in has an effect on performance, I'll consider it as much of a myth as it's good luck to not walk on the joints between sidewalk sections.

Oh, and I should mention that you must tap your rifle stock with your finger in a particular pattern to improve your odds of getting a deer this year.
 
@sheephunter: I couldn't find any comparison pictures, can you post a link? I have to add though that just because one barrel might appear smoother than the other, this is no evidence that it shoots better or worse than it would have if a break-in had not been done. It would take a large number of barrels from the same manufacturer, made with the same tools, some broken in and some just shot right away before any statistically significant trend could be observed.
 
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I've sat in on a few of his seminars and he had some fascinating borescope photos that made a very good case for barrel break in. I suspect they are online somewhere too.
 
We have a really nice borescope at work and I've been meaning to take my rifles in to check the bores but it's kind of frowned upon at airports these days.

Times sure have changed.
 
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